Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh ****

Ngaio Marsh is a New Zealand author and one of the Four Queens for Crime. Enter a Murderer (1935) might be the first occurrence of a real on-stage murder co-opting the dramatic scripted murder using the prop murder weapon. The deceased is Arthur Surbonadier, degenerate nephew of rich theater owner Jacob Saint. Arthur is part of a love triangle including leading-lady Stephanie Vaughan, and leading-man Felix Gardener. Since everyone saw Felix shot Arthur, the question is who replaced the dummy bullets in the stage gun with live ordnance.

The Scotland Yard Detective-Inspector is Alleyn. Inspector Fox and newspaperman Nigel Bathgate assist him.

As Alleyn observes:

“I’ve been thing that in difficult homicide cases you either get no motive or too many motives. In this instance there are too many.”

Midway through the book, the suspect summary totals a dozen and going on for several pages. Alleyn remarks that the task is difficult because “We’re up against good acting.”

Interesting 1935 vocabulary:

“Sorry to be a bit Hitlerish, but it’ll save time.”

“Why was he sent down?” — expelled from college

“Afterwards, when I took to the boards, he saw me in the first decent part I played — stage, theatre

“He’s been a cat’s-paw, and nothing else.” dupe (derived from La Fontaine's fable, "The Monkey and the Cat")

Many critics credit the Four Queens with the creation of the “cozy mystery” genre. If you are interested in a mystery without tough guys, sex, or violence, Ngaio Marsh is an author to investigate.