A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (1934)

This is her first novel and it features Detective Roderick Alleyn.

The plot concerns a murder committed during a detective game of murder at a weekend party in a country house.

There is some good prose writing here, clear and concise with the book coming in at 50,000 words.

A classic style, heavily influenced by Agatha Christie. Only let down by a rather convoluted murder method.

As The Illustrated London News, reviewed:

“A Man Lay Dead,” by Ngaio Marsh, imports a real murder into the “murder” game. The reconstruction of the crime is ridiculous; sliding down the banisters should have been left to the nursery. The hue-and-cry is good enough, and the author has spared no effort to keep his trailers off the scent as long as possible.