In the movies, it’s known as a “meet cute.” But for Inspector Alleyn and Miss Agatha Troy, it’s more like irritation: On the ship back to England, she finds him tedious and dull; he thinks she’s a boh
Ah, the London Debutante Season: Giggles and tea-dances, white dresses and inappropriate romances. And much too much champagne. And, apparently, a blackmailer, which is where Inspector Roderick Alleyn
It’s true, darts is nobody’s idea of a low-risk amusement, yet it is rarely lethal. Tell that to the famous barrister who was enjoying a pint at the Plume of Feathers pub, and is now residing at the m
A delicious, classic country-house mystery. Sir Henry Ancred, a celebrated Shakespearian actor, has arranged to have his portrait painted by Agatha Troy wife of Inspector Roderick Alleyn. She’s rather
World War II rages on, and Inspector Alleyn continues as the Special Branch’s eyes and ears in New Zealand. While his primary brief is spy-catching, he’s also happy to help with old-fashioned policing
Lord Pastern and Baggot is a classic English eccentric, given to passionate, peculiar enthusiasms. His latest? Drumming in a jazz band. His wife is not amused, and even less so when her daughter falls
The shabby Vulcan theater is not where Martyn Tarne hoped to work when she moved from New Zealand to London to pursue an acting career. But Martyn takes a job as dresser to the Vulcan’s leading lady.
Ngaio Marsh was, among other things, a well-respected theatrical producer (having started out as an actress), and her passion for and knowledge of the theater was displayed in many of Alleyn’s adventu
Astonishingly, this "Inspector Alleyn" mystery was written in 1977, and Inspector Alleyn has a 21 year old son who gets into trouble in the Channel Islands, necessitating the arrival of Rode
Ngaio Marsh wisely set this last novel in her mystery series in the world of theater. It was in this setting that she produced some of her best work, andLight Thickens is among her best. This time, tr
Photo Finish's dead diva, the soprano Isabella Sommita, was so widely loathed that the problem is less a lack of plausible suspects than an embarrassment of options. Though the grand country-house – a
The elderly Emily Pride is pleased to have inherited an island, yet appalled by the "Pixie Falls" spring and its reported miraculous healing properties, and especially the locals’ at
The village of South Mardian likes the old ways. This may be 1957, but South M. still features a blacksmith, a village idiot, and an elaborate fertility ritual performed at the winter solstice. There'
Inspector Alleyn’s old school chum, the "Boomer," is now president of the new African nation of Ng’ombwana. On an official visit to London, the Boomer insists that Alleyn handle his
The impresario Peregrine Jay has fulfilled a long-cherished dream: He now owns the Dolphin Theatre, and has restored it to its former glory. To celebrate the re-opening, a no-expenses-spared productio
Ahhh, prussic acid, that hallmark of classic Golden Age mysteries. 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 sh
The good ship Cape Farewell is steaming out to sea, with a passenger-list and crew fairly littered with the shifty, the twitchy, the peculiar, and the up-to-no-good. Arguably the up-to-no-goodest is a
Colour Scheme is set during World War II at a mud-baths resort in New Zealand run by Colonel Claire. His business is on the brink of being taken over by a local blowhard who may be a Nazi spy. Inspect
The killingly aristocratic 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
