Black As He's Painted

When the exuberant President Ng'ombwana proposes to dispense with the usual security arrangements on an official visit to London, his old school mate, Chief Superintendent Alleyn, is called in to persuade him otherwise. Consequently on the night of the embassy's reception the house grounds are stiff with police. Nevertheless, an assassin does strike, and Alleyn finds he has no shortages of help, from Special Branch to a tribal court - and a small black cat named Lucy Lockett who out-detect them all... 'The brilliant Ngaio Marsh ranks with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMEMT 'An elegant, disciplined writer, Marsh deserves to be read and re-read not just for her plots but for her characterisation, for her painter's eye view and for her outsider's insights into the heart of a vanished social world.' SUSAN HOWATCH 'The finest writer in the English language of pure classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands outs as an Empress. THE SUN