There are many mystery books out there and one can read hundreds and still not read many great authors. A big reason is that we gravitate towards what is trending and which book everyone is talking about. That had led to an amazing author being forgotten and one that many readers have to revisit.
I am talking about New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh. She helped usher in the Golden Age of Mystery but now is often forgotten. That is a crime in itself and one I want to correct. Marsh did receive her flowers when she was alive and is credited for her role in the Golden Age of Mystery. But unless you are an avid fan of books or a history nerd, you won’t know who she is. So in this article, we will dive into Marsh’s career and some of her books and encourage you to check her books out and mention her when talking about the best mystery authors.
An author that many people will be familiar with from the Golden Age of Mystery is Agatha Christie. She is the Queen of Mystery and also the best-selling author of all time. With an accomplishment like that, it is only right to be remembered decades later. When it comes to Marsh, finding her book sales number is a lot more difficult. I was unable to find any hints of her book sales. But she was crowned as the Queen of Crime and that is an amazing nickname.
When you talk about mystery books, you can’t help but compare. Most people have read an Agatha Christie novel and are used to her whodunit format. A crime has been committed and Christie gives the reader clues to point them in the direction of the murderer. And while Marsh also does that, what she does better is providing the whole scene before, during, and after the murder. You see the motive develop, have a group of people at the same place, and a detective that will solve the case.
As someone who grew up reading Christie’s novels, I was surprised by Marsh’s format of the crime taking place right in front of the reader with context. Not only do you get all the information as the detective, you also get to play as someone that was at the function and was a part of the group of people there. Marsh tells you to solve it with the same information that the detective will have access to and it makes for an amazing novel.
What I always disliked about Sherlock Holmes or most Agatha Christie novels is that the detectives know something you don’t and don’t share this important clue or you would have a good idea of who the murderer is. But that isn’t the case with Marsh as you got to “witness” the murder. The detective doesn’t share his theories and may hold onto his plan in his head but you are both working with the same information.
There is no greater book that showcases this than the first novel in the Roderick Alleyn series, A Murder is Announced. The premise of the book is that a group of friends gather at a house for a weekend party and play a murder game. But one of the group member is actually killed during the game and it is up to Roderick Alleyn to solve the crime at hand. The novel starts off with the friends meeting up and getting acquainted and follows them until the murder is eventually solved.
Years later, Marsh ended up hating her first detective novel. She thought is was “cringe at the thought of her first novel with its barely plausible story line, shallow characterization and confined setting, but it was her entrée to crime fiction writing.”
I do agree that her first novel is a lot different than her later novels but I loved the format that she creates even though she didn’t like the story line much years later. In her career, Marsh wrote 32 novels while alive and one was finished after she died, making a total of 33 books. I do plan on reading most of them if not all of them and can’t wait to see how she grows as a writer throughout the series.
Few authors are remembered decades later and is often because of a movie adaptation or a TV Show. While Marsh’s books have been adapted, they haven’t garnered much attention. I do hope that new and younger readers do discover her work and give her the credit she deserves for helping to usher in the Golden Age of Mysteries and giving us 33 amazing books to read!