Overture to Death

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.

About the author

Dame Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand in 1895 and died in February 1982. She wrote over 30 detective novels and many of her stories have theatrical settings, for Ngaio Marsh’s real passion was the theatre. She was both actress and producer and almost single-handedly revived the New Zealand public’s interest in the theatre. It was for this work that the received what she called her ‘damery’ in 1966.