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Wreath for Rivera by Ngaio Marsh
Reader Reviews A very tricky murder mystery, September 26, 2002 Reviewer: lornevallen from Singapore No one would be expected to shed any tear when piano-accordionist Carlos Rivera was killed during a performance. His boss Breezy Bellairs could replace him. His team mates weren't too keen on him. Even his unofficial fiance Felicite De Suze seemed to have changed her mind about him just before the performance. To all appearances, Carlos was killed by a make-shift dart fired from a gun held by Lord George Pastern as part of the performance, minus the dart of course. Inspector Alleyn happened to be among the spectators and of course, he was asked to take the lead in the investigation. It would be a tricky investigation. Lord Pastern was known to be eccentric and showy, changing hobbies like seasonal fashion. His wife had been determined to break off her daughter's facsination with Carlos, and Lady Pastern had roped in two relatives, Carlisle Wayne and Edward Manx, to support her. Ngaio Marsh painted an almost comical family of misfits with the Pasterns and relatives. In all appearances, their interrelationship were critical to the solution of the mystery. However, this was where Marsh could not measure up to the other great mystery writers such as Sayers and Christie. Her investigators went painstakingly over the details several times. However, experienced mystery readers would quickly be able to identify non-relevant details, which for some reason Marsh repeated in more than one chapter. Her analysis were also not as brilliant. Evidently, the family members had turned to a magazine columnist known only as G.P.F. (Guide, Philosopher and Friend) for confidential advice. I had correctly deduced the true identity of G.P.F. while Marsh's Alleyn had been badly misled. Given the clues he had, how he could have jumped to the errornous conclusion was unforgivable. The only saving grace, besides creating an interesting family such as the Pastern, was the murder was a real mystery worth reading. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
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