Inspector Alleyn 3-Book Collection 11: Photo-Finish, Light Thickens, Black Beech and Honeydew. Ngaio Marsh

      NGAIO MARSH

      INSPECTOR ALLEYN 3-BOOK COLLECTION 11:

      Photo Finish, Light Thickens, Black Beech and Honey Dew

      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Title Page

Photo Finish

       Light Thickens

       Black Beech and Honey Dew

       BONUS STORY: Morepork

       Keep Reading

       About the Author

       Also by the Author

       Copyright

       About the Publisher

Photo Finish

       DEDICATION

       For Fredaneve with love

      CONTENTS

       Title Page

Dedication

Cast of Characters

1. The Sommita

2. The Lodge

3. Rehearsal

4. Performance

5. Nocturne

6. Storm Continued

7. Strix

       8. The Police

       9.Departure

       CAST OF CHARACTERS

Isabella Sommita (née Pepitone)
Ben Ruby	Her manager
Montague V. Reece	Her friend
Rupert Bartholomew	Her protégé
Maria	Her maid
Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn CID
Troy Alleyn RA	His wife
His Assistant Commissioner, Scotland Yard
Bert	A chauffeur
Les	A launchman
Marco	A manservant
Ned Hanley	Mr Reece’s secretary
Signor Beppo Lattienzo	The Sommita’s Master of Singing
Hilda Dancy	A contralto
Eru Johnstone	A bass
Sylvia Parry	A mezzo-soprano
Rodolfo Romano	A tenor
Sir David Baumgartner	A critic
Mrs Bacon	Housekeeper
Dr John Carmichael, MD	A guest
Inspector Hazelmere	Rivermouth Constabulary
Detective-Sergeant Franks	Rivermouth Constabulary
Detective-Sergeant Barker	Rivermouth Constabulary
Dr Winslow

       CHAPTER 1

       The Sommita

      One of the many marvels of Isabella Sommita’s technique was her breathing: it was totally unobservable. Even in the most exacting passages, even in the most staggering flights of coloratura, there was never the slightest disturbance of the corsage.

      ‘You could drop an ice cube down her cleavage,’ boasted her manager, Ben Ruby, ‘and not a heave would you get for your trouble.’

      He had made this observation when sitting in a box immediately above the diva at the Royal