Died in the Wool

Ngaio Marsh

Dec 2012 · Roderick Alleyn Book 13 · Felony & Mayhem Press

About this ebook

The inspector digs into a cold case on a New Zealand sheep farm in this “well-sustained crime story” from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master (Kirkus Reviews).

Flossie Rubrick, a highly opinionated and influential member of the New Zealand Parliament, was last seen heading off to one of the storage sheds on her sheep farm. Three weeks later, she turned up dead and packed in a bale of her own wool. What happened on the night of her long-ago disappearance? In the country on counterespionage duty, Inspector Roderick Alleyn is happy to lend a hand.

“The doyenne of traditional mystery writers.” —The New York Times

About the author

Ngaio Marsh was born on April 23, 1895 in Christchurch, New Zealand. She attended St. Mary's College and Canterbury University. She worked in the theater acting, producing, and even painting scenery. She was a partner in an interior decorating business in England from 1928 to 1932. She later returned to New Zealand and produced plays for a Shakespearean repertory company. She also worked with the Drama Department of Canterbury University. During World War II, she served in the New Zealand Red Cross Transport Unit. She traveled to England frequently and founded the British Commonwealth Theatre Company in 1949. Her first novel, A Man Lay Dead, was published in 1934. She wrote more than 40 books including the Roderick Alleyn Mysteries series and Black Beech and Honeydew. She also wrote theatrical and television plays. She was named to the Order of the British Empire in 1949 and was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. The Mystery Writers of America named her a Grand Master in 1977. She died on February 18, 1982 at the age of 82.