Ngaio Marsh 
Overture to Death 

A local busybody is silenced for good in this tale by "a peerless practitioner of the slightly surreal, English-village comedy-mystery" (Kirkus Reviews).In their Dorset village, neither Miss Campanula nor her friend Miss Prentice are known as lovable little old ladies. They’re waspish, gossiping snobby little old ladies, passionate only about their amateur theatrical productions, their narrowly defined opinions about how everyone else should behave . . ..and, perhaps, about the local vicar. But could one of them have been sufficiently unpleasant to provoke a murderer? For Miss Campanula has perished on her piano bench-and it’s unclear whether Miss Prentice may have been the actual intended victim . . ."A goodie." -Kirkus Reviews"It’s time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." -New York Magazine"In her ironic and witty hands the mystery novel can be civilized literature." -The New York Times