Enter a Murderer

In Ngaio Marsh's meticulously crafted "Enter a Murderer," the glittering, yet cutthroat, world of London's theatrical stage becomes the backdrop for a truly shocking crime. During the opening night of a new play, a tense on-stage struggle involving a prop gun takes a horrifying turn when one of the lead actors is fatally shot, not with the intended blank, but with a live bullet. Fortunately, or perhaps fatefully, Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard is among the audience, and he is immediately thrust into an investigation that forces him backstage. Alleyn must navigate a labyrinthine world populated by temperamental actors, jealous playwrights, and ambitious producers, where feuds are as dramatic as the performances and everyone seems to be playing a role even offstage. As the investigation peels back layers of professional rivalry, personal animosity, and hidden desires, Alleyn discovers that the stage is not the only place where deceptions are masterfully executed. He must discern which member of the dramatic ensemble harbored a motive dark enough for murder, before the true villain takes their final, deadly bow.