Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh
features the local folk dancing theme. The Dance of the Five Sons in conjunction with the Winter Solstice runs throughout the theme of the book.Even though The Dance of the Five Sons is a purely imaginary dance, it does reflect the theme of many traditional folk dances.
There were a total of eight dancers in this dance. William Andersen played the role of the Fool. His five sons played the role of the Five Sons.
Betty and the Crack made up the other two dancers.
A traditional dance turned into a murder when the Fool was beheaded. It seemed that nobody could have a chance to kill the Fool, especially not in front of all the villagers.
The Fool was supposed to die in the dance, and resurrect at the end of the dance. However, he never came alive. He was found dead with his body and head apart.
Everyone swore that the Fool never moved from his hiding place. What really happened?
The turning point in the Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh came when the Dame Alice showed a diary entry written in the year 1798. The words spoken by the Fool was recorded. As Superintendent Alleyn read the entry, he knew how the Fool left the scene, and was murdered.
Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh ended with the reconstruction of the dance. Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh is a very interesting detective novel with an unique theme.
I like the characterization in this book as well. Detective Sergeant Bailey and Detective Sergeant Thompson played a bigger role in this book than other books.
Ernie, the youngest Andersen, seemingly retarded, yet managed to fool all his brothers. Right from the start, everyone knows that Ernie cuts off the head of his father. However, nobody really knows how. Even when Superintendent Alleyn proved that Ernie cut off the head, he was not the murderer.
Off With His Head by Ngaio Marsh is an extremely puzzling detective novel. However, once the solution is known, everything becomes so simple and clear.
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