The only other Ngaio Marsh book I’ve read was little like a crime novel for the first half and then launched into the investigation for the second half. So I wasn’t surprised at this pattern in this book though I’m told that all of her books don’t go like this.

I enjoyed the slow start wondering what would happen and who was going to die at the Dolphin Theatre. In fact I probably enjoyed the first half more than the second. Inspector Alleyn’s investigation got a bit tedious in parts as he conducted interview after interview without uncovering any clues that made much sense to me. I didn’t really think the resolution of the plot made much sense but I enjoyed the cast of characters and the theatrical setting.

Enjoyable, but at the end of the day, this book was nothing very special.