Artists in Crime

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch

It started as a student exercise, the knife under the drape, the model's pose chalked in place. But before Agatha Troy, artist and instructor, returns to the class, the pose has been re-enacted in earnest: the model is dead, fixed for ever in one of the most dramatic poses Troy has ever seen.

It's a difficult case for Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn. How can he believe that the woman he loves is a murderess? And yet no one can be above suspicion.

©1938 Ngaio Marsh (P)2008 Hachette Digital

Very Enjoyable Indeed

I listened to this audiobook – read by the ever-wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch – in one sitting, and had a great deal of fun doing so. True, I did work out "whodunnit" before the detective himself did, but I didn't particularly mind, having grown rather fond of Alleyn, and therefore finding myself more than happy to excuse his slowness.

Besides, I simply enjoyed the world created in this tale. And the subtle romance. And the marvellous voice of the narrator, who rather surprised me with his ability to make me forget that there was just one man behind the multiplicity of characters. You know how it goes.

As if in the room!

what an amazing find! the writing is so vivid and of course the performance! bravo!

A new addiction

Yes, I bought it because it was Benedict Cumberbatch reading it. He is wonderful with the different voices and accents. He didn't just read. It truly was a performance. Good job Benedict! I am hooked on this series. Beautifully written and rich detail and feeling. I love the gentle humor as well. You truly enjoy these characters. I've bought several more in the series although he has only read two others. One word of warning on this series. Do not buy the ones that Nadia May reads. Dull and flat and she sounds like she needs to blow her nose. Pick another performer. Ben! Read some more please!

Why, oh WHY, Abridged?

What did you love best about Artists in Crime?

As a devoted, not to say compulsive, fan of Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn stories, I was delighted not to find a few on Audible, including two of my three favorites. ("Death of a Peer" is my personal favorite, if only for the characters, but "Death in a White Tie" is a very close second, and "Artists in Crime" a competitive third.) When I saw that they were narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch I couldn't believe how perfectly my stars had aligned. Like millions of others who discovered Cumberbatch through the Sherlock series, I'm going through a fairly craven withdrawal period just now while waiting for Series 3. Cumberbatch is wonderfully versatile and natural in all the parts, especially the male ones, and is perfect as Alleyn. His voice is rich and expressive and he has excellent control -- even minor hesitations help make a character's personality clearer. And as Alleyn he captures the character's combination of aristocratic gentility, urbanity, masculinity and keen, wry intelligence, mixed with just the right amount of diffidence and insecurity for this story. I wouldn't have trusted this sleuth to any less capable tonsils. (And I guessed right on how the name is pronounced! Close but not quite on Dame Marsh's first name! What a joy to hear them spoken them aloud.) The original story is well-plotted, the characters satisfying in the "English country house murder" style, and the budding love interest WOULD have been poignant, had the story not been abridged! These are such short novels to begin with that the abridgment cheats us a little of time to savor the building plot, characterizations and subplot. Given that these classic mysteries ARE short to begin with, abridging them is a real shame, and I think a missed opportunity. I'd love to hear Cumberbatch perform the other two Marshes available, but I hesitate to pay to hear an abridged version of books that I own and love in their entirety, just for the pleasure of hearing Cumberbatch's voice. (But it's tempting. Very.)

What other book might you compare Artists in Crime to and why?

Margery Allingham's "The Estate of the Beckoning Lady" or other Campion stories, Sayers's "Strong Poison" (but a simpler story).

Which character – as performed by Benedict Cumberbatch – was your favorite?

Roderick Alleyn.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have liked to, but didn't.

Any additional comments?

I would be very grateful for more titles narrated by Cumberbatch. He would do a wonderful job with Allingham's Albert Campion, and could bring a new sexiness to Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey. He really should consider taking on the Conan Doyle cannon. More Marsh stories would be great, especially if unabridged.

Wonderful read

Would you listen to Artists in Crime again? Why?

Yes. Cumberbatch's read was exceptionally nuanced and interesting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not on the edge of my seat, no. That genre of detective fiction is not thrilling--it unfolds as we get to know the characters and put the pieces together.

Have you listened to any of Benedict Cumberbatch’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He is always excellent. A truly gifted actor and reader.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Love the English country house mystery genre. So delightful because it's not of this time and place. Never crass or ultra violent. Eccentric. Always surprising. Marsh is a master.

Brilliant pacing in an excellent story.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Everything. I would start with this one if you want to "read" the Inspector Alleyn series: it comes before A Man Lay Dead and Death in a White Tie. The dialogue is sparkling and the narrator really knows his craft. Even the plot of the murder is well-done. I had several theories about the murderer but in the end I was surprised by who it was.
I loved hearing the language of the time, especially spoken by someone as talented as the narrator. "Oh dear me, what a bore."
I rather like the descriptions of Alleyn's attraction to the artist Troy in this book, without giving too much away. It doesn't weigh down the crime plot at all.

What other book might you compare Artists in Crime to and why?

Agatha Christie, I suppose. I haven't read a ton of mysteries, and have only seen some in adaptations, so I'm not as qualified to answer this.
What really bugs me about other mysteries (and of course TV and movie mysteries) is the detectives often skip the obvious legwork real policemen would do, and Marsh adds this immediately. (for example, checking for fingerprints, tire tracks, alibis, etc. And the detective asks the right questions. It's delicately interwoven into the story so you don't feel like the author is beating you over the head with foreshadowing, just doing his job properly.

What does Benedict Cumberbatch bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I liked this one doubly because not only was there an interesting cast of well-fleshed-out characters, the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch had a distinct voice for each (my favorite was a thoughtful, world-weary one Alleyn had) really made it worth getting in audio form.
Well...his voice for American women is a little laughable (more so in Death in a White Tie)...but he's perfect with the others and the American women don't figure much into the stories, so I forgive him. He can do Australian and cockney accents, as well as a charming RP.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Death Imitates Art

Any additional comments?

If Benedict Cumberbatch ever tires of movies, the stage, and voiceover work, he seems to have the ear for direction. His pacing was spot on -- as others have said, it was like watching a dramatization. I've listened to it several times already, something I don't usually desire when it comes to a mystery.

Marsh and Cumberbatch. Perfect together

The book, even though abridged, was of course superbly written. The best moments were the conversations between inspector Allyn and his mother.
Benedict Cumberbatch is beyond superb in his narration. Please, please, more of him reading Ngaio Marsh unabridged.

Ngaio Marsh and Benedict Cumberbatch together!

Would you listen to Artists in Crime again? Why?

Ngaio Marsh is one of my very favorite authors. Her mysteries are tight, settings - 1930s and later, usually British - charming, detective and cronies are wonderful people with whom to spend time, and stories are a bit edgier than Christie's. We meet Agatha Troy in this book; she returns in subsequent Det. Alleyn mysteries. I reread Marsh books frequently, and now will re-listen as well.

What about Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance did you like?

He has a charming voice which is very easy to listen to and understand, and he does a nicely reasonable job of varying character voices. His female characters don't sound ridiculous, though his fortunately-infrequent attempt at voicing an American woman from the south is an unintentional riot.

an abridged version but Cumberbatch 's performance

makes up for it. I enjoyed it tremendously
I think I will get the other Cumberbatch recordings of March's work

Excellent reading

Cumberbatch does a magnificent job of reading this Ngaio Marsh mystery. Every character is consistently rendered. Even minor characters who only appear briefly have their own distinct voice. The story is beautifully written like all of Marsh's work. This makes for very easy listening. I've listened to it perhaps 6 or 8 times over as many years. I highly recommend it.