This Inspector Alleyn Mysteries full episodes playlist consists of 8 episodes of the BBC adaptation of Dame Ngaio Marsh‘s detective crime novels surrounding Roderick Alleyn.
Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn is a fictional police detective created by Dame Ngaio Marsh in 32 of her novels. He is the younger son of an upper-class family and was educated at Eton. I believe it is uncommon for the upper class to work in the police force. He is joined by the dependable Inspector Fox and Agatha Troy, a modern independent painter and his love interest and wife. Dame Ngaio likes to leave a lot of red herrings that keep one guessing at the murderer, method and motivation.
BBC adapted 9 of the novels into a television series. The storytelling is a little slow, but it allows me to knit as I watch and still be able to follow the plot. In the novel series, Agatha Troy married Alleyn after the 4th novel. In the television series, Agatha remains Alleyn’s love interest.
The pilot episode based on the novel Artists in Crime is not available on Youtube. The audiobook version read by Benedict Cumberbatch is available though. He is a fantastic narrator.
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (1993 – 1994)
This playlist is sorted according to the publication dates of the novels rather than the TV seasons and episode numbers. The quality of the youtube videos and sound is not that good. If you are keen to watch the original, both seasons are available on Amazon Prime at https://amzn.to/322isil (affiliate link).
1. A Man Lay Dead
The novel was published in 1934. It was aired in 1993 Series 1 Episode 1.
Chief Inspector Alleyn cancels his holiday with Agatha Troy at the estate of her uncle Sir Hubert Handesley to investigate a murder connected to a stolen chalice. He was called to Agatha’s uncle estate when a guest was murdered there. Are the two murders connected? All seven suspects had motives and alibis. Can Chief Inspector Alleyn figure it out?
2. The Nursing Home Murder
The novel was published in 1935. It was aired in 1993 Series 1 Episode 2.
The Home Secretary who has taken controversial stands on Palestine and A-bomb development is murdered during a routine appendectomy. Was he killed because of his political convictions or was there another reason? Both the surgeon and his nurse have good personal reasons to want him dead. Did they kill him?
3. Death in a White Tie
The novel was published in 1938. It was aired in 1993 Series 1 Episode 5
Alleyn enlists the help of his friend Lord Robert “Bunchy” Gospell to uncover a society blackmailer. After Lord Robert is killed, a murder hunt follows among the world of titled heiresses, gamblers and adulterers.
4. Death at the Bar
The novel was published in 1940. It was aired in 1993 Series 1 Episode 4.
During a display of dart-throwing in a Cornish pub called Plume of Feathers, a man’s hand is impaled by a dart, and he dies shortly afterwards from cyanide – although no one can explain how. Suspects included a distinguished painter, a celebrated actor, a female graduate, a plump lady from County Clare, and a local farmer. Can Chief Inspector Alleyn find the murderer, the method, and the motivation?
5. Final Curtain
The novel was published in 1947. It was aired in 1993 Series 1 Episode 3
An egotistical Shakespearean actor, the Grand old man of the stage, gathers his dysfunctional extended family in his mansion on his 75th birthday for the reading of his will. Agatha Troy was present because she was commissioned to paint his portrait to be revealed during the birthday celebration. He was later found murdered. Agatha asked Chief Inspector Alleyn to investigate.
6. Scales of Justice
The novel was published in 1955. It was aired in 1994 Series 2 Episode 3.
A country lawyer is murdered. Next to him is a freshly killed trout. Does his murder have anything to do with him helping his client, a war hero to publish his memoirs, or his dispute with a neighbouring fisherman in a fierce competition to catch the trout?
7. Hand in Glove
The novel was published in 1962. It aired in 1994 Series 2 Episode 1
A divorced and disliked man living in a nobleman’s estate is found in a sewer ditch after someone rolled a concrete pipe on his head. The strange thing was a letter of condolence from Mr Percival Pyke, the nobleman, was sent to his house before his body was found. How did Pyke know about his death before anyone else? It is a puzzling crime for Chief Inspector Alleyn.
8. Dead Water
The novel was published in 1964. It aired in 1994 Series 2 Episode 2.
Chief Inspector Alleyn’s old French teacher sought his help after she received death threats because she wanted to end the exploitation of the healing waters of Pixie Falls. Instead of her, the gift shop owner was murdered. Who killed her and why?
Read the Chief Inspector Alleyn Books
- Find them at Amazon (affiliate link)
- Find them at a library
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