Ngaio Marsh 
Roderick Alleyn Mysteries Volume 1 
A Man Lay Dead, Enter a Murderer, The Nursing Home Murder

The first three Inspector Roderick Alleyn novels from “a peerless practitioner of the slightly surreal, English-village comedy-mystery” (Kirkus Reviews).   This volume includes three books in the classic detective series from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master:  A Man Lay Dead: During a country-house party between the two world wars, servants bustle, gin flows, and the host, Sir Hubert Handesley, has invented a new and especially exciting version of that beloved parlor entertainment, The Murder Game . . .  Enter a Murderer: A policeman in the audience sees an all-too-real death scene on a London stage in a mystery “good enough to satisfy the most critical reader of detective stories” (The New York Times).  The Nursing Home Murder: A Member of Parliament has unexpectedly died on a visit the hospital, and any number of people could be suspects, including a sour surgeon, a besotted nurse, a resentful wife, and a cabinet full of political rivals . . .   “It’s time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around.” —New York Magazine