Death of a Peer (Dead Letter Mysteries) Review

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Death of a Peer (Dead Letter Mysteries) ReviewI know for a fact that I've read this book at least four times. Once when I was barely pubescent and had no idea that Ngaio Marsh was an important mystery author. Again in my 20's when I seriously started to read Marsh's books (an had forgotten that I'd read Death of a Peer). Once more in my 40's for the heck of it, and now, once again. The best recommendation I can ever make is that this is an immensely re-readable book.
One doesn't read a classic English mystery story for the puzzle, as perplexing as that might be, but for the wonderful settings and characters. Lord Peter, Albert Campion, and Marsh's Roderick Alleyn are all not just great detectives but fascinating people that you would love to have as friends. What makes Marsh especially strong is how much detail she gives to her supporting cast.
The Lampreys are all perfect jewels of the story tellers art. They are the classic eccentric, down on their luck, British nobility. Too busy being noble and sincerely lovable to remember to be practical. They are all charming, and your heart will also go out to Roberta Grey, one of the Lamprey's particular friends.
Other reviewers have gone over the plot, so I'm not going to bore you with details. Suffice it to say you will be alternatively delighted and and horripilated (I think that's the word) as the book moves from light hearted comedy to a rather ghoulish end game. Everything the mystery addict could ever want!
There are many good reasons to read this book. It is one of the novels that helped define the British mystery story doyen. Ngaio Marsh is on of the most important writers in that genre (even if she isn't quite British), and Death of a Peer is certainly one of her best books.
But the real reason to read it is that it is simply very, very good. If you have never read a Marsh book this is a great way to start. If you have, you know what you're missing.
Death of a Peer (Dead Letter Mysteries) OverviewMurder becomes a family affair...The Lampreys were a charming, eccentric happy-go-lucky family, teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Until the gruesome murder of their uncle-and unpleasant Marquis, who met his untimely death while leaving the Lamprey flat-left them with a fortune. Now it's up to Inspector Roderick Alleyn to sift through the alibis to discover which Lamprey hides a ruthless killer behind an amiable facade...

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Alchemy Review

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Alchemy ReviewI was hoping to see how others responded too it. This book has been nominated for the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults -- a list that will be whittled down to ten books soon and several honorable mentions.
For those of you who don't know much about Mahy, she is an Australian fantasy writer who has been writing picture books, middle grade novels and short story collections for quite sometime. S Odgers, the reviewer from Tasmania, is dead on in mentioning Diana Wynne-Jones and Mahy together. They are definitely kindred spirits.
Mahy's strong suit is an ability to move from reality into fantasy so smoothly that the fantasy part just makes sense. Of course that would happen. She can also be very funny, and often her books/characters engage in wonderful word play. This book is no exception. Jess Ferret, the mysterious center of Alchemy, is always playing with Spoonerisms, switched words, witched swords you know.
In this book, a teacher (well-meaning???) blackmails a popular perfect student, Roland, into striking up a friendship with the school outcast, Jess Ferret, to find out what is troubling her. Jess doesn't particularly want this attention, and can take care of herself thank you very much. But there are several things odd about her. Her outside of school and at school personalities are very different, and her parents' whereabouts are unknown. Her house is frozen, not temperature-wise. And Roland, is struggling with some side of himself that he would prefer not to acknowledge -- and Jess has something to do with that side of himself.
Doing a reverse Mahy thing, walking her fantasy back to real life -- yes, there are people who collect other people's power. They diminish others to make themselves strong. You don't have to look too far to find someone like that. And this kind of person is very much a part of what is happening in this book.
What bothers me about this book though is her treatment of the bad guy. He is very very much an unarguable bad guy. More subtlety may have been more interesting. He has enough irreconcilable points of difference with Jess in particular, and Roland as well, to be a bad guy simply because his view of what should be doesn't work with their view. Not necessarily because he is evil. Mahy could have found a lot of ideas to play with if she were to take that approach, but she also would have had to abandon some of the ideas she did explore in this book.
Like a lot of Mahy's work, I don't think it's really fair to judge on one reading. The second reading is usually much more fun and much richer, because you can see where she is going with things. You are in on it. I've read her books and thought they were blah the first time, and just loved them the second time. I suspect when I read this book again, I'll love it rather than like it.Alchemy Overview

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