Light Thickens

By: Ngaio Marsh

Narrated by: Philip Franks

Peregrine Jay, owner of the Dolphin Theatre, is putting on a magnificent production of Macbeth, the play that, superstition says, always brings bad luck.

But one night the claymore swings, and the dummy's head is more than real: murder behind the scene.

Luckily, Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn is in the audience....

©1982 Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Best rendition of the theatre rehearsals I have ever read!

This book succeeded in making me long to actually see the play they did…the rehearsal scenes were super and she brought out the artistry of a director in the process. Excellent.

Reflects Ngaio Marsh's interest in Macbeth

For those who already enjoy Ngaio Marsh's stories, this brings together her love of the theater,her love of Macbeth, her varied interests in the power of things and old rituals, and a mystery. Not only who did it but how it was done.
The very detailed presentation of the staging of this great play may be tedious for those who have not become intrigued by the Shakespeare play of 'Macbeth' .For them it may be as interesting as railway time tables, yet the detail and the personalities do matter.

One of the better Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn stories

Good plot- Alleyn is not overly supercilious - I liked the addition of children in the cast of characters

Slow to start but a neat finish.

A very slow start though might appeal to those classic drama lovers. Over all narration was impeccable. However I struggled listening to the Te Reo Māori being butchered. His pronunciation was diabolical and very hard to listen to and culturally disrespectful.

A lot of fun!

If you love theater in general, or more specifically love Macbeth, like I do, there is much to like, the murder mystery itself is a tad predictable. But fun regardless.

Terrific narration

I am a huge fan of Ngaio Marsh’s wonderful dialogue-heavy mysteries. They are such a treat to listen to generally, but I want to especially point out Philip Franks’ narration on this recording. At the end of part one, I actually had goosebumps as he moved us toward the opening night of the play. It was brilliantly done.

Positively thrilling

Phillip Franks voices all the varied parts exceptionally well and made me want to see the production being rehearsed at the Dolphin!

The people we are supposed to like are especially likable in this, her last novel. The perpetrator was well hidden among several difficult people.

Some knowledge of the Scottish Play (MacBeth) is almost essential to enjoy the characters and plot. A quick review on Wikipedia could refresh English class memories- and - then do delve into this engaging and entertaining book. I did not want it to end.

Great Aside From Incorrect Pronunciation

What did you love best about Light Thickens?

It's a great mystery, with well-rounded characters. Alleyn is not as prevalent as usual, but it's made to work with another character to the fore.

What other book might you compare Light Thickens to and why?

Any other Marsh, Christie, or James title. It's a classic murder mystery.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I was really irritated that he had not made the slightest effort to get the Māori pronunciation even remotely correct. Normally Franks is really good, but the complete ignorance of one of the most easily mastered sets of sounds on the planet was really rubbish, especially given that there are resources for learning this readily available. A real let-down.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No.

Any additional comments?

Franks does great voices.

At least learn how to say the characters names.

This was done in 2016 according to the copyright. It is not that hard to google words from non English languages like Rangi, and find out that they are pronounced rung-ee rather than “ran gee”
At least have some respect for the authors home country.

And that’s without getting started on how to say Alleyn’s name.

Read Macbeth First

I really enjoyed this book. I wish I had read (or listened) to Macbeth prior to listening to this book. It is not necessary to have done so to understand the plot of this book but it would have made listening more enjoyable. I don’t know a thing about theater jargon but the author’s assumption I did actually made it more enjoyable. I occasionally looked up a term but enjoyed the insider’s view of a theatrical production.