Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Roderick-Alleyn-regular Nigel Bathgate is bored one rainy night. His boredom and a neon sign lead him to the House of the Sacred Flame. There are guards at the door to the temple which Nigel does eventually sneak manage to sneak into. Unfortunately, one of the parishioners dies. But Nigel has a Detective Inspector of Homicides' number memorized and Roderick Alleyn is brought into the mystery.

The woman who died was incredibly wealthy and fairly young (in her thirties). She recently changed her will to leave her money to the House of the Sacred Flame. But is that a good enough motive? Or could their be others.

I actually made it through this book faster than some in this series. It was tightly written and engaging. You can start to see some of the drug mania of the time that Marsh will start to infuse her books with.

Three stars

Follows The Nursing Home Murder

Followed by Vintage Murder

This book came out in 1936

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

When one of the most powerful men in the land dies on a surgical table, it shouldn't automatically be labeled as a murder. But when his wife insists on an autopsy... and he's found to have been poisoned, Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called in. There is, of course, no shortage of suspects. The man's wife was a chilly woman who didn't love him, his sister pushed patent medicines on him, there was the young woman he had seduced and her potential husband (both at the operating table), as well as at least one radical who disagreed with the man's politics.
The solution wasn't exactly fairly clued but it wasn't completely out of left field either. An interesting book with just a few too many red herrings.

Three stars

Follows Enter a Murderer

Followed by Death in Ecstasy

This book came out in 1935

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own