Artists in Crime

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Philip Franks

One of Ngaio Marsh’s most famous murder mysteries, which introduces Inspector Alleyn to his future wife, the irrepressible Agatha Troy.

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 reenacted in earnest: the model is dead, fixed forever 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 Original Text of 1938 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The queen of the straight crime novel - long may she reign!" ( Sunday Times)

"The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress." ( The Sun)

Narrator is my new favorite!

I have the Benedict Cumberbatch abridged one. I loved the story but wanted a non-abridged version. This narrator is wonderful. More details to the storyline is the icing on the cake.

Enjoyable

Somewhat contrived plot but then all mystery plots are contrived to a greater or lesser degree. NM writes well and has likable main characters to maintain interest.

Great voice for these familiar characters

This is one of Ms. Marsh's finest mysteries. In it we first meet the love interest of Inspector Alleyn, Agatha Troy. I'm not going to review the book itself, as it will stand on its own merits. But I must review the narrator, Philip Franks. He did a marvelous job of bringing the characters to life; each voice was different and distinguishable, and on point for the characters. So far he is the best narrator of Ms. Marsh's novels. I particularly liked the portrayal of interactions between Alleyn and Lady Alleyn; her voice was just perfect.

For Roderick Alleyn fans, this narrator is a must.

Brilliant reading

This is a reasonably obvious Ngaio Marsh mystery, set up as a venue for the courtship between Alleyn and his future wife, Troy. It is the reading that makes this story delightful: Philip Franks is brilliant with the accents and characterizations, all of them, men and women alike. He is especially good with English social class. Most of the mystery characters are artists, and are sharply differentiated. This reader is so good that I am getting more of his books.

So much better than the unabridged version

Any additional comments?

This version of Artists in Crime is much better than the unabridged version. There is more humor and byplay between the main characters. I am so glad I purchased this version even though I had the older unabridged one already.

Such a good story!

Up there with Agatha Christie and Rex Stout in the who done it game. I can’t wait to listen to more of them. Narration is good too, just pronounces Alleyn’s name a bit weird but you get used to it.

Love the story but

As per usual it's a brilliant story by Ngaio Marsh, but it's all a bit spoiled by the fact that the performer pronounces Alleyn's name incorrectly

Mystery Maven

Marsh was a marvelous writer. The story was stellar and the narration was perfect. The solution was perfectly developed. Highly recommend.

Good Yatlrn

I enjoyed this very much, although I early on guessed the killer.13, 14, 15 words.

mispronounced main character's name ruined book

narrator mispronounced main character's name and ruined the book - he's narrated other volumes correctly. I couldn't finish the book - was too annoying