From AudioFile
An aging actress of the London stage, Mary Bellamy is getting ready for her fiftieth birthday. To the outside world Mary is charm itself. But inside her circle of family and friends, Mary's evermore frequent "tempers" are taking their toll. It seems one secret too many may have been let loose when Mary is found dead after using her birthday perfume, which turns out to be deadly insecticide. The suspects mount as Inspector Roderick Alleyn sorts through this pack of posers and prima donnas. James Saxon is in perfect voice, playing this dramatic bunch to the hilt. He gets special mileage from the in-house war being fought between the faithful lady's maid and the old nurse with a fondness for port. He moves between high and lowbrow accents with assurance and a quick-moving sense of fun. In some cases the characters become caricatures of themselves, and this only adds to the sense of theater. D.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Book Description
In a poisonous cloud of spray, the curtain falls on a drama queen.
Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party-choked by toxic mist from the bottle of "Slaypest," a deadly insecticide. Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans-who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies-Mary would make her final performance. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn arrives, he smells a rat amongst the contemptuous collection of theatre types detained at the party, for this case has the unmistakable scent of murder...
About the Author
From her first book in 1934 to her final volume just before her death in 1982, Ngaio Marsh's work has remained legendary, and is often compared to that of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. During her celebrated fifty-year career, Marsh was made a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, was named Dame Commander, Order of the British Empire, won numerous prestigious awards, and penned 32 mystery novels.
Now St. Martin's Dead Letter Mysteries is thrilled to make all of Marsh's novels available again for old fans to relish and new ones to discover. So sit back, draw the curtains, lock the doors, and put yourself in the hands of Grande Dame of detective novels...
False Scent FROM THE PUBLISHER
In a poisonous cloud of spray, the curtain falls on a drama queen.
Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party-choked by toxic mist from the bottle of "Slaypest," a deadly insecticide. Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans-who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies-Mary would make her final performance. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn arrives, he smells a rat amongst the contemptuous collection of theatre types detained at the party, for this case has the unmistakable scent of murder...
SYNOPSIS
Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party--choked by toxic mist from the bottle of "Slaypest," a deadly insecticide. Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans--who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies--Mary would make her final performance. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn arrives, he smells a rat amongst the contemptuous collection of theatre types detained at the party, for this case has the unmistakable scent of murder...
FROM THE CRITICS
AudioFile
An aging actress of the London stage, Mary Bellamy is getting ready for her fiftieth birthday. To the outside world Mary is charm itself. But inside her circle of family and friends, Mary's evermore frequent "tempers" are taking their toll. It seems one secret too many may have been let loose when Mary is found dead after using her birthday perfume, which turns out to be deadly insecticide. The suspects mount as Inspector Roderick Alleyn sorts through this pack of posers and prima donnas. James Saxon is in perfect voice, playing this dramatic bunch to the hilt. He gets special mileage from the in-house war being fought between the faithful lady's maid and the old nurse with a fondness for port. He moves between high and lowbrow accents with assurance and a quick-moving sense of fun. In some cases the characters become caricatures of themselves, and this only adds to the sense of theater. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
Art & Photography
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