Description
Book SynopsisNgaio Marsh's most popular novel begins when a young New Zealander's first contact with the English gentry is the body of Lord Wutherford with a meat skewer through the eyeThe 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 he would bail them out yet again.Instead, Uncle Gabriel met a violent end. And Chief Inspector Alleyn had to work our which of them killed him
Trade Review‘The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Brilliantly readable… first class detection.’
Observer
‘Ngaio Marsh transcended the detective genre by the power of her writing and the rich variety of characters who people her novels.’
P.D. James
‘Ngaio Marsh is among the most brilliant of those authors who are transforming the detective story from a mere puzzle into a novel with many other qualities.’
Times Literary Supplement
‘The finest writer in the English languange of the pure, classical puzzle whodunnit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress.’
The Sun
