Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh

 

Classic mystery has an atmospheric setting

Rereading Death at the Bar has reminded me of the high quality of Ngaio Marsh’s writing. It is not just that the characters are intriguing and the plot keeps you guessing, it is also that the book is a pleasure to read.

The gentlemanly Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn has travelled to Devon with his subordinate officer, Detective Inspector Fox, to investigate the death of a well-known barrister, Luke Watchman, who has been staying at a village pub in Devon for a holiday with his cousin and a friend.

The post mortem analysis has shown the presence of some kind of cyanide in Watchman’s blood and so the local police have called in Scotland Yard to help them.

Alleyn and Fox are glad to get away from the summer heat in London and they go to stay at the traditional Devonshire Inn, The Plume of Feathers, while they conduct their investigation. Marsh presents the reader with a beautifully described setting, some interesting characters and a complex investigation, that keeps you turning the pages until she finally reveals the truth.

The death occurs during a game of darts in one of the bars at the pub and it is not clear whether the cyanide was on one of the darts or in a glass of brandy. The lights went out because of a storm that evening and the floor ended up covered with broken glass that had been trodden on by the people in the bar.

Thorough detective work, including weighing the fragments of glass, help Alleyn to arrive at the truth about what has happened.

Death at the Bar, the ninth book in the Roderick Alleyn series by Ngaio Marsh, was published by Collins in 1940. It was written in the spring of 1939 before the start of World War II. Contemporary reviews were all positive about the novel and many of the reviewers praised the plot and characters and said they had enjoyed the humour.

Marsh had been on a long visit to England in 1937 and 1938 and had visited Devon and Cornwall. She was drawing on her memories of staying in Polperro when she created the fictional village of Ottercombe, which is the setting for the novel.

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