As I’ve listen to more of Ngaio Marsh’s works, I’ve come to appreciate a key difference between her works and most other whodunnits. Generally, such books start when a crime is discovered. Marsh’s works begin at the beginning.
At first, I didn’t like this approach. I like her detectives, and I wanted to read their detecting. However, as I read more, I found I appreciated her novels’ first halves, where she puts ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Her characters are superbly drawn, their behaviour and misbehaviour assemble well. I miss some of the people and families she created. OTOH, I don’t like some characters at all, but that’s the characters themselves, reflecting the quality of her writing, not any lack of it.
In consequence, I now want to read some books built around characterisation. I remember reading Graham Greene long ago, and not really getting him: perhaps I should return. I also find myself being pulled, with stronger and stronger elastic, back to Shakespeare.
I wonder if, in retirement, I have finally achieved the level of literary appreciation shown by a decent novice novelist when s/he first reads a book.