As rehearsals for a performance of Macbeth get under way, strange things start to happen. Strange and deeply unpleasant things. Superstitions lend a sinister edge to shocking pranks ... shocking pranks feed superstitions ... tensions mount ... and finally one night the claymore is used for real.

The murder and resolution in this story take up only the last hundred pages, and make a novella-sized plot. That doesn't mean, however, that the first half of the book is unengaging or superfluous. Marsh builds up the tension in a remarkable way, and creates a strong and chilling sense of impending doom. The characters are reasonably well developed but not brilliant, and the final resolution is perhaps a tad anticlimactic, but on the whole it's a very entertaining book. ( )

This book was a nice read. The writing flows, the mystery develops well, a couple of the characters are very likable and the details of producing a play are interesting. That being said, I felt a little let down in the end. Not enough Inspector Alleyn, it seemed as if the mystery could have been solved without him, not enough fleshing out of the interesting members of the cast. ( )

A nice end to the series. The usual group of Fox, Bailey, and Thompson were there as they should have been with only a casual mention of Alleyn's wife (not a character I've ever warmed to). The book revisits one of my favorite characters, Peregrine Jay. He is staging a production of Macbeth and dealing with the usual problems associated with the play, particuarly the superstitions surrounding the play. It takes over a hundred pages before a murder occurs and the who done it part seemed too easy. However, I didn't care as I was too interested in the informative look at how a play is produced. I'm going to miss Alleyn and the gang. ( )

Somehow I have never read a Ngaio Marsh mystery before and I found her last novel to have been very enjoyable. The murder doesn't occur until well into the second half of the book, but I was enjoying all the detail on the staging of Macbeth and the characters of the actors involved. I'm looking forward to reading more of her mysteries. ( )

A murder mystery set around Macbeth, this book is what kept my sanity during my first Leaving Cert cause I was studying the play.