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  • Death in a White Tie

  • By: Ngaio Marsh
  • Narrated by: James Saxon
  • Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (148 ratings)
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Death in a White Tie

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: James Saxon
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Summary

The London season has begun. But while debutantes and chaperones plan their luncheons and balls a deadly blackmailer is stalking the highest echelons of society.

Naturally, it falls to charming, aloof Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn - son of Lady Alleyn - to investigate the case. He has already planted his close friend Lord Robert at the scene. But someone else got to him first....

Death in a White Tie was first published in 1938 and is perhaps the finest of Marsh's 1930s novels - elegantly constructed, witty and marvellously entertaining.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

©1938 Original Text of 1938 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers." (Times Literary Supplement)

"Ngaio Marsh’s Death in a White Tie is the best detective story I have ever read...." (Dashiell Hammett)

"[This audiobook has] a distinction that puts the author in the front rank of crime story writers." (Times Literary Supplement)

What listeners say about Death in a White Tie

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Terrible recording

It appeared to be a splicing together of several recordings. The EQ was terrible. I'm places inaudible.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant character portrayal by James Saxon

I agree with other reviewers that the audio quality is frequently very bad, but James Saxon embodies the large and varied cast of characters so completely that it is worth the extra effort. His skill with accents and his sensitivity to quirks of personality brings everyone to life as sympathetic, complex human beings. Saxon died tragically young, so the audio can’t be redone, but I’m really glad this reading is still available because it is a great listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Changeable sound quality

Unfortunately James Saxon’s performance is marred by regular differences in sound quality which spoiled the listening experience.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars

Mono quality audio

Trying to get refund as this audio is terrible quality. It sounds very tinny and mono.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love the book

Excellent book but the sound quality isn’t good which is annoying.
James Saxon is the best narrator possible

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite Ngaio Marsh story

I very nearly didn't buy this book because of the reviews criticising the audio quality. I'm so glad I decided to disregard these reviews, because the audio is nowhere near as bad as some of the reviewers suggest. The audio is not perfect, but every word can be heard (I confirm this, even though my hearing is slightly impaired, indicating that a person with normal hearing will also have no trouble hearing the narration.)

The story is excellent, far better than anything Ngaio Marsh wrote prior to this. The plot is very strong and logical to follow, so much so that I was actually able the identify the culprit by the first half of the book, which I cannot normal do with detective stories.

The narration is good, although the narrator does not understand how to correctly pronounce the name Vassily, which is annoying. He does an excellent job of narrating Lord Bunchy Gospell.

Highly recommended

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ngaio Marsh at her BEST

This is a book to reread / relisten at intervals in a reading/listening life. Top of the genre.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely wonderful plot, great performance, bad audio

If you can listen past the bad audio with very pronounced transitions, this is a great read of a story that is charming, with believable characters and a good plot.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, bad audio

I’ve been enjoying working my way through this series, and this was another excellent story, with great characters, and an enjoyable glimpse into the world of society balls. It was well narrated, though, as others have pointed out, the audio is of variable quality

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Recorded in a tin can?!

Engaging story but the audio quality was terrible. It was so jarring (and tinny!) that I almost didn’t make it to the end. Obviously recorded in more than one session but not edited well.

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