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Colour Scheme

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Colour Scheme

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
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Summary

Even down in New Zealand, war-fueled spy fever is running wild. Near the decaying sulphur springs of Colonel and Mrs. Claire, the strange lights and signals being sent to foreign ships at sea indicate that there's a spy in their midst.

Soon an even darker sign appears: a health-seeker with untoward intentions meets his demise in the boiling mud baths. Scotland Yard'sChief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, far from home on a wartime quest for German agents, knows that any number of people could have killed the unpleasant man: the English exiles he'd hated, the New Zealanders he'd despised, or the Maoris he'd insulted. Even the spies he'd thwarted—if he wasn't a spy himself.And when a new arrival appears, one who possesses the cunning of a criminal and the insight of a psychologist, the inspector's interest is piqued.

Often regarded as her most interesting book and set on New Zealand's North Island, Ngaio Marsh herself considered this to be her best-written novel.

©1943 Ngaio Marsh (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Mystery Police Procedurals Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective Espionage Murder Mystery
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Critic Reviews

“The queen of the straight crime novel—long may she reign!”

(Sunday Times (London))

“Nobody begins to touch Ngaio Marsh’s skill at creating corpses and suspects…Her dialogue is a continuous delight.”

(New York Herald Tribune)

“[McCaddon] embraces the challenge of re-creating a host of characters with varying accents, including depiction of Maori New Zealanders.”

(Booklist)

“Technically flawless…Superbly narrated by [Wanda McCaddon] and a ‘must’ for all Ngaio Marsh fans.”

(Reviewer’s Bookwatch)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a great introduction to a wonderfully talented writer whose superbly well-crafted plots are only just about equal to her acutely-observed and thoroughly engrossing cast of characters.

Hugely Enjoyable

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Enjoyable and satisfying mystery.
New Zealand accents were poorly executed; the Maori accent was particularly cringe-worthy.

story is great, narration less so

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Detective Chief Inspector Alleyn is in New Zealand following leads on spies in the North Island. We don’t see much of him, however, as much of the story revolves around the characters at a small mud spa boarding house.
Classic 1940s murder mystery from one of the best authors of the time.

Undercover in WWII New Zealand

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