Order of Roderick Alleyn Books
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is the protagonist in a series of detective fiction novels by New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh. Alleyn is a gentleman detective and very much part of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Alleyn begins the series as a 40 year-old detective chief-inspector at Scotland Yard.
Ngaio Marsh debuted her Roderick Alleyn character with her own debut novel, A Man Lay Dead, in 1934. The series lasted 32 novels until 1982’s Light Thickens, at which point the author passed away. Below is a list of Ngaio Marsh’s Roderick Alleyn books in order of when they were originally published (which is also their chronological order):
Publication Order of Roderick Alleyn Books
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A Man Lay Dead |
(1934) |
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Enter a Murderer |
(1935) |
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The Nursing Home Murder |
(1935) |
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Death in Ecstasy |
(1936) |
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Vintage Murder |
(1937) |
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Artists in Crime |
(1938) |
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Death in a White Tie |
(1938) |
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Overture to Death |
(1939) |
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Death at the Bar |
(1940) |
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Death of a Peer / Surfeit of Lampreys |
(1940) |
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Death and the Dancing Footman |
(1941) |
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Colour Scheme |
(1943) |
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Died in the Wool |
(1945) |
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Final Curtain |
(1947) |
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A Wreath for Rivera / Swing, Brother, Swing |
(1949) |
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Night at the Vulcan / Opening Night |
(1951) |
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Spinsters In Jeopardy / The Bride of Death |
(1953) |
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Scales of Justice |
(1955) |
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Death of a Fool / Off With His Head |
(1956) |
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Singing in the Shrouds |
(1958) |
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False Scent |
(1959) |
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Hand in Glove |
(1962) |
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Dead Water |
(1963) |
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Killer Dolphin / Death at the Dolphin |
(1966) |
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Clutch of Constables |
(1968) |
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When in Rome |
(1970) |
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Tied Up in Tinsel |
(1971) |
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Black As He’s Painted |
(1973) |
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Last Ditch |
(1976) |
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A Grave Mistake |
(1978) |
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Photo Finish |
(1980) |
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Light Thickens |
(1982) |
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Alleyn and Others / The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh |
(1989) |
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Still Unsolved |
(1990) |
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Money in the Morgue |
(2018) |
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.