Clutch of Constables

A river cruise may be sunk by a ruthless criminal in this novel by “the doyenne of traditional mystery writers” (The New York Times). Inspector Alleyn’s wife, the artist Agatha Troy, has a special fondness for Constables—the paintings, that is, not the policemen. So she jumps at the chance to take a river cruise through “Constable Country” in the east of England, in honor of the nineteenth-century master of landscapes. Her enthusiasm dims a little, though, when it becomes clear that the ticket became available at the last minute only because a previous passenger was murdered in his cabin . . . “It’s time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around.” —New York Magazine