If you've glanced over to the left you may have noticed that I've been reading a number of Ngaio Marsh mysteries of late. I'd been kinda itching to re-read a few of them that I'd only read once.
Marsh isn't the greatest mystery writer ever, but she's not the worst either. It just now occurs to me that I'd class her between Sayers (superior) and Christie (inferior) and that using that ranking also serves as an ordering of how many books each of them wrote. It doesn't hold entirely true, however, since I think Rex Stout was better than all three and he was rather prolific himself. Hum. Now I'm inclined to make a list of my favourite mystery writers ordered by how good their books are. Perhaps later.
For now, I'll just consider a couple of the Marsh books I recently read.
I re-read Colour Scheme for the first time a few days ago. It was the first Inspector Alleyn mystery I ever read and it's a marvel I finished it and read another. I think it was mostly because I figured the rest couldn't possibly be very much like it that I read another. I don't know why I didn't give up in disgust.
The actual mystery is a bit obvious even if Marsh doesn't play entirely fair. But Inspector Alleyn doesn't make an appearance until halfway through the book. And when he does stroll onstage, he does so under a pseudonym and isn't referred to by his proper name until the very last line of the book. An acceptable method, certainly, considering that Marsh was more than 10 books into her series at this point. But as a first-time reader, I found it tough going.
Surfeit of Lampreys is the 10th book in the series and it still has the objectionable Nigel Bathgate hanging about. I need to read the rest of the series and figure out exactly where Marsh makes the inspired decision to get rid of him. Thankfully, by this book, his part is reduced to a walk-on bit near the end and he doesn't have too much to do with the plot. I find this mystery very satisfying because of the simplicity, though I find the Lamprey family to be intolerable, on the whole. They're supposed to be a charming bunch of wastrels who couldn't be frugal if their lives depended on it and yet all their conversation and their actions demonstrate them to be everything but charming. A reasonable story, but a complete failure to portray the characters properly.
Now to consider the proper ranking of mystery authors...
First mark your rubric. I am extremely fond of Christie, although I do not find her mysteries mentally stimulating. Sayers I will agree with you on--excellent and even brilliant; I enjoy every book for multiple reasons, and Lord Peter is truly charming.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what you'd think of a book I like, "Murder Yet to Come", by Isabel Briggs-Myers. She only wrote two books; that one and its sequel, but it beat out Ellery Queen in the 30s in a contest. Isabel and her mother Katherine went on to devise the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is awesome, and based on Jung's archetypes.
And have you hit upon Ellis Peters yet? Or P.D. James--more specifically, "Death Comes to Pemberley"? G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown?
I'm very curious to see if you do anything with this idea.
If I take your first remark aright, you wish me to explain the reasons I have for so ranking them. I'll postpone that to when I actually get down to ranking authors.
ReplyDeleteI've not read PD James, but I'm very leery of anyone who tries to continue the work of a great writer. Too often the failure taints both my perception of the successor and the original. (Cf, Poodle Springs, Thrones, Dominations, etc.) Would you recommend Death Comes to Pemberley or warn against it?
I have read Ellis Peters and Chesterton, some Ellery Queen and even some SS Van Dine. I confess I have a prejudice against modern mystery stories since, to my mind, they tend to be overly focused on the criminal and the crime to the detriment of the detective and justice. As well as the fact that they violate my 50-year rule.
I have to go to my Bible study tonight, but I will revisit the topic.