Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Charming atmosphere, interesting cast of characters all of whom have a motive for murder, a tangle of interpersonal tensions just beneath the surface, a foolish chemist who gives out poisons that are far too strong and, of course, a fiendish plot.
What impresses me about Marsh’s mysteries is the care that goes into the settings and the characters. The world-building is impeccable. I don’t usually do a good job of caring about who the murderer is, as I do when reading Christie, but I care very much for the place and the people.
That’s really a big part of what a good novel does: it makes a place for you to go to. The tavern in this story is very much such a place. Reading it is like taking the perfect British summer vacation that the victim and most of the suspects were on when the fateful hour came.
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