England, New Zealand, a theatrical milieu, and a roster of clues...readers will recognize the hallmarks of Ngaio Marsh's classic series. And they won't find any of them here. Instead, Inspector Alleyn has decamped for the South of France for a vacation en famille. Well, the famille will be vay-caying while Alleyn does a little official poking around. Unfortunately, the object of his poking – the cultish denizens of a sinister and luxurious chateau – are not over-fond of being poked, and they have a particularly unpleasant way of getting their point across. More a thriller than a straight-ahead whodunit, Spinsters is a fresh take for Marsh, while at the same time retaining the cleverness and warm, vivid characterizations that her fans demand.