This is Marsh’s first use of a device that later becomes one of her
trademarks–the novel in which she spends many chapters introducing her
characters before the murder actually takes place. Alleyn is not called
in until page 94, by which time Marsh has given us an excellent portrait
of the village of Chipping and its denizens, including two poisonous old
spinsters, a pair of young lovers, an aging squire, a handsome but timid
vicar, a doctor with an invalid wife, and a Scarlet Woman. These folks
gather together to put on an amateur play; it will be a local charity
event, with the proceeds going toward a new piano for the parish hall.
There are considerable undercurrents of tension among the group. The
spinsters disapprove of the Scarlet Woman, though the squire and the
doctor rather like her; the squire is against his son marrying his
beloved, the vicar’s daughter; both spinsters are in love with the vicar,
who does his best to discourage them without losing charity. It’s an
interesting soup, and the two spinsters are especially well drawn. This is one of Marsh’s better outings to date.