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False Scent

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False Scent

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: James Saxon
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About this listen

In a poisonous cloud of spray, the curtain falls on a drama queen. Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party - choked by toxic mist from the bottle of Slaypest, a deadly insecticide.

Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans - who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies - Mary would make her final performance.

When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn arrives, he smells a rat amongst the contemptuous collection of theatre types detained at the party, for this case has the unmistakable scent of murder....

©1960 Original Text of 1960 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio Cosy Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Urban Thriller City Detective

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Critic reviews

"The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers." ( Times Literary Supplement)
"Miss Marsh triumphs." ( Daily Telegraph)
"High-spirited, amusing...neatly contrived from start to finish." ( New Statesman)
All stars
Most relevant  
Another great theatrical ‘whodunnit’ from Ngaio Marsh. Theatrical, engaging & totally absorbing. Such clever narration, absolutely no chance of mixing up the cast of characters.

Another Ngaio Marsh tour de force.

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Good plot delivered with excellent narration that brought the characters to life. Definitely worth a listen.

very entertaining narration

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If you could sum up False Scent in three words, what would they be?

Jolly good fun!

What did you like best about this story?

The story is a classic whodunnit.... but Saxon brings it to life

What does James Saxon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

James Saxon must be one of the best character voice actors going, and in this show biz story he is supreme, from coy to camp and back..... but mostly camp.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed out loud, not so much at the plot but at Saxon's interpretation.

Any additional comments?

Listen out for Deep Throat Nin!

Oooh Ducky!!! Luvies abound!

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Marsh is such a good writer with brilliant characters and some wonderful turns of phrase but she’s made even better by her brilliant narrator. It adds so much to the experience.

Fabulous narration of an excellent story

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Another murder amongst theatre folk. Each of these luvvies is a little OTT but offset by non theatre folk and plenty of pathos. Highly recommend.

Enjoyable Whodunnit

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One of her best. Theatre background as usual Made me want to read the next one.

Clever and credible plot

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From the authorship, to the story, to the characters, to the narration, to the setting and to the quality, Ngaio Marsh never fails to thrill and impress.

Simply brilliant.

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This performance is so over the top........exaggerated accents, pantomime characters...completely ruins the whole thing. The books deserve careful interpretation and thought. Just dreadful.

How to ruin a great story

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Why does Audible have only such dreadful unabridged versions of Ngaio Marsh? The narration is so hard to listen to. So hammy & overdramatic & all the female voices are just screeching caricatures. For some reason, all the new Ngaio Marsh audiobooks with good narrators are ridiculously abridged. So frustrating.

APPALLING narration

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