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...

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 TimesThis 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 new and especially exciting version of that belo...

A delightfully eclectic assortment of short works by the renowned author, including stories featuring her famous detective Inspector Alleyn.Fans of Ngaio Marsh, the New Zealand-born author and Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, will find much of interest in this unique collection. Included are short stories—some featuring Roderick Alleyn, "the nonpareil among criminal investigators" ( The New York Times)—as well as essays and even a detour into true c...

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 judgi...

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...

The first three Inspector Roderick Alleyn novels from "a peerless practitioner of the slightly surreal, English-village comedy-mystery" ( Kirkus Reviews).This volume includes three books in the classic detective series from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master:A Man Lay Dead: During a country-house party between the two world wars, servants bustle, gin flows, and the host, Sir Hubert Handesley, has...

Roderick Alleyn is back in this unique crime novel begun by Ngaio Marsh during the Second World War and now completed by Stella Duffy in a way that has delighted reviewers and critics alike.Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award 2018.It’s business as usual for Mr Glossop as he does his regular round delivering wages to government buildings scattered across New Zealand’s lonely Canterbury plains. But when his car breaks down he is stranded for the n...

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...

A local busybody is silenced for good in this tale by "a peerless practitioner of the slightly surreal, English-village comedy-mystery" ( Kirkus Reviews).In their Dorset village, neither Miss Campanula nor her friend Miss Prentice are known as lovable little old ladies. They're waspish, gossiping snobby little old ladies, passionate only about their amateur theatrical productions, their narrowly defined opinions about how everyone else should behave . . ..a...

This annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand.Mystery stories have been around for centuries—there are whodunits, whydunits and howdunits, including locked-room puzzles, detective stories without detectives, and crimes with a limited choice of suspects.Countless volumes of such stories have been published...

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 ...

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...