Atterrés, les fidèles du temple de la Flamme Sacrée contemplent le corps inerte de Miss Cara Quayne. Que s'est-il passé ? Pourtant, la cérémonie avait bien commencé. Chacun des adeptes avait bu dans la coupe de vin sacré, avec l'espoir d'entrer enfin en extase... Mais qui sont donc ces gens ? Des mystiques drogués, les victimes d'une énorme mascarade ou des criminels diaboliques ? Autant de questions que se pose notre très élégant et séduisant inspecteur Roderick Alleyn.

Mort en extase (Roderick Alleyn, #4)

Les enquêtes de Roderick Alleyn Tome 6

Another classic Ngaio Marsh novel.

 Who slipped cyanide into the ceremonial wine of ecstasy at the House of the Sacred Flame? The other initiates and the High Priest claim to be above earthly passions. But Roderick Alleyn discovers that the victim had provoked lust and jealousy, and he suspects that more evil still lurks behind the Sign of the Sacred Flame.

Death in Ecstasy

It s murder in the little English village, but the two local spinsters, Miss Campanula, the victim, and Miss Prentice, her friend who may have been the intended victim, are not exactly the beloved little old ladies of song and story. They were (and are) waspish, gossiping snobs, passionate only about their own narrowly defined religion .and, perhaps, about the local vicar. But could they have been sufficiently unpleasant to provoke a murderer?

Un Piège Pour Miss C

Ngaio Marsh’s most popular novel begins when a young New Zealander’s first contact with the English gentry is the body of Lord Wutherford - with a meat skewer through the eye....The Lampreys had plenty of charm - but no cash. They all knew they were peculiar - and rather gloried in it. The double and triple charades, for instance, with which they would entertain their guests - like rich but awful Uncle Gabriel, who was always such a bore. The Lampreys thought if they jollied him up he would bail them out - yet again.Instead Uncle Gabriel met a violent end. And Chief Inspector Alleyn had to work out which of them killed him....

Descente fatale

Commemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the fourth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries

 SURFEIT OF LAMPREYSThe Lampreys were a peculiar family. They entertained their guests with charades - like rich Uncle Gabriel, who was always such a bore. The Lampreys thought if they jollied him up he would bail them out of poverty again. But Uncle Gabriel meets a violent end, and Chief Inspector Alleyn had to work out which of them killed him.

 DEATH AND THE DANCING FOOTMANIt begins as an entertainment: eight people, many of them adversaries, gathered for a winter weekend by a host with a love for theatre. It ends in snowbound disaster. Everyone has an alibi - and a motive as well. But Roderick Alleyn soon realizes that it all hangs on Thomas, the dancing footman.

 COLOUR SCHEMEIt was a horrible death -lured into a pool of boiling mud and left to die. Roderick Alleyn, far from home on a wartime quest for enemy agents, knows that any number of people could have killed him: the English exiles he'd hated, the New Zealanders he'd despised, or the Maoris he'd insulted. Even the spies he'd thwarted.

Inspector Alleyn 3-Book Collection 4 - A Surfeit of Lampreys, Death and the Dancing Footman, Colour Scheme

Un temple dirigé un pseudo prêtre illuminé. Une adepte en transe qui meurt foudroyée après avoir bu une potion sacrée, mais empoisonnée... Les éditions Archipoche rééditent la quatrième enquête de Roderick Alleyn, de Scotland Yard. Un classique de la littérature policière signé Ngaio Marsh, qui fut la grande rivale d'Agatha Christie. La 4e enquête de Roderick Alleyn, par la pionnière du cosy mystery Invitée à boire le vin rituel au sein du temple de la Flamme Sacrée, dirigé par le très charismatique père Garnette, Cara Quayne rentre en transe et connaît l'extase... avant de s'écrouler raide morte. Et pour cause : la boisson " sacrée " contenait du cyanure ! Comment pareil poison a-t-il pu se retrouver là ? Et pourquoi cette riche héritière, alors que six autres initiés avaient au préalable bu au même calice ? Qui sont donc ces adeptes ? Des criminels diaboliques ? Des illuminés victimes d'une mystification ? Et quelles sont leurs réelles motivations à fréquenter ce temple ? Prévenu par le journaliste Nigel Bathgate, qui a assisté à la scène, l'inspecteur Roderick Alleyn, de Scotland Yard, devra savoir raison et humour garder pour faire la lumière sur les secrets de cette étrange secte et démasquer le coupable. " De toutes les reines du crime, s'il en est une qui mérite le titre d'impératrice, c'est Ngaio Marsh. " The Sun

Les enquêtes de Roderick Alleyn Tome 4

A classic Ngaio Marsh novel in which she more than lives up to her reputation as a crime writer of intelligence and style.

 It was planned as an act of charity: a new piano for the parish hall, an amusing play to finance the gift.

 But its execution was doomed when Miss Campanula sat down to play. A chord was struck, a shot rang out and Miss Campanula was dead.

 A case of sinister infatuation for the brilliant Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn.

Overture to Death

Commemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the sixth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.

 OPENING NIGHTDreams of stardom lured Martyn Tarne from faraway New Zealand to a soul-destroying round of West End agents and managers in search of work. Now, driven by sheer necessity, she accepts the humble job of dresser to the Vulcan Theatre's leading lady. But the eagerly awaited opening night brings a strange turn of the wheel of fortune - and sudden unforeseen death.

 SPINSTERS IN JEOPARDYHigh in the mountains stands an historic Saracen fortress, home of the mysterious Mr Oberon, leader of a coven of witches. Roderick Alleyn, on holiday with his family, suspects that a huge drugs ring operates from within the castle. When someone else stumbles upon the secret, Mr Oberon decides his strange rituals require a human sacrifice.

 SCALES OF JUSTICEThe inhabitants of Swevenings are stirred only by a fierce competition to catch a monster trout known to dwell in their beautiful stream. Then one of their small community is found brutally murdered; beside him is the freshly killed trout. Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn's murder investigation seems to be much more interested in the fish.

Inspector Alleyn 3-Book Collection 6 - Opening Night, Spinsters in Jeopardy, Scales of Justice

"Is this a dagger which I see before me..." Four murders. Three witches. A fiendish lady. A homicidal husband. A ghost. No wonder Macbeth is considered such bad luck by theatre people that they won't mention its name out loud. But the new London production of "the Scottish play" promises to be a smash until gruesome pranks begin plaguing rehearsals. And when the last act ends in real-life tragedy, Chief Superintendent Alleyn takes center stage-uncovering a heartbreaking secret, murderous jealousy, and a dark, desperate reason for "murder for foul"...

Une couronne de sang (Inspector Alleyn #32)

Sir Derek O'Callaghan, ministre de l'Intérieur ultraconservateur qui se plaignait de douleurs abdominales, est opéré d'urgence. Peu après l'intervention, il meurt. L'autopsie révèle qu'il a été empoisonné ! L'inspecteur Roderick Alleyn, de Scotland Yard, appelé sur place, a face à lui une pléiade de suspects. Qui a agi sans que personne ne remarque rien ? Le chirurgien qui a opéré le ministre, un ami avec lequel il s'était récemment brouillé? L'une des infirmières présente au bloc, ancienne maîtresse bafouée ? Une autre infirmière, proche des mouvances anarchistes ? Un pharmacien aux remèdes prétendument miraculeux ? Parue en 1935, la troisième enquête de ce distingué représentant de l'aristocratie anglaise, aussi raffiné qu'élégant, prouve aussi qu'il n'est pas dénué d'un brin de chance, l'apanage des grands détectives.

Les enquêtes de Roderick Alleyn Tome 3

A spa stay turns into a homicidal holiday... A bit snobbish and a trifle high-strung, Sybil Foster prides herself on owning the finest estate in Upper Quintern and hiring the best gardener. In fact, she is rapturous over the new asparagus beds when a visit from her unwelcome stepson sends her scurrying to a chic spa for a rest cure, a liaison with the spa's director...and an apparent suicide. Her autopsy holds one surprise, a secret drawer a second. And Inspector Roderick Alleyn, C.I.D., digging about Upper Quintern, may unearth still a third...deeply buried motive for murder.

Affaire à enterrer

A Christmas pageant turns unholy.Holed up at Hilary Bill-Tasman's manor estate for Christmas, Troy Alleyn is to paint the man's portrait and, while she's there, view the Druid Christmas pageant. Along with a pack of eccentric guests, Troy enjoys the festivities-- until one of the pageant's players mysteriously disappears into the snowy night. Did the hired help-- each a paroled murderer from the nearby prison-- have a deadly hand in this Christmas conundrum? Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to join his wife in finding the lost man-- and unraveling the glaring truth from the glittering tinsel.

Le cercueil de Noël (Roderick Alleyn, #27)

La huitième enquête de Roderick Alleyn, inspecteur de Scotland Yard, par Ngaio Marsh, la grande rivale d'Agatha Christie.
Novembre 1938. La fine fleur du village de Chippingwood s'écharpe pour choisir la pièce de théâtre qui sera jouée à la fin du mois.
Les débats sont houleux, les esprits s'échauffent et les persiflages vont bon train... Un accord est par chance trouvé, mais se pose aussitôt une question d'importance.
Qui pour accompagner au piano la représentation ?
Après de nouveaux palabres, Dinah Campanula l'emporte !
Le jour tant attendu, devant une salle paroissiale comble, elle s'installe au clavier. Retentissent alors les premières notes d'un célèbre prélude de Rachmaninov... ainsi qu'un coup de feu.
Miss Campaluna s'écroule, raide morte.
Un couac insupportable aux oreilles d'un mélomane tel que Roderick Alleyn, l'inspecteur de Scotland Yard, dont voici la huitième enquête, menée à la baguette.

" Prélude mortel est un roman admirable. "Times Literary Supplement

" Si vous aimez Agatha Christie, vous allez adorer ! "The Guardian

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