THE ALLEYN MYSTERIES

Before that first night ended two men were dead. But Martyn, awaiting her entrance, knew nothing of this. The voices of the actors already on stage had the remote quality of voices heard in a nightmare - whereas the hammer blows of her heart sounded horrifyingly loud. She left the safety of the wings and stepped into the glare of the footlights. This was what she'd travelled across the world for..this instant...now!

"Miss Marsh at her best...she is thoroughly at home in the wings with a pack of actors locked in the grip of rehearsals and jealous intrigue."

NEW STATESMAN

"The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunnit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an express."

THE SUN