I really enjoyed Ngaio Marsh's detective stories. (I feel lazy so I'm going to review them all en masse). They are somewhat ludicrous, heavily theatrical, very very easy to read and display a blatant snobbishness that I can totally understand as a fellow antipodean. Thankfully, the cultural cringe doesn't exist like this any more! What really gets me, is the sensitivity that Marsh has for most of her subjects, she really loves actors and the theatre, she really loves New Zealand and has a passion for detail and accuracy that provides modern readers with a fascinating glimpse into the technicality of police procedures not seen in the works of her contemporaries. In particular, she had me squealing with horror whilst reading the Nursing Home Murder, as someone who has spent a portion of her career manufacturing sterile medications, the painstakingly detailed descriptions of hypodermic hyoscine preparation, whilst probably cutting edge technique at the time, now appears revoltingly dirty!! Roderick Alleyn is hilarious, the way he fraternises with and befriends suspects, it makes me wonder if anyone in the 30's thought he was really unprofessional as well, or if I am judging him harshly with modern eyes. Anyway, as a long-time Agatha Christie fan, Ngaio Marsh certainly gives her a good run for her money and deserves the (shared) title "Queen of Crime", and I would much rather hang out with Roderick Alleyn any day over Poirot or Miss Marple, he hangs out with cool people ;)