Crime comes to a country house: “Any Ngaio Marsh story is certain to be Grade A, and this one is no exception.” —The New York Times
This classic from the Golden Age of British mystery opens during a country-house party between the two world wars—servants bustling, gin flowing, the gentlemen in dinner jackets, the ladies all slink and smolder. Even more delicious: The host, Sir Hubert Handesley, has invented...

A high-society homicide is the talk of the London season . . ."Marsh's writing is a pleasure." —The Seattle Times
It'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...

A touring theatre company in New Zealand forms the basis of one of Marsh's most ambitious and innovative novels. New Zealand theatrical manager Alfred Meyer wanted to celebrate his wife's birthday in style. The piece de resistance would be the jeroboam of champagne which would descend gently into a nest of fern and coloured lights on the table, set up on stage after the performance. But something went horribly wrong. Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn...

A young New Zealander's first contact with the English gentry is an encounter with the body of Lord Wutherford, a meat skewer through his eye. The Lampreys had plenty of charm -- but no cash. They all knew they were peculiar, and rather gloried in it. The double and triple charades, for instance, with which they would entertain their guests, like rich but awful Uncle Gabriel, who was always such a bore. The Lampreys thought if they jollied him up...

"The bad news: This is the last in Ngaio Marsh s marvelous Inspector Alleyn series. The good: It's one of her very best. The secret to Light Thickens success may lie in its combination of some of Marsh's greatest passions, including her native New Zealand in the person of, unusually, a Maori character and the theater. Indeed, the plot centers on a production of well, let's skirt disaster by calling it the Scottish play, a play that Dame Ngaio produced...

"A delicious and classic country-house mystery. Well, country-castle. The lord of the manor is Sir Henry Ancred, a celebrated Shakespearian actor (and pompous bore), who has arranged to have his portrait painted by none other than Agatha Troy, wife of Inspector Roderick Alleyn. She's rather glad to be stepping out of Alleyn's shadow, so much so that when Ancred is killed at his own birthday party, Troy at first tries sleuthing on her own. But she's...

At an English pub, a dart becomes a deadly weapon: “Any Ngaio Marsh story is certain to be Grade A.” —The New York Times
A game of darts does involve some danger, but it’s rarely lethal. There are exceptions, however, like the famous barrister who was enjoying a pint at the Plume of Feathers pub, and is now residing at the morgue. But Inspector Roderick Alleyn has a growing hunch that this peculiar “accident”...