A review by carolsnotebook
Black as He's Painted by Ngaio Marsh
3.0
The plot is well-done, with the over-arching mystery appropriately tangled and clues doled out that I mostly missed. There's also a quick mystery, too, that helps wrap the whole thing up. As always, it's interesting to see the different viewpoints and cultural norms of the time.
For me though, Marsh 's strength here is the characters. Inspector Alleyn is as intelligent and polite as always. He is a gentleman, a member of the upper class, as this episode reminds us. I like that his wife, Troy, who is a painter had a much larger part in this book than in others I've read. She definitely takes a back seat when there's action, sent home immediately following the killing for example, but she can still hold her own. The Boomer asks her to paint his portrait and she is delighted, even with the potential danger surrounding the man. Seeing the sittings and how she approaches the painting, along with her insights into the Boomer's character added a lot to the book. The Boomer himself is a powerful character, very aware of who he is and who he has to be, if that makes sense.
Mr Whipplestone is probably my favorite character, along with his cat, Lucy Lockett. He's a former Foreign Service Officer who happens to move into a flat near a lot of suspicious people. He's useful with the investigation, having spent time in Ng'ombwana, knowing the language and the key players, but it is truly the cat who helps solve the mystery. She's a smart one, she is, providing one of the pivotal clues. Well, she actually has to show it to the dull people a couple of times before they catch on.
My one problem with the book is that it was rather racist. It was published in 1974, the year I was born actually, and I didn't expect it to be politically correct, but it did make me slightly uncomfortable at a few points.
For me though, Marsh 's strength here is the characters. Inspector Alleyn is as intelligent and polite as always. He is a gentleman, a member of the upper class, as this episode reminds us. I like that his wife, Troy, who is a painter had a much larger part in this book than in others I've read. She definitely takes a back seat when there's action, sent home immediately following the killing for example, but she can still hold her own. The Boomer asks her to paint his portrait and she is delighted, even with the potential danger surrounding the man. Seeing the sittings and how she approaches the painting, along with her insights into the Boomer's character added a lot to the book. The Boomer himself is a powerful character, very aware of who he is and who he has to be, if that makes sense.
Mr Whipplestone is probably my favorite character, along with his cat, Lucy Lockett. He's a former Foreign Service Officer who happens to move into a flat near a lot of suspicious people. He's useful with the investigation, having spent time in Ng'ombwana, knowing the language and the key players, but it is truly the cat who helps solve the mystery. She's a smart one, she is, providing one of the pivotal clues. Well, she actually has to show it to the dull people a couple of times before they catch on.
My one problem with the book is that it was rather racist. It was published in 1974, the year I was born actually, and I didn't expect it to be politically correct, but it did make me slightly uncomfortable at a few points.