
Spinsters in Jeopardy
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Narrated by:
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Nadia May
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By:
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Ngaio Marsh
About this listen
En route to a family vacation on the French Riviera, Inspector Roderick Alleyn glimpses from the train a shocking tableau. In a moonlit window, a white-robed figure raises a knife to a woman's shadow. Thus begins his incognito exploration of the Chateau of the Silver Goat... where a jet-set cult's "Way of Life" could spell death for a maiden lady of a certain age, and even for Alleyn's own young son, unless he can unveil its illicit mysteries.
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Critic reviews
"Nadia May brings all her storytelling expertise to the complicated plot, managing to keep the numerous characters distinct and identifiable." (AudioFile)
One of the best narrators I have heard. Accurate; he even said "flaccid" correctly though most others do not!
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Marsh not at her best but still enjoyable
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Mixed Feelings
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Marsh’s CDI Alleyn
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Early on the morning that they must get off their train, Alleyn looks out the window of his train, which has stopped to be allowed to enter a tunnel, and sees a man getting stabbed. As Troy rushes into Alleyn and Ricky's train compartment, she reveals that she too has witnessed the stabbing.
Shortly before their scheduled stop, the conductor seeks help from the English couple to help communicate with a fellow Englishwoman who is in serious medical distress and speaks no French. The doctor on board diagnoses a perforation of her appendix and says that if Miiss Truebody does not have surgery immediately, it could cost her het life. He recommends an Egyptian Dr. Baradi, who happens to be staying at the chateau, leaving a dose of sodium pentothal he is carrying to give to doctors in need to use as an anesthetic. So the Alleyns get roped into visiting the charteau, with Alleyn serving as assistant and Raul Milano, their official driver and a former military corpsman, serving as anesthetist. This gives Alleyn the entree he needs to gain access inconspicuously to the chateau, where obviously Oberon, the leader who who likes to call himself Ra after the Egyptian god, has created a cult. As Troy describes her observations of Oberon's mix of practices: "Yoga, Nitche, black magic, voodoo, I wouldn't be surprised." Then, when Alleyn gets to the hotel, he discovers a frantic Troy, as Ricky has been kidnapped.
Spinsters in Jeopardy deals with the issues of cults, drugs, and sex. I don't enjoy the general topic of cults, as they usually do seem to involve drugs and sexual issues, frequently, as in this case, with the leader's trying to have sex with each of the women, often in a public ceremony. Marsh's other book about a cult, Death in Ecstasy, deals with similar themes. I did enjoy getting to see Troy and Ricky, the latter of whom shows up in only two books, this one and 1977's Last Ditch, where Ricky is a young man. Troy comes across as a strong woman put in an unbearable situation, that of having her son kidnapped, leaving her frantic for the safety of her son.
Most of the characters from the chateau are fairly flat, with Oberon seeming like a stock character as a typical leader of a cult as seen in similar pieces of literature. Oberon uses drugs to control his followers and combines various writings popular with cult leaders in such books. The cult members seem very typical of drug addicts willing to do what it takes to get their fix.
The narrator of the audiobook, Nadia May, does an excellent job performing this book. She does a lot to make this book seem real and helps to make the book more enjoyable than I imagine reading the book on one's own would be.
I am not a particular fan of Spinsters in Jeopardy, but as a big fan of Ngaio Marsh, I do have an appreciation for this book. The characters don't have Marsh's usual depth, and the cult plot gets tedious. However, the writing gives it a quality that allows the book a certain strength, giving it three stars.
Not my favorite Marsh, but any Marsh is great
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Another great mystery from Ngaio Marsh!
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A solid performance.
Ok, but not Marsh’s best plot or mystery
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Not a who-dunit but lots of fun
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Once again, I am reminded that Ngaio Marsh’s other pursuits in painting and theater made her a terrific writer, too. At times her prose can be stunningly vivid, her management of plot and action masterful. And, once again, Nadia May performs Marsh’s story to perfection.
Alleyn Undercover
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Always a treat
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