| DEMURRAGE | It's the age of murder and undue delay! |
| SYMONS | Author of a number of crime novels including The Colour of Murder and The Paper Chase (6) |
| PROCRASTINATION | Cast iron part no one could make, causing undue delay (15) |
| ASP | Without undue delay, avoiding a poisoner |
| SAGES | They're wise! For them it's the age of the steamship (5) |
| ADAGE | There's a saying, It's the age of the advertisement (5) |
| NINETY | Back in net? Why? It's the age of the nonagenarian (6) |
| EON | It's the age of the peony! (3) |
| CHRISTIE | The Mousetrap creator who wrote The A. B. C. Murders, And Then There Were None and The Body in the Library ; one of the best-selling authors of all time (8) |
| EAGER | It's the age of the Queen we're keen to show you! (5) |
| EPACT | It's the age of the moon as told by an alien in a cap (5) |
| ERA | It's the age of sterner action (3) |
| JAMES | Author of the Adam Dalgliesh novels and unrelated short stories including The Mistletoe Murder and The Twelve Clues of Christmas (5) |
| OSAGE | "Killers of the Flower Moon: The ___ Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I." (nonfiction book adapted into a 2023 film) |
| MAE | Rita ___ Brown (author of the cat mysteries "The Purrfect Murder" and "Hiss and Tell") |
| ALIBIS | "I was home asleep at the time of the murder" and others |
| NGAIO | First name of the author who wrote the Roderick Alleyn mysteries including Vintage Murder and Final Curtain (5) |
| MARSH | Author of novels including Vintage Murder and Clutch of Constables (5) |
| STAGEMANAGERS | It's the age, Sam, when we see strange people behind the scenes (5,8) |
| GARDNER | Erle Stanley ?, author of 1937 novel The D. A. Calls It Murder and others featuring Doug Selby |
