 First edition | |
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Roderick Alleyn |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Collins Crime Club |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 277 |
| ISBN | 0-00-231475-4 |
| Preceded by | Black As He's Painted |
| Followed by | Grave Mistake |
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.
Ricky Alleyn is writing a novel in a rented room in the Channel Islands off Normandy. He makes friends on the small island, and explores the places new to him. He writes long letters home, sharing his experiences with his parents. The couple Julia and Jasper invite him to join their group riding horses, rented for the day from Leathers, the local riding stables. After a good ride, they return to the stables, finding their own horses sensing trouble. Julia sees the trouble and calls Ricky over to look, sending the rest of her party to return the horses to their barn. Both are upset by the sight of the injured dead body at the blackthorn hedge, lying in a ditch.
The owner’s niece Dulcie has taken a horse, a sorrel mare, out to jump a blackthorn hedge near Leathers. Her uncle had a fierce argument with her not to try that jump. She dies in the attempt, now a horrid sight from her injuries, and the horse is injured. Mr Harkness is ranting about her sins, and about Sydney Jones, who failed to take that horse away for a new shoe. Harkness is aware of her death and taking no action. Jasper telephones for a doctor, ambulance, and a veterinarian.
Ricky, along with others, examines the place of the jump after Dulcie’s body is removed, noticing many details of the scene, including a fence running through the hedge and pieces of wire. The police sergeant asks questions of the riding party, after he has closely examined the site himself.
The inquest is adjourned at the request of the local police. The local superintendent suffers a burst appendix, prompting him to ask for assistance from Scotland Yard, which sends out Ricky’s father. Alleyn has been investigating illegal drug traffic, specifically heroin, across Europe, part of why he is chosen to work with the local police in the islands.
Ricky observes that his landlady’s husband and Sydney Jones are linked. Jones follows Ricky when he takes a day off to visit another island. Someone pushes Ricky into the water near a ship, intending to kill him. Ricky survives.
Ricky’s father and his partner Fox check in to a local hotel to begin work with Sergeant Plank. They determine that Dulcie was murdered from the evidence at the scene, and observe Ferrant, known to be a trafficker.
Ricky takes a walk one evening, making sure to pass the place where Syd Jones stays after a few unpleasant encounters with him. Jones and Gilbert Ferrant are inside repacking illegal drugs, ready for transport, and notice Ricky. Ferrant, with his gun, forces Ricky inside, where the two tie him up and beat him up as he is tied to a chair. The two continue their task of repacking heroin.
Alleyn and a larger group of police officers get a warrant to search Jones’ place, unaware that Ricky has been kidnapped until just before they approach the house. Mrs Plank finds a letter at the police office, and races to find them, as the letter was written by the beaten Ricky at Ferrant’s order and delivered by his young son.
The police wait hours until Ferrant opens the door to look outside, and they take him quickly and quietly. Jones repeats this action and he is taken as quickly. Then the police enter, finding Ricky and the illegal drugs ready to ship. Ricky has passed out and is put in the hospital. Rory calls his wife, who flies in to see her son.
Jones is an addict as well as part of the transport, as some of the paint tubes he sells have heroin inside. His desperation for heroin makes him talk a lot, once the police doctor gives him a small dose. Ferrant refuses to talk without his lawyer. Both are jailed.
While Ricky is in hospital, Mr Harkness calls a meeting of his own church, inviting the police and others who are not members. He confesses to putting the wire up to trip the horse and kill his sinful niece. He then hangs himself; someone pulls a curtain across his stage just in time to block the view. The police cannot break the door down backstage until it is too late to save him.
The Alleyn family heads home, once Ricky has recovered.
This novel had a weak reception in 1977, called “An Alleyn wash-out” by Kirkus Reviews. Both father (“rather colorless”) and son (“struggling writer and first-class wimp”) were found wanting in this novel. [1]
Other sources that had reviewed other mystery novels, earlier and later, by Ngaio Marsh skipped this novel, e.g. The New York Times, which did review Photo Finish published in 1980, and many of her earlier novels.
A more recent review by the late mystery game writer Noah Stewart is strongly negative, summed up as “This book is not worth your time.” This criticism is detailed by the weaknesses of both plot and characters. The plot in 1977 fails to match the reality of the international illegal drug trade in the 1970s, and the main characters are weak. [2]
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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.
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. Based in New Zealand, the plot centres on a travelling theatrical troupe and prominently features Doctor Rangi Te Pokiha, a Māori, and a "tiki" (hei-tiki) a Māori fertility pendant.
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.
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.
Colour Scheme is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1943 by Collins Crime Club. The novel takes place in the Northland region of New Zealand during World War II; the plot involves suspected espionage activity at a hot springs resort on the coast of New Zealand's Northland region.
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.
Opening Night is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the sixteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1951. It was published in the United States as Night at the Vulcan.
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.
Off with His Head is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the nineteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn. It was first published in the USA by Little, Brown of Boston in 1956, under the title Death of a Fool, and in the UK by Collins in 1957.
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.
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.
Photo Finish (novel) is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirty-first, and penultimate, novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1980. Set in a millionaire's island mansion on a lake in New Zealand's South Island, it is the last of Ngaio Marsh's four New Zealand set novels - the others being Vintage Murder (1937), Colour Scheme (1943) and Died in the Wool (1945).
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