Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngaio_Marsh

Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh DBE (/ˈnaɪoʊ/; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.

As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Marsh is known as one of the "Queens of Crime", along with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Margery Allingham. She is known primarily for her character Inspector Roderick Alleyn, a gentleman detective who works for the Metropolitan Police (London).

The Ngaio Marsh Award is awarded annually for the best New Zealand mystery, crime and thriller fiction writing.