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  • Overture to Death

  • By: Ngaio Marsh
  • Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
  • Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (152 ratings)
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Overture to Death cover art

Overture to Death

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
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Summary

It was planned as an act of charity: a new piano for the parish hall, an amusing play to finance the gift. But its execution was doomed when Miss Campanula sat down to play.

A chord was struck, a shot rang out and Miss Campanula was dead. A case of sinister infatuation for the brilliant Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn.

©1939 Original Text of 1939 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Admirably mysterious." ( Daily Mail)
"It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." ( New York magazine)

What listeners say about Overture to Death

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Charming period piece

Detailed scenes setting and characterisations together with a far fetched plot combine in an enjoyable entertainment. Expertly narrated.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A classic of the Golden Age

Ngaio Marsh is one of the great writers of detective fiction - far superior to Agatha Christie, in my opinipn - and this is one of her best.Very well read too.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely enthralling!

There is a deliciously improbable murder, characters and language set firmly in their period, complex plotting and a narrator who brings it all to life with a myriad of voices and just the right amount of ham! I loved it!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book

Would you consider the audio edition of Overture to Death to be better than the print version?

Have not read the book itself

What was one of the most memorable moments of Overture to Death?

The reveal!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Little too theatrical for me on some of the characters but still well worth a listen

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

One of the better Unabridged Narrators

This is a typical long winded Ngaio Marsh novel, Character narrated well. Unlike the narration provided by James Saxon. A really good read!

Enjo!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite so far!

I’ve been working my way through all of Ngaio Marsh, and this is my favourite so far! It’s silly, funny, compelling - a brilliant sketch of a village amateur dramatic production, and the feelings swirling around it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Proper Golden Age!

True old-fashioned golden age stuff, every component present: narrow circle of suspects (all of whom are frightfully upper-middle class), complicatedly clever murder, loads of stock characters (bluff but decent lord of the manor, charming young couple, glamorous hussy, plus -in this case- frustrated old biddies), posh but handsome detective with stolid but intelligent sidekick (Wimsey and Bunter but in police costumes) etc. With Ngaio Marsh you usually get a bit of theatre (✔️, and often a newly-arrived Kiwi - missing in this case. Just the cosy escapist bit of nonsense we all need in these miserable days!

Read really well, by the way: voices excellent- educated but believable detective, sexy floozy and even cheeky small boy.
Well done!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A nod to Poirot.

Overture to Death is another example of the wonderful Golden Era of sleuthing. Alleyn is a superb character, as is Fox, and the story is beautifully read by Ric Jerrom. This really is a classic of the genre with red herrings, dropped clues which become obvious upon Alleyn's exposition, and a fabulous round the table exposé of the killer. The nod to the Queen of Crime's Poirot's "little grey cells" is an in the know joke with a hint of deference. Being a Christie fan, it's just another reason to love Ngaio Marsh.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not "Three Blind Mice", and

My only problem with an otherwise great narration is that every time the 3 dramatic chords of Rachmaninov's Prelude in C were played, the narrator did a good approximation of "Three blind mice" instead. The Prelude isn't super well known, but it is not difficult to find out. A small detail? Perhaps, but it was jarring.

The story gets four stars from me rather than five because of the dated and rather disgusting views on male and female sexuality. I don't think the book should be updated, but it makes the flesh crawl a bit to hear a plain, unmarried 49-year-old woman's attraction to a good-looking man described as obviously nauseating, while Dr Templett, a plain man in his 50s, is not censured in any way for being attracted to a good-looking woman, except by the unsympathetic spinsters in the story. Otherwise, it's a very good book, the mystery is excellent and the solution unexpected but wholly logical within the framework of the plot, and it is interesting to observe what people actually believed to be true back in the day.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Cracking 1st rate thriller

Inspector Alleyn. Lots of twists and turns. Plenty of red herrings to keep one guessing. Some of the voices especially the females verged on the annoying in places and other accents merged so making it difficult to follow. That said it was still enjoyable and reco mended.

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