Preview
  • Final Curtain

  • By: Ngaio Marsh
  • Narrated by: James Saxon
  • Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (135 ratings)

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Final Curtain

By: Ngaio Marsh
Narrated by: James Saxon
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Publisher's summary

A country house murder, artistic insight and the postwar reunion of Alleyn and Troy combine in Ngaio Marsh’s wittiest and most readable novel.

Agatha Troy, world-famous portrait painter, is inveigled into accepting a commission to paint the 70-year-old Sir Henry Ancred, Bart., the Grand Old Man of the stage. But just as she has completed her portrait, the old actor dies.

The dramatic circumstances of his death are such that Scotland Yard is called in - in the person of Troy’s long-absent husband, Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn....

©1947 Original Text of 1947 by Ngaio Marsh (P)2015 Hachette Audio
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Critic reviews

"The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers." ( Times Literary Supplement)
"The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress." ( The Sun)

What listeners say about Final Curtain

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic crime - well done!

Alleyn returning from abroad is thrown straight into a case, involving his beloved wife Troy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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intricate and we'll performed

Marsh crafted an intricate mystery which has occasional bursts of humor. Beautifully performed by Saxon. Highly recommended

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A good whodunnit excellently read

James Saxon is my favorite reader for British mysteries. He sets the tone with his characterizations which fit the time and place of the story perfectly.

And this is among my favorite Ngaio Marsh stories, with a plot twist deftly done that keeps you guessing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So good!

Love the language, the characters, the plot, the descriptions- an exceptional writer.So glad I discovered her!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Finally an excellent Marsh

I am listening to her works from the first and have so far found most of them forgettable with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions. Final Curtain is her best so far. Memorable characters, a good setting and a good mystery. Saxon also does an excellent job with the reading of this one, not as over the top as he can be with some previous books.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptionally entertaining

NM really was a very gifted writer and she shows all her wit and brilliant characterization ability in this tour de force. I think it’s certainly one of her best and one of my favorite novels in any genre. The narration by James Saxon is superb and perfectly complements this highly entertaining tale. Highly recommended

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Mystery Maven

Good mystery, outstanding narration of all the looney characters, and sometimes very annoying. These are still good books, all these years later.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not the best but well performed

This is not the best of Marsh's stories. The family is so horrid that the story doesn't grab until quite far in.

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