A Game of Murder. Constables at Every Turn

Two intriguing novels by Ngaio Marsh about the adventures of a Scotland Yard inspector, the police-intellectual Roderick Alleyn, are classic detective stories full of the finest, purely British humor. A company of relatives, friends, and acquaintances of an eccentric millionaire decides to spend an evening at a country house playing a "murder game." However, the game stops being a game when one of the guests is found stabbed with a dagger. Who eliminated the respectable Sir Charles? Under suspicion is decidedly everyone, from the glib cousin of the victim—a society reporter—to a Russian émigré butler. And each suspect, Alleyn discovers, had both motives and opportunities. In the absence of her husband, who has gone on a business trip, Alleyn's wife, the talented artist Troy, embarks on a little steamboat cruise along the Thames. The atmosphere on the ship is cozy, despite the colorful, diverse company of passengers. But something seems to Troy unmistakably suspicious, something makes her anxiously await events. Her expectations are justified when someone brutally murders the annoying, funny, yet good-natured old maid. Troy decides to start her own investigation...