Colour Scheme
Encyclopedia
Colour Scheme is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh
; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn
, and was first published in 1943. The novel takes place in New Zealand
during World War II
; the plot involves suspected Nazi activity at a hot spring
s resort on the New Zealand coast and a gruesome murder whose solution exposes the spies. Alleyn himself is working for military intelligence in their counterespionage division; it is not until the very end of the book that one of its characters is revealed to be Inspector Alleyn in disguise. Marsh's next novel Died in the Wool
also concerns Alleyn's counterespionage work in New Zealand.
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
; it is the twelfth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published as late as...
, and was first published in 1943. The novel takes place in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; the plot involves suspected Nazi activity at a hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s resort on the New Zealand coast and a gruesome murder whose solution exposes the spies. Alleyn himself is working for military intelligence in their counterespionage division; it is not until the very end of the book that one of its characters is revealed to be Inspector Alleyn in disguise. Marsh's next novel Died in the Wool
Died in the Wool
Died in the Wool is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the thirteenth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1945. The novel concerns the murder of a New Zealand parliamentarian on a remote sheep farm, said to be located near Mount Cook...
also concerns Alleyn's counterespionage work in New Zealand.