Order of Ngaio Marsh Books

Order of Ngaio Marsh Books


Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) was a New Zealand author of detective fiction, best known for her Roderick Alleyn series. She is often spoken of in the same breath as the other Queens of Crime, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham. In addition to being a novelist, Marsh was also a theatre director and toured with her student players putting on Shakespearean productions.

Ngaio Marsh became a published author in 1934 with the novel A Man Lay Dead. Her final novel was Light Thickens, published in 1982 (the year of her death). Below is a list of Ngaio Marsh’s books in order of when they were originally released:

Publication Order of Roderick Alleyn Books

A Man Lay Dead

(1934)

Enter a Murderer

(1935)

The Nursing Home Murder

(1935)

Death in Ecstasy

(1936)

Vintage Murder

(1937)

Artists in Crime

(1938)

Death in a White Tie

(1938)

Overture to Death

(1939)

Death at the Bar

(1940)

Death of a Peer / Surfeit of Lampreys

(1940)

Death and the Dancing Footman

(1941)

Colour Scheme

(1943)

Died in the Wool

(1945)

Final Curtain

(1947)

A Wreath for Rivera / Swing, Brother, Swing

(1949)

Night at the Vulcan / Opening Night

(1951)

Spinsters In Jeopardy / The Bride of Death

(1953)

Scales of Justice

(1955)

Death of a Fool / Off With His Head

(1956)

Singing in the Shrouds

(1958)

False Scent

(1959)

Hand in Glove

(1962)

Dead Water

(1963)

Killer Dolphin / Death at the Dolphin

(1966)

Clutch of Constables

(1968)

When in Rome

(1970)

Tied Up in Tinsel

(1971)

Black As He’s Painted

(1973)

Last Ditch

(1976)

A Grave Mistake

(1978)

Photo Finish

(1980)

Light Thickens

(1982)

Alleyn and Others / The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh

(1989)

Still Unsolved

(1990)

Money in the Morgue (With: Stella Duffy)

(2018)

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Alleyn and Others / The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh

(1989)

Death on the Air and Other Stories

(1995)

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Black Beech and Honeydew

(1965)

New Zealand

(1989)

Publication Order of Anthologies

Verdict of Thirteen

(1979)

Chapter and Hearse

(1985)

Murder for Christmas

(1987)

English Country House Murders

(1988)

Fifty Best Mysteries

(1993)

Murder Takes a Holiday: Classic Crime Stories for Summer

(2021)

Bodies from the Library 4

(2022)

Notes: Death of a Peer was also published as Surfeit of Lampreys. A Wreath for Rivera was also titled Swing, Brother, Swing. Night at the Vulcan is also known as Opening Night. Spinsters in Jeopardy is also known as The Bride of Death. Death of a Fool is alternatively titled Off With His Head. Killer Dolphin was also published under the title Death at the Dolphin. New Zealand was co-authored by R.M. Burdon.