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 First edition | |
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Roderick Alleyn |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Collins Crime Club |
Publication date | 1964 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Hand in Glove |
| Followed by | Death at the Dolphin |
Dead Water is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-third novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, [1] and was first published in 1964.
The plot concerns a murder in a small coastal village, where a local spring believed to have miraculous healing properties is enriching many of the local residents who cater to those seeking healing they cannot find elsewhere. Miss Emily Pride, an old teacher of Alleyn's, inherits the place from her sister and comes to inspect her new property with plans to stop what she considers to be the vulgar exploitation of gullible and desperate people. Miss Emily begins receiving anonymous threats, apparently from locals who are upset by the proposed interruption of their new-found prosperity. After Miss Emily is physically attacked, Alleyn arrives to protect his beloved old teacher but soon the situation escalates to murder.
Julian Symons wrote in The Sunday Times that the industry that springs up around the waterfall (including the festival) "gives Miss Marsh the chance to use her gift for gentle social comedy, but a decline sets in with the murder and a rather humdrum investigation. One for the faithful." [2] Violet Grant in The Daily Telegraph shared Symons's opinion of the book's strong points: "There is some fun at the rather obvious expense of the local Festival, but it is not, on the whole, one of Miss Marsh’s best." [3] Francis Iles reviewed for The Guardian , saying that the book's subject "admirably suits this lively writer: fraud combined with near mysticism based on a miracle-working fountain, with the bonus of a nicely puzzling little murder. As usual with Miss Marsh there are some well-observed characters, though Miss Emily Pride herself, that stiff-necked old lady, is perhaps rather too much of a fictional type." [4] The Illustrated London News thought it a return to form, "Not that Dead Water is a patch on her earlier books featuring Handsome Alleyn: still, this story of murder in the 'healing' pool of a Cornish parody of Lourdes embodies a good mystery, and one of those tough, splendid old women in which Miss Marsh specialises with such skill." [5] An end-of-year review of 1964's detective fiction in The Sunday Telegraph only gave the book one star from a possible four: "A bit olde Celtic fringe for a top mod ’tec. No better jobs nearer base?" [6]
This novel was adapted in 1994 for the television series The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries , with Patrick Malahide as Roderick Alleyn and Belinda Lang as Agatha Troy. [7] The island (Scottish in the feature-length film) was renamed from Portcarrow to Portcarrick, and the action took place in the 1940s; the screenplay was by T.R. Bowen. [8] [2] The cast included Margaret Tyzack (as Emily Pride) and Jane Lapotaire. [8] [7] Among the liberties taken with Marsh's plot was the grafting onto the story of Alleyn's proposal to Agatha Troy (from Death in a White Tie ). [9]
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.
Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published in 1982.
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries is a British detective television series, broadcast on BBC1, which was adapted from nine of the novels by Dame Ngaio Marsh, featuring the character Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The pilot episode was shown in 1990, with Simon Williams playing the part of Alleyn. Two series followed in 1993 and 1994, with Patrick Malahide replacing Williams in the title role.
Death at the Bar is a crime novel by Ngaio Marsh, the ninth to feature her series detective Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard and published in 1940 by Collins (UK) and Little, Brown (USA).
Final Curtain is a 1947 crime novel by the New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh, the fourteenth in her series of mysteries featuring Scotland Yard detective Roderick Alleyn. It was published in Britain by Collins and in the USA by Little, Brown. The plot features the world of actors, and Alleyn's wife, the artist Agatha Troy, has a main role in the story.
A Man Lay Dead is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the first novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1934. The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house.
Death in Ecstasy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh, the fourth to feature her series detective, Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard. It was first published in 1936.
Artists in Crime is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of an artists' model; Alleyn's love interest Agatha Troy is introduced.
Death in a White Tie is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh. It is the seventh novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1938. The plot concerns the murder of a British lord after a party.
Overture to Death is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the eighth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1939. The plot concerns a murder during an amateur theatrical performance in a Dorset village, which Alleyn and his colleague Fox are dispatched from Scotland Yard to investigate and duly solve.
Surfeit of Lampreys is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the tenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1941. The novel was published as Death of a Peer in the United States.
Death and the Dancing Footman is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh, the eleventh of her Roderick Alleyn books and was first published in 1941 in the US by Little Brown of Boston and in 1942 in the UK by Collins Crime Club. It was written in New Zealand, but set in a Dorset, England country house.
Swing, Brother, Swing is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1949 in the UK. The novel was published as A Wreath for Rivera in the United States. The plot concerns the murder of a big band accordionist in London.
Spinsters in Jeopardy is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the seventeenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1953.
Hand in Glove is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-second novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1962. The story concerns a high-society treasure-hunt party at which a murder takes place.
Clutch of Constables is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1968. The plot concerns art forgery, and takes place on a cruise on a fictional river in the Norfolk Broads; the "Constable" referred to in the title is John Constable, whose works are mentioned by several characters.
When in Rome is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-sixth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1970.
Black As He's Painted (1974) is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh, the 28th to feature Roderick Alleyn.
Last Ditch is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twenty-ninth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1977. The plot concerns drug smuggling in the Channel Islands, and features Alleyn's son, Ricky, in a central role.
Light Thickens is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-second, and final, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1982. The plot concerns the murder of the lead actor in a production of Macbeth in London, and the novel takes its title from a line in the play.
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