I dug these two out of the “take to the used bookstore” box after
discovering that, yes indeedy, I do enjoy her mysteries. That was before I
trotted myself down to the Large Chain Bookstore, unfortunately placed just
down the road from where I work, to buy 6 more. I’m sure they are all at the
library but, gosh, we are going on vacation in a couple weeks and if I got
them now and didn’t read them right away there are those nasty, nasty fines
and we don’t want that, now do we? Much cheaper just to buy the books right
up front.

Died in the Wool takes place first of these two. Detective Alleyn is in
New Zealand during the war searching for spies or “fifth columnists” as they
are called in the book. He is called in by the nephew of a deceased woman MP
there to investigate her death. Seems she was smothered and then packed into
a bale of raw wool at her wool ranch in the backwaters. They didn’t find her
til weeks later when someone noticed a wonky smell in the wool warehouse and
makes the mistake of cutting open the bale to look for the dead rat they
think is in it. It was the bale hook going in and coming out with goo on it
that did me in. Eeuuw!

Now the house is in the possession of her nephew, her husband has since died
of heart disease and the people who live there all agree to tell their side
of the story. Oh, and the nephew and another nephew, both injured in the
war, are working on a top secret magnetic fuse for missiles to use against
the Germans. The secretary has stayed on as a gardener. Her ward is still
there. The butler, who seems to be the top candidate since he was
recommended before the war by a Japanese gentlemen, is still there. And it
again wool shearing time so all the itinerant workmen are back on the ranch.
Detective Alleyn must listen to all their stories, find the motive and
figure it all out. And one of them is likely a spy.

A Clutch of Constables takes place while Alleyn is off in the States
investigating an international art forgery ring. His wife, Troy, whimsically
decides to take a riverboat cruise of a twisty turny river in England after
a big show of her paintings. She hopes to do it anonymously. The passenger
list is the usual assortment of odd eccentrics including a lepidopterist, a
preacher from Australia, an American brother and sister with loads of camera
equipment and an annoying nosey woman who had discovered journaling and
writes down everything. Troy discovers that the passenger whose place she
has filled was found murdered in his flat in London, there is some weird
stuff happening on board and then, the annoying journal writer disappears.
Fortunately, Detective Alleyn returns just in time to figure out the whole
mess and save his wife.

Both of these were light and entertaining. What I like about Marsh’s
mysteries is that she gives all the clues plus a few extras to trip you up.
They are wonderfully complicated without being difficult to read. I didn’t
figure out whodunnit in either of them until the end. And Detective Alleyn
is growing on me—sort of the tall silent type.