Dead Water

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: James Saxon

The elderly Emily Pride is perfectly pleased to have inherited an island, even if her starchy pragmatism is ever so faintly appalled by the Pixie Falls spring and its reported miraculous healing properties.

But really, the locals' attempts to capitalize on the 'miracles' are entirely too tacky - Ye Olde Gift Shoppe, the neon signs…not on Miss Emily’s watch, thank you. Of course, the locals are not exactly thrilled to give up their trade (Pixie Falls may be merely be known for healing warts, it’s true, but you take your shillings where you can find them). Could their frustration have bubbled up into murderous rage?

Inspector Alleyn will have to sort it out. And this time, it’s personal.

©1964 Original Text of 1964 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers." ( Times Literary Supplement)

"A beauty.... Miss Marsh is a fine, sly, comic writer." ( The Sun)

"A brilliant traditional detective story." ( Evening Standard)

"Reading a Ngaio Marsh mystery is like being in the company of a gracious, spirited raconteur." ( Newsweek)

If it is what you want, it is just the ticket.

This is an English mystery of the old school. It's not quite a country house mystery, but set along the same lines. The mystery itself is not so mysterious, but the inspector and his side kicks are all present, and it has a satisfying ending. If you what you are looking for is a comfortable mystery with old friends, this book has it.

The narration itself is competent, transparent, and not at all stagey.

Marsh's wit

I love her turns of phrase in all her books! Clever character dialogue' winning characters as always.

Reasonable Book but Irritating Performance

Where does Dead Water rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks among my ongoing pleasure with the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.

What other book might you compare Dead Water to and why?

I would compare it to Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers.

Would you listen to another book narrated by James Saxon?

Usually James Saxon is a competent narrator. However, like others, he mispronounces Alleyn's name throughout. I cannot believe that narrators have not been corrected on this by the publishing house. Saxon pronounces the name as "Allaine". Once again I wish someone would let the narrators know that Ngaio Marsh, herself, made it clear that the pronunciation is "Allen". This is just so irritating.

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

A very strange group of people live on this island.

Mispronounced

Very disconcerting for Inspector Alleyn’s name to have changed so drastically. Kept forgetting who was being referred to.

Five stars for James Saxon

James Saxon deserves five stars for being best improved narrated ever. Great plot .Great characters

Mispronounced the main character’s name

Repeatedly. A fail for both the narrator and the producers. Highly distracting for Marsh fans. Otherwise not terrible, but not great as a narrator. It’s a book I’ve always enjoyed. Marsh is my favorite of the golden era writers.

Murder in the Highlands

Would you listen to Dead Water again? Why?

I would definitely listen again. It's one of my favorite of Ngaio Marsh's stories and is very well done.

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

I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but I did listen longer than I had planned because I was enjoying it so much.

What about James Saxon’s performance did you like?

I like his characterizations of Chief Inspector Alleyn and Miss Emily. Both were well done.

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

Yes, but I had to space it out for a bit. It's a fun listen though. Great for a road trip or even your daily commute.

Any additional comments?

If you like this one, you might want to check out the wonderful performances by Benedict Cumberbatch on three of Dame Ngaio's novels. They're excellent.

It annoys me when the lead character's name is mispronounced.

Narration fairly good otherwise, but obviously the narrator hadn't read other books in the series. Alleyn - the y is completely silent! The name is not like the word allay plus n.
Alleyn sounds like Alan, or Allen.
However, careful and correct on a few other words like flaccid which is as if flax-id, not flassid.

Good but for one detail

Narrator James Saxon is good. But it is so jarring when the main character who has appeared in 20 books previous to this has his name mispronounced . But the story is good; not Ngaio Marsh’s Best or her worst. And I do give Saxon credit for the wonderful way he does all of the many voices.