I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Night at the Vulcan
by
Ngaio Marsh
detective mystery, forensic mystery, police procedural, vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Felony & Mayhem Press on December 15, 2012 and has 236 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Dead Water, Killer Dolphin, A Man Lay Dead, Enter a Murderer, The Nursing Home Murder, Death in Ecstasy, Vintage Murder, Artists in Crime, Death in a White Tie, Overture to Death, Death at the Bar, Surfeit of Lampreys, Death and the Dancing Footman, Died in the Wool, Swing, Brother, Swing, Colour Scheme, Spinsters in Jeopardy, Scales of Justice, The Death of a Fool, Singing in the Shroud, False Scent, Clutch of Constables, Hand in Glove, When in Rome, Tied Up In Tinsel
Sixteenth in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn vintage mystery series involving a Scotland Yard detective and his team. The focus is on Martyn Tarne’s ambitions.
My Take
The subject play, Revisit, is a play about ideas and requires Gay’s character to be a reflection of Adam’s character, who represents “the struggle of the human being in the detestable situation in which . . . he has found himself”.
It’s a fairytale as a wanna-be actress achieves her goal. She never expected, however, to get it this way. It’s a good bit of luck for Martyn, falling into this situation at the Vulcan, as it opens a wealth of possibilities, including Jacko, who is also a dab at cooking.
It has to be third person global subjective point-of-view, although the perspectives are not evenly distributed. Martyn’s is the most prominent with Alleyn’s second.
The stories in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn series have primarily been a study of police procedures, and yes, Night at the Vulcan does make good use of procedures, but it’s more forensics in this mystery. I do like that a previous character in the series is popping up in Night at the Vulcan!
I’m not quite sure what Badger’s intentions are toward Martyn that first night, but he’s so creepy! As for Gay Gainsford, I sometimes feel sorry for her. On the other hand, she should show some backbone! And then again, even though Gay doesn’t want the role, she doesn’t want Martyn to have it. She doesn’t want Martyn to even be anywhere in the theatre. And Gay does enjoy focusing attention on herself. Oy.
There is a lot of pissing and moaning backstage with actors and staff whining about each other, about Rutherford, about Gay in her role. No one thinks she’s any good but are, mostly, too afraid to say so. Even her real-life uncle thinks she’s terrible but refuses to admit it out loud.
Rumor is running amuck that Martyn is something more than she’ll admit. There are also rumblings about the unfortunate theatre’s past. For certain sure, Marsh’s description of the heating perils of the 1940s makes me appreciate today’s HVAC.
Hmm, Alleyn absently notes that Troy once commented that Fox “was a cross between a bear and a baby and exhibited the most pleasing traits of both”. I’m trying to imagine this.
The “love” affairs are . . . . hmmm . . . flexible. I guess they’re a good example of romance behind the scenes. Poole certainly analyzes Helena’s various affairs as well as his with her. His next “affair” is sweet, but not believable.
It’s a mystery in which most of the characters want to do and be good, although, they are affiliated with acting.
The Story
Down to a few pence, Martyn Tarne is desperate for any kind of work. Her dreams of being an actress are taking second place to food and a place to sleep. She’ll, she’ll even accept a position at a distant relation’s theatre.
Best of all, she can hide in the theatre and sleep there. Until she’s discovered in more ways than one.
It’s more than just Poole family history, but the curse of the theatre that reveals a body. But is it suicide or murder?
The Characters
Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn has settled into being at Scotland Yard after brief forays into the military and the diplomatic corps. Agatha Troy, the famous painter, is his wife.
Scotland Yard
His team includes Detective-Inspector Fox; Detective Sergeant (DS) Bailey, whose specialty is fingerprints; DS Thompson, the photography specialist; DS Gibson; Dr Curtis is the police surgeon; and, Police Constable Lord Mike Lamprey (from Surfeit of Lampreys, 10; as a young boy, his family had had a place in New Zealand on Mount Silver).
The Vulcan Theatre comes with . . .
. . . an old past (five years ago) with a new facade now owned by Adam Poole. Bob Grantley is the business manager. Clem Smith is the stage-manager’s assistant/stage director. Alf is a stage-hand. Fred Badger is the night-watchman. Revisit is a new play by the dictatorial Dr John James Rutherford.
Martyn “Kate” Tarne, a New Zealander, has dreams of becoming an actress, on her own merit. Now she’ll be Helena’s stand-in dresser. She was named for her father, the son and grandson of a high-country sheep farmer. Her mother, Paula Poole Passington, is from the same area.
Adam Poole is the male star and manager — and in love with Helena. A cousin of his father’s married a Passington and then disappeared. Bob Cringle is Poole’s dresser.
Jacques “Jacko” Doré, a.k.a. Poole’s Luck, is French-Canadian and the man-of-all-trades, designer, artist, responsible for all the décor and dressing for all of Poole’s productions — and technically assistant to Poole.
Helena Hamilton, Auntie Ella, is the star turn performing as the cousin’s wife; her dresser, Tansey, is ill. Clark Bennington, Helena’s husband who used to prep using the Stanislavsky method and is an ugly drunk these days, plays Poole’s brilliant, unstable cousin. J.G. (George) Darcey plays Poole’s great-uncle. The selfish Gay Gainsford, Bennington’s niece, is miserable in her role as the vicious, freakish daughter of Poole’s and who is engaged to a nonentity. In her misery, she latches onto J.G. Parry Percival is Ben’s character’s butt.
The Garnet Marks’ Agency sends people out on auditions. Trixie O’Sullivan sent Martyn off on the wrong track. Florian’s is a flower shop. Bennington mentions an “Uncle Tito“. Otto Brod from Prague had written a play. The Jupiter was pre-Vulcan. Ellen Terry. Eileen? Greenacres? appears to be part of an employment agency.
The Cover and Title
The cover is red, pink, and orange. The upper third uses a gradation of dark red on the top and sides to a brighter red in the center bottom, forming a background for the title, which uses a subtle gradation of pale, pale pink to pink. In the middle is Marsh’s signature stretched-out banner with the author’s name in its art deco font using deep burgundy, white, and dark red scratchings against a pink background. in the bottom third of the cover is the series signature one-sided scalloped lines in pale pinkish white raying out from the bottom to the sides. In between these rays is a gradation of deep red to red. In the center of the rays are a pair of golden velvet drapes pulled to the side with a spotlight focusing a circle on the green floor with a deep brown background. The series arch uses the pink background and a much paler pink for the series info text.
The title is straightforward, for it is a Night at the Vulcan.
