Black as He's Painted

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Philip Franks

When the exuberant president of Ng'ombwana proposes to dispense with the usual security arrangements on an official visit to London, his old schoolmate, Chief Superintendent Alleyn, is called in to persuade him otherwise.

Consequently, on the night of the embassy's reception, the house and grounds are stiff with police. Nevertheless, an assassin does strike, and Alleyn finds he has no shortage of help, from Special Branch to a tribal court - and a small black cat named Lucy Lockett who out-detects them all....

©2015 Ngaio Marsh (P)2016 Hachette

Superb!!

Phillip Franks never disappoints in his narration of this VERY intriguing mystery by Ngaio Marsh.

Classic Mystery

Written in the classic style of the times with lots of background on the characters and so many twists, turns and opportunities that you cannot help but hunger to know 'Who done it?'

The narrator does a great job with creating enough differences in the characters that the listener is solidly engaged. Even though his female voices were not great, his oral interpretation was so spot on as to make you completely overlook the sound.

IF you enjoy Poirot, Lord Peter, etc; you will enjoy this listen.

Excellent as always

I was young when thus book was written, but the themes bring back the times very clearly. This is an astute glimpse od the past and one that I would hate to see censored. Our freedom of speech and of the written word could disappear all too easily. It is wirth fighting for.

exceptional setting and mystery

all of her stories are engaging, and her word use is eloquent in description. narration is energetic and the colloquial language easy to understand

Excellent writing

The plotting is quite perfect but secondary to the interplay between the characters and the pace. NM is a better writer than most of her contemporaries including AC but sometimes falters in appeal but this is a very minor point. Very enjoyable and entertaining. Dont be discouraged by the virtue-signalling comments regarding race; hypocrisy works best from a generational distance. Recommended

One of the really good ones

This is one of the most enjoyable of Marsh's books. The themes are racism, African independence and the detective's marriage. There are puzzles to solve stories to be uncovered. Recommended.

Excellent performance

One of Ngaio Marsh's later mysteries in the Roderick Alleyn series, Black as He's Painted features life in a London village setting; the Capricorns. Mr. Samuel Whipplestone, a recently retired Foreign Office diplomat, is feeling more than a bit out of curl one spring morning, when he happens upon a charming house for sale at 1 Capricorn Walk. Not normally an impulsive man, he finds himself taken by the house, and the neighborhood, and rapidly becomes a home owner. Right around the corner, however, sits the Ngombwanan Embassy, where things rapidly descend into violence and mysterious doings. Mr. Whipplestone's diplomatic expertise comes in handy when Roderick Alleyn's old schoolmate, the Boomer, now President of the newly independent African nation, comes a hair's breadth away from assassination. Who wants the Boomer dead? According to Mr. W., lots of people; quite a few, it appears, residing in the Capricorns. Also featuring Troy Alleyn, (and best of all, Lucy Lockett, one of the most delightful mystery-solving cats one could ever hope to meet.)
Excellent voicing and accents, never confused or confusing.

ooph

Works by Ngaio Marsh tend to be unusually and surprisingly progressive for their time but this one is full of racist attitudes.