Light Thickens - Roderick Alleyn, Bk 32 Author:Ngaio Marsh Light thickens is the last book by one of the greatest of all mystery writers, the late Dame Ngaio Marsh. — It seems that Peregrine Jay, director of London's Dolphin Theatre, has a tricky problem on his hands: how to stage Macbeth successfully with a volatile cast of eccentric actors, and despite some rather sinister goings-on, such as the disemb... more »odied head of Banquo's ghost that keeps turning up in strange places, the large swords left where they might kill someone, and several other disturbing deeds. Soon the entire cast, from the glamorous and shrewed Maggie Mannering to the moody and mercurial Simon Morten, is grumbling about the damned "Scots play."
Then one day Peregrine happens to be in the audience with his children to watch a performance. In the final scene, just before the curtain falls, the script calls for one spectacular moment of drama involving the claidheamh-mor, or claymore, a giant Scottish battle sword the actors use to stage fight scenes. But this time something is wrong, murderously wrong--the gore on stage is real!« less
Great classic mystery. Macbeth is dead, run through by brave Macduff, but when the curtain rises, it turns out that Macbeth's fate is all too authentic. Roderic Alleyn solves it all in grand style.
In this last of the Inspector Alleyn series, we find ourselves back at the Dolphin Theatre in London. Rehearsals are beginning for a production of MacBeth. Despite the director's attempts, the ever-present superstitions and bad luck surrounding this play seem to be at the back of the actors' minds. After several rather gruesome practical jokes during rehearsals, one of the lead actors is killed during a performance. Inspector Alleyn happens to be in the audience at the time. Suspects abound, but he's hard put to find anyone who had the opportunity for murder during the tight timing of the play, and everyone has an alibi!