Marsh Ngaio. Vintage Murder

On vacation in New Zealand, Inspector Alleyn meets a theater troupe engaged in a real-life drama more killing than anything they’ve ever staged. When the producer is struck down at a celebration party with a jeroboam of champagne. Inspector Alleyn moves quickly behind the scenes. There he encounters a malevolent Maori idol, a peculiar will, and an unknown thespian whose role is pure murder.
Vintage Murder is a detective novel by Ngaio Marsh; it is the fifth novel to feature Roderick Alleyn, and was first published in 1937. The plot centers on a traveling theatrical troupe in New Zealand.