Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh
Actually, Tied Up In Tinsel is one of Marsh’s later books. She first saw success in the golden age of publishing in 1934, but she continued to write in the same manner all the way into the 1980s. In this one, which is dated 1972, her go-to Scotland Yard detective, Roderick Alleyn, is lured into a murder investigation involving a rural estate after a guest goes missing from the house party. Many of the house’s staff are killers who have done their time and been freed, which just adds more intrigue to the case. Is this a case of selflessness or a cunning plot on the part of the owners? Decided by the reader!
Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh
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Agatha Troy is at a house party during the 1972 holiday season, enjoying the neighbourhood pageant while simultaneously painting the host’s portrait. The painting is doing nicely, but when one of the contestants vanishes, the pageant takes a turn for the worse. Could it have been one of the oddball guests? Or perhaps one of the manor-house servants, each of whom is a recent jail parolee, should be held accountable? Inspector Alleyn is present to complete the investigation.
Ngaio Marsh’s creative imagination is impressive. She continually creates unique settings for her misdeeds.
The location in this case is a remote manor that an eccentric has beautifully refurbished. As in so many country houses, there are plenty of servants. And every man among them has gone through a murder trial. Halberts Manor’s Hilary Bill-Tasman is pleased with his audacious solution to the enduring servant issue. His peculiar staff makes him feel secure. They have only ever committed murder once, and it was highly provoked. Really, the nicest kind of criminal is the murderer!
The murder of one of his guests’ beloved old servants, however, causes some unease to permeate the home…
