A high-society homicide is the talk of the London season . . ."Marsh's writing is a pleasure." — The Seattle TimesIt's debutante season in London, and that means giggles and tea-dances, white dresses and inappropriate romances . . ..and much too much champagne. And, apparently, a blackmailer, which is where Inspector Roderick Alleyn comes in. The social whirl is decidedly not Alleyn's environment, so he brings in an assistant in the form of Lord "Bunchy" Go...

A policeman in the audience sees an all-too-real death scene on a London stage: "Good enough to satisfy the most critical reader of detective stories." — The New York TimesInspector Roderick Alleyn has been invited to an opening night, a new play in which two characters quarrel and then struggle for a gun, with predictably sad results. Even sadder, the gun was not, in fact, loaded with blanks. And when it comes to interviewing witnesses, actors can be a dec...

Folkways turn fatal in a very old-fashioned English village, in this witty mystery filled with "ingenious" detective work ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).The village of South Mardian likes the old ways. The very old ways. This may be 1957, but South Mardian still features a blacksmith, a village idiot, and an elaborate fertility ritual performed at the winter solstice. There's squabbling, of course, and worse—like when one of the ritual's main players is ...

A Shakespearean actor shuffles off his mortal coil in this "skillfully wrought" country-house mystery ( The New York Times).Sir Henry Ancred, a celebrated Shakespearean actor, has arranged to have his portrait painted by Agatha Troy, wife of Inspector Roderick Alleyn. But when Ancred is killed at his own birthday party, leaving behind a family full of suspects, Troy's work ends and Inspector Alleyn's begins . . ."It's time to start comparing Christie...

Three compelling tales of crime featuring the sharp-witted British police detective: "Any Ngaio Marsh story is certain to be Grade A." — The New York TimesThis volume includes three books in the classic detective series from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master:Death in Ecstasy: Tainted wine sends a member of a religious sect to meet her maker in a witty mystery marked by "quiet, intelligent deduct...

The inspector digs into a cold case on a New Zealand sheep farm in this "well-sustained crime story" from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master ( Kirkus Reviews).Flossie Rubrick, a highly opinionated and influential member of the New Zealand Parliament, was last seen heading off to one of the storage sheds on her sheep farm. Three weeks later, she turned up dead and packed in a bale of her own wool. What happened on the night of her long-ago disappear...

Tainted wine sends a member of a religious sect to meet her maker in a witty mystery marked by "quiet, intelligent deduction" ( Kirkus Reviews).Did lovely Cara Quoyne get a whiff of the bitter almonds as she raised the goblet to her lips? We'll never know: With a single sip of prussic acid she transported herself to the Hereafter.Now Inspector Alleyn must investigate a murder at the House of the Sacred Flame, a rather quirky little religious sect in ...

An aristocrat dies under fishy circumstances in this tale by "the finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunnit" ( The Sun).In an almost unspeakably charming little English village, one of the local aristocrats turns up dead next to the local trout-stream with, in fact, a trout at his side. Everyone is dreadfully upset, of course, but really, just a tad irritated as well—murder is so awfully messy. Inspector Alleyn doesn't qu...

Three witty novels by "the finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunnit" ( The Sun).This volume includes three books in the Golden Age detective series from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master:Death in a White Tie: A high-society homicide is the talk of the London season: "Marsh's writing is a pleasure." — The Seattle TimesOverture to De...

A suspicious inheritance comes to the rescue of a cash-strapped aristocratic family: "Entertaining and devious . . . Plenty of red herrings." — Kirkus ReviewsThe upper-crust Lamprey family exemplifies charm, wit, and a chronic lack of funds. Their only source of hope is the wealthy but unpleasant Lord Wutherwood, and the Lampreys may perhaps be forgiven for doing a little jig when his Lordship is killed and the resulting inheritance saves their bacon. Inspe...

From the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, this tale of death at the Dolphin Theatre has "wit, charm, and oodles of atmosphere" ( Kirkus Reviews).Among theater folk, "the Scottish play" is considered unlucky, so much so that tradition requires anyone who utters its proper name backstage to leave the building, spin around, spit, curse, and then request permission to re-enter. As director Peregrine Jay directs a production of Shakespeare's great work a...

For one unfortunate British politician, murder is the worst medicine: "An ingenious, logical, and sparkling tale." — The New York TimesFor Member of Parliament Sir Derek O'Callaghan, a simple visit to the hospital proves fatal. But as Inspector Alleyn will discover, any number of people had reason to help the gentleman to his just reward, including a sour surgeon, a besotted nurse, a resentful wife, and a cabinet full of political rivals, in this classic of...