LIGHT THICKENS

Sometimes called the "Agatha Christie of New Zealand," Ngaio Marsh wrote compelling whodunits of the drawing-room variety. Here a full cast of characters is engaged in a production of MACBETH, well aware of the superstition that the play always brings bad luck. Bad luck occurs indeed, in the form of murder, but sleuth Roderick Alleyn is in the audience and, as always, he ultimately gets his man . . . or woman. Narrator James Saxon is excellent in a demanding task, reading characters who are, as actors, reading characters themselves. He moves easily from the Scottish burr of Macbeth to the purring of his malevolent Lady to the anger of Banquo, giving full rein to his own acting capabilities. The Bard--and Marsh herself--would be pleased. T.H. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]