The Nursing Home Murder
Ngaio Marsh
Oh, you read these golden age mysteries as fast as you can turn the pages. This one has a medical setting (“nursing home” refers to a hospital that does surgery and not one of our assisted-living retirement centers), and doesn’t play fair when it comes to the rules of providing clues for the reader (Inspector Alleyn ends up, by his own admission, solving the crime by a fluke of luck), but it’s still entertaining. The best parts are the 1930s political angle (the “Bolshies” are getting restless), and the clever banter among Alleyn and his gang. Disposable, but it was early yet, and Marsh hadn’t hit her stride.
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