Author Description

Product Description Even down in New Zealand, war-fueled spy fever is running wild. Near the decaying sulphur springs of Colonel and Mrs. Claire, the strange lights and signals being sent to foreign ships at sea indicate that there's a spy in their midst. Soon an even darker sign appears: a health-seeker with untoward intentions meets his demise in the boiling mud baths. Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, far from home on a wartime quest for German agents, knows that any number of people could have killed the unpleasant man: the English exiles he'd hated, the New Zealanders he'd despised, or the Maoris he'd insulted. Even the spies he'd thwarted--if he wasn't a spy himself. And when a new arrival appears, one who possesses the cunning of a criminal and the insight of a psychologist, the inspector's interest is piqued. Often regarded as her most interesting book and set on New Zealand's North Island, Ngaio Marsh herself considered this to be her best-written novel. Review "It's time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around." --New York magazine From AudioFile Nadia May's masterful reading is at first tainted by poor sound-editing; tape hiss, page-turns, and heavy breathing make it difficult to suspend disbelief. But the exotic setting, the brilliant writing, and May's lovely performance quickly make it easy for the listener to overlook these technical flaws. Set at Wai-ata-tapu, a remote New Zealand health resort known for its therapeutic sulfur baths, the story involves deception and murder. Is there a Nazi spy at work? Will the unpleasant Maurice Questing take over the Claire family resort? Will misunderstandings abate between the Maori natives and the English colonists? Will awkward Barbara Claire find true love? And where is Inspector Alleyn? Nadia May (Wanda McCadden) delivers the goods in this WWII-era Golden Age mystery. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine About the Author Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), born in New Zealand, wrote over thirty detective novels. Many of her stories had theatrical settings, as her real passion was for the theater. She was both an actress and a producer and almost single-handedly revived the New Zealand public's interest in live theater. In 1966 she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.Wanda McCaddon (a.k.a. Nadia May or Donada Peters) has narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, has earned numerous Earphones Awards, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.