Ngaio Marsh

In Overture to Death, Ngaio Marsh crafts a classic English village mystery, rich with intrigue, jealousy, and drama. The story centers around a small-town amateur theatrical performance where a seemingly innocent piano rehearsal becomes the setting for a sinister murder. During the play's preparations, tensions run high among the townspeople, particularly between two competitive and meddling middle-aged women, who are vying for attention and control...

Enter a Murderer is Ngaio Marsh's second novel featuring the perceptive and sophisticated Inspector Roderick Alleyn. Set against the vibrant backdrop of a London theater, the story begins when a shocking murder occurs on stage during a live performance. What appears at first to be a tragic accident turns into a sinister crime as one of the actors is killed in full view of the audience, sparking a tense investigation. Inspector Alleyn is drawn into...

The Nursing Home Murder is a gripping mystery by Ngaio Marsh, featuring her astute detective, Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The story revolves around Sir Derek O'Callaghan, a prominent member of Parliament who undergoes emergency surgery at a private nursing home. While recovering, Sir Derek unexpectedly dies, and though initially attributed to natural causes, suspicions quickly arise that foul play may have been involved. Inspector Alleyn is called...

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 found beheaded, everything north of his neck having been neatly lopped off by a ritual sword. Inspector Alleyn does have to contain a certain incredulous...

On a ship traveling back to England, Miss Agatha Troy finds Inspector Roderick Alleyn tedious and dull; he thinks she's a bohemian cliché. They may be destined for romance, but there's a murder in the way: No sooner has Alleyn settled in to his mother's house, eager for a relaxing end to his vacation, than he gets a call that a model has been stabbed at the artists' community down the road. And the talented Miss Troy is one of the community's most...

Ricky Alleyn, son of the renowned police detective Roderick Alleyn, has taken himself to a secluded island to write a novel. Or think about writing a novel. Or look for distractions so he can avoid writing a novel. The distractions abound, mostly in the form of colorful local characters, so all is beer and skittles until Ricky stumbles across a murder and then gets himself kidnapped. Naturally his father rushes to the island to save the day ...

The acclaimed author brings us crime at a country-house Christmas party in "one of her best and most baffling mysteries" (Daily Express). It's the Christmas season in 1972, and Agatha Troy is at a house party, enjoying the local holiday pageant and also painting the host's portrait. The painting's coming along fine, but the pageant goes a little pear-shaped when one of the players disappears. Could one of the eccentric guests have been involved?...

Sybil Foster lives the sort of little English village that is home mostly to the very rich and the servants who make their lives delightful. But Sybil Foster's life is not delightful, even if she does have an extremely talented gardener. Exhausted from her various family stresses-a daughter, for instance, who wants to marry a man without a title!-Sybil takes herself off to a local hotel that specializes in soothing shattered nerves. When she's killed,...

Three witty murder mysteries featuring British Inspector Roderick Alleyn, from a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Surfeit of Lampreys: The 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. When his Lordship is killed and the Lampreys receive a sizeable inheritance, Inspector Roderick Alleyn wouldn't dream of judging the Lampreys' joy....

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 Times Overture to Death: In a Dorset village, a snobby local busybody is silenced for good in this tale. Death at the Bar: A famous barrister is enjoying a pint at the pub-until a dart becomes a deadly weapon... ...