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Death Goes on Skis

Introduced by Sandi Toksvig - 'Her detective novels are hilarious'

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Death Goes on Skis

By: Nancy Spain, Sandi Toksvig - introduction
Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
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'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi Toksvig

Miriam Birdseye is daring, brilliant - and a long way from The Ivy. Our dashing heroine, a famous revue artist, takes to the slopes with her coterie of admirers. Champagne flows and wherever Miriam goes she leaves a trail of gossip in her wake.

Fellow ski-resort guests include the celebrated Russian ex-ballerina, Natasha Nevkorina, whose beauty is matched only by her languor, Natasha's burly husband, nightclub owner Johnny DuVivien, and the wealthy Flahertés, a family who have made their money importing scents: handsome playboy Barney, his wife Regan, their two obnoxious children and the governess, Rosalie. Unbeknownst to Regan, Barney's mistress, a film star, is also there with her husband.

When secrets start to unravel, tensions rise, and soon amateur sleuths Miriam and Natasha have not one but two murders to solve. In the hands of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride.

'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own' Elizabeth Bowen©1949 Nancy Spain Classics Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Mystery Marriage Crime
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Critic reviews

Her detective novels are hilarious. They are high camp and less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal in leading the way (Sandi Toksvig)
An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own (Elizabeth Bowen)
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Had to return as the narrator was very annoying, could not cope with the accents.

Annoying accents

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Nancy Spain’s detective fiction is quite hard going at the best of times; she was such an engaging character herself I really want to like her novels but the eccentric characters and punning place names and convoluted plot all become tedious fairly quickly. It wants to be a sparkling frothy baroque entertainment but comes across as cold and curiously charmless. And it was made so much worse by the appalling narration. The accents are painful and there are some glaring errors in pronunciation and comprehension especially of terms from the period such as ‘wagon lit’. And ‘Marvin Peake’ instead of Mervyn Peake’ ? Sloppy. The whole experience was unrewarding.

Not an enjoyable listen

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