From AudioFile
Sometimes called the "Agatha Christie of New Zealand," Ngaio Marsh wrote compelling whodunits of the drawing-room variety. Here a full cast of characters is engaged in a production of MACBETH, well aware of the superstition that the play always brings bad luck. Bad luck occurs indeed, in the form of murder, but sleuth Roderick Alleyn is in the audience and, as always, he ultimately gets his man . . . or woman. Narrator James Saxon is excellent in a demanding task, reading characters who are, as actors, reading characters themselves. He moves easily from the Scottish burr of Macbeth to the purring of his malevolent Lady to the anger of Banquo, giving full rein to his own acting capabilities. The Bard-and Marsh herself-would be pleased. T.H. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
"It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." --New York magazine

"One of her very best...No playwright could devise a better curtain!" --Los Angeles Times



Book Description
"Is this a dagger which I see before me..."

Four murders. Three witches. A fiendish lady. A homicidal husband. A ghost. No wonder Macbeth is considered such bad luck by theatre people that they won't mention its name out loud. But the new London production of "the Scottish play" promises to be a smash until gruesome pranks begin plaguing rehearsals. And when the last act ends in real-life tragedy, Chief Superintendent Alleyn takes center stage-uncovering a heartbreaking secret, murderous jealousy, and a dark, desperate reason for "murder for foul"...



From the Publisher
'The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical whodunnit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an empress' - The Sun 'Faithful to the hallowed conventions of English detection... A fine swan-song.' - Observer 'As always she writes most elegantly' - Daily Telegraph


About the Author
From her first book in 1934 to her final volume just before her death in 1982, Ngaio Marsh's work has remained legendary, and is often compared to that of Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy L. Sayers. During her celebrated fifty-year career, Marsh was made a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, was named Dame Commander, Order of the British Empire, won numerous prestigious awards, and penned 32 mystery novels. So sit back, draw the curtains, lock the doors, and put yourself in the hands of the Grande Dame of detective novels...

FROM THE PUBLISHER