"... revered in New Zealand for her work in the theatre; she herself thought this her most 'valuable contribution', and she did not consider detective fiction a serious art form, barely discussing it in her autobiography..." It is the latter though where we find an endearing portrait of her iconic Chief Superintendent, Roderick Alleyn.
Black As He’s Painted (1974) , according to one precis relates to:
"Ng’ombwana ...a (fictional) African nation that emerged in the wake of colonialism; as it happens, its President is Inspector Alleyn’s old school chum, the “Boomer.” Old school ties being what they are, the Boomer—making an official visit to London—insists that Alleyn handle his security, rather than Her Majesty’s Special Branch. The Special Branch is not best pleased about this, as the Boomer is known to have some very deadly enemies, and the threats only increase when the Ng’ombwanan ambassador is killed. Happily for the Boomer, not only is Alleyn up to the task, but he is assisted by the rescued cat Lucy Lockett, ...[who] proves extremely adept at finding clues.
Black As He’s Painted, a title referring to a country and a cat, is one of 32 detective novels written by Ngaio Marsh, herself a mystery.
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