Roderick Alleyn

Sir Hubert Handesley's extravagant weekend house-parties are deservedly famous for his exciting Murder Game, but when the lights go up this time, there is a real corpse with a real dagger in the back. All seven suspects have skilful alibis - so Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn has to figure out the whodunit…

On the stage of the Unicorn Theatre, a prop gun fires a very real bullet, killing an actor clawing his way to stardom using bribery instead of talent. The suspects include two unwilling girlfriends and several relieved blackmail victims. The stage is set for one of Roderick Alleyn's most baffling cases…

From the leading lady's liaison to the harassment of an aging juvenile lead -- there's never a dull moment at the Vulcan Theatre. But vanity and hysterics, suspicion, jealousy and superstition are upstaged by a death on opening night. Was it really suicide? Or a macabre encore to a long-ago murder in the same backstage room? Scotland Yard's Inspector Alleyn sets to work assembling a cast of suspects for the final curtain.

On April Fool's Day the body of Mr Cartell is found in a ditch. Why was a letter of condolence sent before the body was found and what were the family squabbles all about?