Artists in Crime

Book excerpt: A model is murdered in this “first-rate” detective story by the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master (Kirkus Reviews). On a ship traveling back to England, Miss Agatha Troy finds Inspector Roderick Alleyn tedious and dull; he thinks she’s a bohemian cliché. They may be destined for romance, but there’s a murder in the way: No sooner has Alleyn settled in to his mother’s house, eager for a relaxing end to his vacation, than he gets a call that a model has been stabbed at the artists’ community down the road. And the talented Miss Troy is one of the community’s most prominent and outspoken members . . . “The doyenne of traditional mystery writers.” —The New York Times