Series checklist

Roderick Alleyn Books in Order

The Roderick Alleyn books in order are 32 books by Ngaio Marsh, published 1934 to 1982. Start with A Man Lay Dead (1934).

Books
48
Published
1934 to 1982

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Reading order

The Roderick Alleyn books in the order to read them, with the year each first appeared.

  1. 1A Man Lay Dead1934
  2. 2Enter a Murderer1935
  3. 3The Nursing Home Murder1935
  4. 4Death in Ecstasy1936
  5. 5Vintage Murder1937
  6. 6Artists in Crime1938
  7. 7Death in a White Tie1938
  8. 8Overture to Death1939
  9. 9Death at the Bar1940
  10. 10Surfeit of Lampreys1941
  11. 11Death and the Dancing Footman1942
  12. 12Colour Scheme1943
Show all 32 books in order
  1. 13Died in the Wool1945
  2. 14Final Curtain1947
  3. 15Swing Brother Swing1949
  4. 16Opening Night1951
  5. 17Spinsters in Jeopardy1954
  6. 18Scales of Justice1955
  7. 19Off With His Head1957
  8. 20Singing in the Shrouds1959
  9. 21False Scent1960
  10. 22Hand in Glove1962
  11. 23Dead Water1964
  12. 24Death at the Dolphin1967
  13. 25Clutch of Constables1968
  14. 26When in Rome1970
  15. 27Tied Up in Tinsel1972
  16. 28Black As He's Painted1974
  17. 29Last Ditch1977
  18. 30Grave Mistake1978
  19. 31Photo Finish1980
  20. 32Light Thickens1982
Checklist

Editions we track

No.CoverBookYearValue
– A Man Lay Dead FirstNgaio Marsh · G. Bles 1934 –
– The Nursing Home Murder FirstNgaio Marsh · G. Bles 1935 –
– Enter a Murderer FirstNgaio Marsh · G. Bles 1935 –
– Death in Ecstasy FirstNgaio Marsh · Collins 1936 –
– Vintage Murder FirstNgaio Marsh · G. Bles 1937 –
– Death in a White Tie FirstNgaio Marsh · Lee Furman 1938 –
– Artists in CrimeNgaio Marsh · L. Furman 1938 –
– Artists in CrimeNgaio Marsh · G. Bles 1938 –
– Overture to DeathNgaio Marsh · L. Furman 1939 –
– Overture to DeathNgaio Marsh · Pub. for the Crime club by Collins 1939 –
– Death at the Bar (Roderick Alleyn #9) FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1940 –
– Death and the Dancing Footman FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1941 –
– Colour Scheme FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1943 –
– Death in a White TieNgaio Marsh · Penguin Books 1944 –
– Died in the Wool FirstNgaio Marsh · Collins 1945 –
– Final Curtain FirstNgaio Marsh · Pub. for the Crime club by Collins 1947 –
– Death and the Dancing FootmanNgaio Marsh · Penguin Books 1949 –
– Death at the BarNgaio Marsh · Collins Crime Club 1950 –
– Night at the VulcanNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1951 –
– Opening NightNgaio Marsh · Published for the Crime Club by Collins 1951 –
– Spinsters in Jeopardy FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1953 –
– Spinsters in JeopardyNgaio Marsh · Collins 1954 –
– Scales of Justice FirstNgaio Marsh · Published for the Crime Club by Collins 1955 –
– Singing in the Shrouds FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1958 –
– Singing in the ShroudsNgaio Marsh · Published for the Crime Club by Collins 1959 –
– Colour SchemeNgaio Marsh · Collins 1960 –
– False Scent FirstNgaio Marsh · Collins Crime Club 1960 –
– Hand in Glove FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1962 –
– Dead Water FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1963 –
– Dead WaterNgaio Marsh · Collins 1964 –
– Killer Dolphin FirstNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1966 –
– Death at the DolphinNgaio Marsh · Collins Crime 1967 –
– Hand in GloveNgaio Marsh · Fontana 1968 –
– Clutch of Constables FirstNgaio Marsh · Collins 1968 –
– When in Rome FirstNgaio Marsh · Collins 1970 –
– Tied Up in TinselNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1972 –
– Tied Up in TinselNgaio Marsh · Collinsfor the Crime Club 1972 –
– Black As He's PaintedNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1974 –
– Black As He's PaintedNgaio Marsh · Collinsfor the Crime Club 1974 –
– Last DitchNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1977 –
– Last DitchNgaio Marsh · Collins 1977 –
– Grave MistakeNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1978 –
– Grave MistakeNgaio Marsh · Collins 1978 –
– Photo-finishNgaio Marsh · HarperCollins 1980 –
– Photo-finishNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1980 –
– Photo-finishNgaio Marsh · (U.S.) 1980 –
– Light ThickensNgaio Marsh · Little, Brown 1982 –
– Light ThickensNgaio Marsh · Collins 1982 –

About Roderick Alleyn

The Roderick Alleyn series is a run of 32 detective novels by the New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh featuring Alleyn, a gentleman detective of Scotland Yard's CID. The first, A Man Lay Dead, was issued in London by Geoffrey Bles in 1934, and the last, Light Thickens, came out in 1982, the year Marsh died. An unfinished Alleyn manuscript she left, Money in the Morgue, was completed by Stella Duffy and published by HarperCollins in 2018, outside the original 32.

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

What order should I read the Roderick Alleyn books in?

Start with A Man Lay Dead (1934), then Enter a Murderer and The Nursing Home Murder. The full list on this page gives every book in order with its first edition year.

How many Roderick Alleyn books are there?

We list 32 books in the Roderick Alleyn series, from 1934 to 1982.

What is the first Roderick Alleyn book?

A Man Lay Dead, first published in 1934, is the first book in the Roderick Alleyn series.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.

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