Swing, Brother, Swing (1949)

by Ngaio Marsh

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Roderick Alleyn (15)

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415	3	23,118	(3.63)	4

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

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The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer (1943)
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▾Member reviews

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Showing 3 of 3

An enjoyable Alleyn, I re-read this one after realising that one of the characters in "Hand in Glove" is related to one of the characters in this one... Again, although originally published in 1949, the feel is pre-war. Enjoyable characterization... particularly Carlisle Wayne and Ned Manx. (

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Figgles | May 12, 2011 |

The more I reread Marsh the clearer her fascination with the aristocracy stands out. She cleverly plays her series protagonist, Alleyn, as disliking the ways in which the aristocracy treat him differently because he is one of their own -- and yet we are constantly being reminded of those things about Alleyn that are clear class markers.
As for the murderer itself -- Marsh sets out a scene in which various members of the aristocracy have a good reason to commit murder and then pawns off the actual murder on a member of a group the aristocracy despises. (

)

mmyoung | May 27, 2010 |

A quirky noble family becomes embroiled in the killing of a sleezy member of a jazz band and gives Inspector Alleyn many headaches as they try to cover-up for each other. The characters were charming, though the murder was a bit too elaborate for my taste. (

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aulsmith | May 21, 2010 |

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▾Other authors

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Ngaio Marsh	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
May, Nadia	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

The Ngaio Marsh Collection (5) - Died in the Wool / Final Curtain / Swing, Brother, Swing by Ngaio Marsh

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Roderick Alleyn (15)

Canonical title

Swing, Brother, Swing

Original title

Swing, Brother, Swing

Alternative titles

A Wreath for Rivera (USA)

Original publication date

1949

People/Characters

Important places

London, England, UK

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Barzun and Taylor's Classics of Crime (1949)

Epigraph

Dedication

To Bet who asked for it
and now gets it with my love

First words

From Lady Pastern and Bagott to her niece by marriage, Miss Carlisle Wayne:

3, Duke's Gate
Eaton Place
London, S.W.1

My Dearest Carlisle,
I am informed with that air of inconsequence which characterizes all your uncle's utterances, of your arrival in England.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Published as 'Swing, Brother, Swing' or 'A Wreath for Riviera'

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction, 1900-1950

Fontana (93)

▾References

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Wikipedia in English

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Lord Pastern invited his society friends to a swank London nightclub to watch him stage one of his bizarre jokes. But when the joke turned into the "accidental" death of a band member, the laughing stopped. For the audience, it was an open-and-shut case.
Everyone had seen the eccentric lord fir the gun. For Inspector Alleyn of Scotland Yard, this case was more bizarre than his lordship's joke - for it wasn't a bullet that killed the accordion player!

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312966067, Mass Market Paperback)

Red-hot jazz meets cold-blooded murder.

When Lord Pastern Bagott takes up with the hot music of Breezy Bellair and his Boys, his disapproving wife Cecile has more than usual to be unhappy about. The band's devastatingly handsome but roguish accordionist, Carlos Rivera, has taken a rather intense and mutual interest in her precious daughter Felicite. So when a bit of strange business goes awry and actually kills him, it's lucky that Inspector Roderick Alleyn is in the audience. Now Alleyn must follow a confusing score that features a chorus of family and friends desperate to hide the truth and perhaps shelter a murderer in their midst.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:26:53 -0500)

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▾Library descriptions

Set in the fashionable London of the 1940s, a nightclub performer is killed in mysterious circumstances, and the case is solved by Chief Inspector Alleyn.