Overture to Death Audiobook By Ngaio Marsh cover art

Overture to Death

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Overture to Death

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.19

Buy for $24.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

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 Cozy Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Crime Thriller

Critic reviews

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

People who viewed this also viewed...

A Man Lay Dead Audiobook By Ngaio Marsh cover art
A Man Lay Dead By: Ngaio Marsh
Exquisite Plot • Compelling Characters • Believable Dialogue • Intriguing Mystery • Timeless Appeal • Well-paced Style
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Another wonderful mystery from one of the original Queens of the Golden Age. It has all the ingredients of a good "cozy." A typical English village. An interesting cast of characters. One or two likely victims. Some good red herrings. And the charming and brilliant Chief Inspector Alleyn to sort it all out. Nicely performed by Ric Jerrom.

Life in a Small Village Can Be Murder

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A unique murder weapon, a few viable suspects, and the incomparable Roderick Alleyn, Inspector Fox, & Nigel Bathgate. My Ngaio Marsh binge continues to pay off.

a few good red herrings...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overture to Death meets all the criteria of a great whodunnit - means, motive, opportunity, a cast of compelling characters and an exquisite plot. Although the murderer was obvious from the beginning, this does not detracts from the storyline. The narrator, Ric Jerome, reads well but does not do a very good job of bringing the characters to life. His Inspector Alleyn was poor almost a caricature. Similar voices were usd for some characters making them appear lackluster and inconsequential.

Great Story, Passable Narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is my favorite Ngaio Marsh tale. It has a great plot, is well narrated.

A thoroughly entertaining read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very intriguingly plotted. Highly enjoyable to read. In plot and language, one of her best.

Overture to Death

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I first discovered Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh in the mid 70s when I was living in Australia. Sadly, I was not able to bring my set home with me. I slowly reacquired the novels - and now the incalculable boon of the internet has made them available to me electronically.

These stories are crime mysteries, books of manners and many are love stories. "She writes better than Christie" --New York Times Book review.(year?)is an understatement. Despite the gruesome nature of murder, these are gentle tales. There is very little violence, and what there is has been muted. I am listening to them in order. I just finished Overture to Death.There is something of timelessness about them, despite changes wrought by technology during her writing years. The tone never varies from her original civilized, discreet, well paced, sometimes humorous style.

I strongly recommend all of Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn stories

A Classic Page-turner

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyed this one. Wasn’t sure until the end who “done it”

Reading the series in order, more to go! The only thing that confuses me is from book to book and reader to reader, the pronunciation of Detective Alleyn’s name changes. I’ve enjoyed most of the readers. This one was excellent.

One of my favorites of the series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life, the story is artfully written, the dialogue is believable. I'm learning, however, that books need to have a certain gravitas before I really want to listen to them. This was a bunch of silly, rich village people, none particularly likable, trying to cope with life and the changing times. I prefer Agatha Christie - she knew how to create situations that seemed important. This book was more of a satire than I like in a mystery story.

Maybe 'cozies' are not for me!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration is the absolute worst. Do not buy. Should be removed from the site

Horrible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well this entry wasn’t up to snuff. Good narration but the story was not. It rambled and had so many trails to follow it made no sense. Sorry, but this is one I wouldn’t recommend.

Mystery Maven

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.