Vintage Murder
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

This vintage mystery, featuring inspector Roderick Alleyn, is remarkably fresh for a novel written in 1936. References to a sea voyage and a character's racial slur directed at a Maori doctor are about the only things that date it. Marsh's series character Alleyn (of Scotland Yard) has gone to New Zealand to vacation and recuperate from a work-related injury. It is no surprise when he becomes involved in the intrigues of a British theater troupe traveling along the same route (and in the same conveyances). A near accident on the train is passed off as just that; but when a celebratory stunt involving a huge bottle of champagne at an after-theater party turns deadly, Alleyn finds that the police in the small New Zealand town are very glad that he was at the scene. Reader James Saxon demonstrates his experience and versatility, conquering a variety of dialects of both Britishers and New Zealanders. This is a production that completely captures the moods of the characters and the atmosphere of the country. A good selection for larger collections and essential for libraries with others in the series.ÄMelody A. Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.