World War II continues to rage on, and Inspector Alleyn continues to act as the Special Branch’s eyes and ears in New Zealand (a country admittedly not often thought of as playing a central role in the war). While his primary brief is spy-catching, he is happy to lend a hand in matters of old-fashioned policing, and that’s exactly what the Flossie Rubrick case initially appears to be.
A highly opinionated and influential Member of Parliament, Ms. Rubrick was also the wife of a sheep farmer, and she was last seen heading off to one of his storage sheds. Three weeks later, she has turned up—very dead, and packed in a bale of her own wool. Had she made political enemies? Had a mysterious legacy prompted her death? Or—as Alleyn increasingly thinks likely—could the shadowy world of international espionage have intruded, improbably, on this sheep farm in the back of beyond?
Fans of Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, or Dorothy L. Sayers will adore Ngaio Marsh. These four authors together are in fact known as the “Queens of Crime” though many do not realize that Marsh is actually from New Zealand. While this is the 13th novel in the Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn series, each novel stands alone & only a few of take place in New Zealand with the remainder taking place in the UK.
“In Marsh’s ironic and witty hands, the mystery novel can be civilized literature.” —The New York Times
(A special thank you to book club member, Beth Cummings for the suggestion.)