Poison for Teacher — Nancy Spain

''Her detective novels are hilarious. They are high camp and less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal'' Sandi Toksvig

A nasty attack of murder has broken out at Radcliff Hall, a Sussex girls'' boarding school. Enter, in the unlikely guise of schoolteachers, two unorthodox detectives: revue-star Miriam Birdseye and the Russian ballerina, Natasha Nevkorina.

''An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of the writing are quite her own'' Elizabeth Bowen