A Man Lay Dead Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh, the first book in the Roderick Alleyn series. We love classic mystery novels and Marsh is one of the best mystery writers to ever do it. Find out what we thought of this novel and if you should read this novel and series!

A Man Lay Dead Summary

Hubert Handesley is throwing a country house party and five guests have gathered for the party. But this time, Handesley has planned a game of “Murder”, a fake murder which the everyone will have to solve. But what was supposed to be a game turns to real murder.

Charles Rankin is found dead with his Russian dagger protruding from his back. Roderick Alleyn, an inspector from Scotland Yard, is sent to investigate the murder. It is up to Alleyn to find the clues and the relationships of the guests and figure out who murdered Rankin.

Commentary

The novel was first published in 1934 and was Ngaio Marsh’s first novel. Marsh was inspired by the queen of mystery Agatha Christie and started writing this book in 1931 when the Murder Game was popular at English weekend parties. Years later, Marsh would look back at her first novel and call it cringe, calling the story line “barely plausible, shallow characterization and a confined setting”

My introduction to Ngaio Marsh was not this not novel but another one in the series that I will eventually get around to reviewing. But after reading that novel, I can see why Marsh isn’t the biggest fan of this novel. But I still enjoyed this novel, even if there was a lot going on at times. What I love is that you can see Marsh growing as a writer in her series as they progress and yet, this was still a great novel.

Unlike most of her novels, A Man Lay Dead is told mostly by Nigel Bathgate, a character that shows up often in many of her books. I do think not using Nigel after this book makes a lot of sense even though I do think Marsh wanted to switch things up from other detective novels. But she must have realized that having a detective tell the story lets her do a lot more.

I don’t think this is a novel I will think about often. Marsh is a great writer but in this novel, she is still learning and it shows. The mystery at hand is not that interesting and a part of that is that the Murder Game was big when she wrote it and it hasn’t aged well. The novel introduces Roderick Alleyn but it doesn’t feel like his novel.

As someone who has recently discovered Ngaio Marsh, I enjoyed this novel and the format that Marsh uses in most of her novels. She gives you the details of the murder which often start days before the actual murder happens. And it makes for a fun murder mystery that lets you actively participate and I am all for it. If you need a good mystery novel and want to play detective, then you’ll love this novel.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook