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

A Man Lay Dead(1934)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Enter a Murderer(1935)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Nursing Home Murder(1935)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death in Ecstasy(1936)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Vintage Murder(1937)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Artists in Crime(1938)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death in a White Tie(1938)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Overture to Death(1939)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death at the Bar(1940)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death of a Peer / Surfeit of Lampreys(1940)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death and the Dancing Footman(1941)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Colour Scheme(1943)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Died in the Wool(1945)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Final Curtain(1947)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Wreath for Rivera / Swing, Brother, Swing(1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Night at the Vulcan / Opening Night(1951)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spinsters In Jeopardy / The Bride of Death(1953)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Scales of Justice(1955)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death of a Fool / Off With His Head(1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Singing in the Shrouds(1958)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
False Scent(1959)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Hand in Glove(1962)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dead Water(1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Killer Dolphin / Death at the Dolphin(1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Clutch of Constables(1968)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
When in Rome(1970)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tied Up in Tinsel(1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Black As He's Painted(1973)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Last Ditch(1976)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Grave Mistake(1978)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Photo Finish(1980)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Light Thickens(1982)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Alleyn and Others / The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh(1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Still Unsolved(1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Money in the Morgue(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

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.

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