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NGAIO MARSH
Last Ditch
HARPER
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
77–85 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1977
Copyright © Ngaio Marsh Ltd 1977
Ngaio Marsh asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of these works.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007328789
EBook Edition © JANUARY 2010 ISBN: 9780007344833
Version: 2014-12-02
For the family at Walnut Tree Farm
Contents
| Young Roderick Alleyn (Ricky) | |
| Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn | His father |
| Troy Alleyn | His mother |
| Inspector Fox | His godfather |
| Jasper Pharamond | |
| Julia Pharamond | His wife |
| Selina & Julietta Pharamond | Their daughters |
| Louis Pharamond | Their cousin |
| Carlotta Pharamond | His wife |
| Bruno Pharamond | Jasper’s brother |
| Susie de Waite | |
| Dulcie Harkness | An equestrienne |
| Cuthbert Harkness | Her uncle |
| Gilbert Ferrant | Of Deep Cove |
| Marie Ferrant | His wife |
| Louis Ferrant | Their son |
| Sydney Jones | A painter |
| Bob Maistre | Landlord of the Cod-and-Bottle |
| Sergeant Plank | Of Deep Cove |
| Mrs Plank | His wife |
| Their Daughter | |
| Dr Carey | Police surgeon, Montjoy |
| Bob Blacker | Veterinary surgeon |
| Police Constables Moss & Cribbage | |
| Jim Le Compte | A sailor |
| Sundry fishermen, waiters and innkeepers |
With all their easy-going behaviour there was, nevertheless, something rarified about the Pharamonds. Or so, on his first encounter with them, did it seem to Ricky Alleyn.
Even