# Is "Enter a Murderer" by Ngaio Marsh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (Geoffrey Bles, 1935) is identified by: UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1935, the second Roderick Alleyn novel. The UK Geoffrey Bles 1935 edition is the true first, preceding the US Sheridan issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1935, the second Roderick Alleyn novel
- First-edition copies are bound in cloth (red cloth with black spine and front-board lettering is recorded, with an orange-cloth binding variant also noted), the 1935 title-page date carrying no later-printing statement
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price and is not present on reprint or book-club copies
- Publisher imprint reads Geoffrey Bles
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles |
| Year | 1935 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1935, the second Roderick Alleyn novel |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1935, the second Roderick Alleyn novel. First-edition copies are bound in cloth (red cloth with black spine and front-board lettering is recorded, with an orange-cloth binding variant also noted), the 1935 title-page date carrying no later-printing statement. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price and is not present on reprint or book-club copies.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Geoffrey Bles 1935 edition is the true first, preceding the US Sheridan issue. Confirm the 1935 title-page date, the cloth binding, and, where present, the first-issue dust jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and book-club editions follow the 1935 first; club copies are typically on cheaper bulked paper, lack the Geoffrey Bles imprint dating and the first-issue jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Enter a Murderer* by Ngaio Marsh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/enter-a-murderer
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.