Spinsters in Jeopardy

This book is not what we usually see when we read a Roderick Alleyn mystery. For one thing, the basic premise behind the book is actually borrowed from an Agatha Christie story. Also, the book is not really a mystery as such. It is more an expose of some criminal activity that occured on the Continent to do with the early drug trade. In it we meet some truly odious characters and Ms. Marsh does a really good job of depicting these nefarious people. We also get a pretty good description of the world of Cults and witchcraft as seen through the eyes of Alleyn and his wife Troy. Ms. Marsh can write a good story, and even if she steps out of her comfort zone, she does a pretty good job with a plot that's quite different from her usual.

When he is assigned to investigate a drug ring hiding behind the facade of a cult religion in the south of France, Inspector Allen elects to combine business with pleasure: he will take his wife Troy and their son Ricky along, allowing them to vacation in the area while he works. But circumstances override his intentions when an Englishwoman on their train suffers an attack of appendicitus requiring immediate surgery, the Allens agree to take charge of her, and the only qualified surgeon in the area is one working with the drug ring. Allen's cover is quickly blown, and in order to distract him from further investigation the drug ring members kidnap his child.SPINSTERS IN JEOPARDY is quite unlike most Marsh novels for it is not a mystery per se; the criminals are immediately apparent, and although there is a somewhat covert mystery afoot Marsh relies almost exclusively upon suspense and her knack for creating vividly-painted characters to substain interest. While this is certainly enough to make the novel entertaining, it is not enough to make this particular novel--the plot of which relies on coincidence upon coincidence--as memorable as her other work. Even so, the book is quite enjoyable in a Hitchcockian sort of way, reminding one a bit of the director's THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. Agatha Christie fans will also recognize that Marsh has borrowed a device from Christie's THE 4:50 FROM PADDINGTON, in which a passenger unexpectedly witnesses a murder through a train window. A pleasant read, but not among the first rank of Marsh novels.