Ngaio Marsh

Once you’ve read all of Agatha Christie (not a quick undertaking), what next? Consider Ngaio Marsh. Her series featuring Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard starts in 1934 and continues on through the eighties. From country homes in England to New Zealand (Marsh’s home country), join Alleyn, his wife, the artist Agatha Troy, and his second-in-command, Inspector Fox as they always solve the crime. Start with A Man Lay Dead.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

At Sir Hubert Handesley's country house party, five guests have gathered for the uproarious parlor game of "Murder." Yet no one is laughing when the lights come up on an actual corpse, the good-looking and mysterious Charles Rankin. Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to find a complete collection of alibis, a missing butler, and an intricate puzzle of betrayal and sedition in the search for the key player in this deadly game.