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About this listen

 It was a horrible death - Maurice Questing was lured into a pool of boiling mud and left there to die. Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, far from home on a wartime quest for German agents, knows that any number of people could have killed him: the English exiles he'd hated, the New Zealanders he'd despised, or the Maoris he'd insulted. Even the spies he'd thwarted - if he wasn't a spy himself...©1943 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective Espionage Murder Mystery
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I always so enjoy a Ngaio Marsh mystery. Beautiful prose, an intricate plot, humour, and well drawn characters. And the reader was more than up to the mark.  Thank you Audible..

Compelling 

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Ms. Marsh is without a doubt the greatest writer, in this genre, of her generation. That says a lot considering her contemporaries Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham, to mention two. A story most enjoyable to either read or listen to.

The narrator, Nadia May, gives a marvellous performance. She brings all of the characters to life. Her reading is both smooth and expressive.

I highly recommend this book!

The best of the best!

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Yes, the racial prejudice was not good. The entitled British (and I speak as a British person myself) was quite unpleasant. While the story incorporated their views, as just evidence of ''the way it was' , a fact of the life, one can't help but wonder if it revealed some of the author's views. but she can't be asked now, having died decades ago. We can hope it was just telling it as it was.
Regardless, the story, the mystery was pretty good. I just didn't enjoy it because that way of life, the British colonists/invaders looking down their noses at those who belonged there in New Zealand (where the story is set) was always hovering or right up there. We see this in so many countries in the world. Anyway, if you can get past that, the story and mystery was pretty good.
The narrator has all the intonations of the people of that time done well. Can't comment on how she portrayed the voices of the Maori, but I"ll go with her inflecting as it was written. I've heard Nadia May before, and she is just right for Ngaio Marsh stories.
On another important note for those who are fans of Insp Alleyn, he was barely mentioned in this story.

Racial Prejudice in otherwise good story

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Throughout a dismal and piercing portrayal of anglocentric condescension and damaged Māori dignity in wartime New Zealand, Ngaio Marsh displays affection and respect for each. By the end, I found myself feeling amused and generous toward appallingly flawed British newcomers, and respectful of the Māori trying to navigate their rapidly changing world while maintaining pride in their heritage and strengths. I enjoyed this complicated mystery set in a harsh and beautiful environment and appreciated the smooth reading of it..

A funny and entertaining mystery

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