Grave Mistake (Windsor Selections S.) - Hardcover

Marsh, Ngaio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0862202752 ISBN 13: 9780862202750

Publisher: Chivers Press, 1989

Synopsis

Another classic Ngaio Marsh novel reissued in B-format.

At first it looked as if Sybil Foster had intentionally left the world: with two husbands dead, a daughter marrying the wrong man and – it later appeared – a debilitating disease, it was no wonder she took her own life.

But no one believed she was the type – especially Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn. For the field was ripe with unfortunate engagements – one of them a very grave mistake…

About this title

Review:

‘Splendid… intelligence, wit and sheer skill of storytelling.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Marvellous… a really good book.’ Daily Mail

‘Irresistible… Grave Mistake is a superb book. It’s time to compare Agatha Christie to Ngaio Marsh instead of the other way around.’ New York Magazine

‘Ngaio Marsh fans will be in seventh heaven.’ New York Times

‘A brilliant traditional detective story by Dame Ngaio: two bodies in a grave, a stolen stamp, a suicide that wasn’t. Impossible to say much more without revealing the tell-tale clues so cleverly sown in our path.’ Evening Standard

‘Reading a Ngaio Marsh mystery is like being in the company of a gracious, spirited raconteur.’ Newsweek

‘Make no mistake – Grave Mistake is a classic in its field.’ New York Times Book Review

‘It’s a delight to commit oneself immediately, helplessly, to Ngaio Marsh’s deft hands … Typically, and delightfully, Dame Ngaio lays down any number of false scents and lisleading clues, but always plays fair … This queen of the straight crime novel has given us yet another flawless entertainment. Long may she reign.’ Jeremy Brooks, Sunday Times

‘A story that steps briskly, clothed every inch in felicitous prose. Yummy.’ H.R.F. Keating, The Times

‘She is still writing as engagingly and plotting as ingeniously as before.’ T.J. Binyon, TLS

‘Grave Mistake is a very good example of the classical detective story … It is one of the unforgivable literary sins to deny one’s pleasure. Hence I wish to state that this work gave me several hours of it.’ C.P. Snow, Financial Times

‘Elegant drama of modern village life by the most expert of old hands … Intelligence, observation, wit and sheer skill of story-telling as good as ever.’ Francis Goff, Sunday Telegraph

‘It is marvellous to find one of the best ever practitioners coming up with a really good book.’ A.D. Maclean, Daily Mail

‘Gracefully sculpted classic village whodunit … superb denouement.’ Northern Echo

‘She creates a situation rich in possibilities, develops it imaginatively, and lets her people react to its twists and changes completely naturally … even the red herrings have a life of their own.’ Oxford Times

From the Back Cover:

At first it looked as if Sybil Foster had intentionally left the world: with two husbands dead, a daughter marrying the wrong man and – it later appeared – a debilitating disease, it was no wonder she took her own life.

But no one believed she was the type – especially Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn. For the field was ripe with unfortunate engagements – one of them a very grave mistake…

'The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers'
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

'A brilliant traditional detective story by Dame Ngaio: two bodies in a grave, a stolen stamp, a suicide that wasn't. Impossible to say much more without revealing the telltale clues so cleverly sown in our path.'
EVENING STANDARD

'Splendid… intelligence, wit and sheer skill of storytelling.'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'The finest writer in the English language of the pure classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress'
THE SUN

About this edition

• Publisher: Chivers Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0862202752
• ISBN 13: 9780862202750
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 496