An aging actress of the London stage, Mary Bellamy is getting ready for her fiftieth birthday. To the outside world Mary is charm itself. But inside her circle of family and friends, Mary's evermore frequent "tempers" are taking their toll. It seems one secret too many may have been let loose when Mary is found dead after using her birthday perfume, which turns out to be deadly insecticide. The suspects mount as Inspector Roderick Alleyn sorts through this pack of posers and prima donnas. James Saxon is in perfect voice, playing this dramatic bunch to the hilt. He gets special mileage from the in-house war being fought between the faithful lady's maid and the old nurse with a fondness for port. He moves between high and lowbrow accents with assurance and a quick-moving sense of fun. In some cases the characters become caricatures of themselves, and this only adds to the sense of theater. D.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
Review
While this holds to the central theme of suspense, rooted inevitably in the interrelations of characters and situation, it is one of Ngaio Marsh's best yarns. When she involves the characters in romantic and peripheral interests, the story loses focus... The plot revolves around an actress beyond her first youth, bitterly resentful of losing center of attention, and going temperamental to a point of dementia when she considers herself betrayed by her producer, playwright, fellow actors, or management. What happens when, on her birthday, she feels all are in a plot against her and how each one seems involved in her strange and violent death makes absorbingly good reading-up to the point of diffused interest. (Kirkus Reviews)
