Speedy Death

The female sleuth introduced in this classic Golden Age mystery “is a cackling, leering, hooting delight—a boon to the country house murder mystery” (The Guardian).   It’s not often the eccentric Mrs. Bradley finds herself at an elegant country manor for dinner. It’s certainly the first time she’s ever tended to a corpse at one when the body of a woman, Mountjoy, is discovered in the bathtub upstairs. The initial cause of death is claimed to be accidental drowning, but the quick-witted Mrs. Bradley has other ideas. A psychoanalyst by trade and a natural sleuth by virtue of intelligence, Mrs. Bradley will find both a murderer and a motive among the guests. Unless, of course, the killer finds her first.   “Begins like a parody of a country house murder. But you soon see that the author means the jokes, and also develops both a tricky mystery and a quite solid argument about crime and its disruption of society. Then she brings it all to a head in a very remarkable conclusion. . . . Outstanding.” ?The Herald   “One of the Big Three women detective writers” ?The Observer   “A crime writer who, in her day, ranked with Christie and Sayers.” ?Daily Mail   “Extremely well-constructed story of murder and detection . . . Mrs. Bradley is the prize piece.” ?Daily News (New York)   “Gladys Mitchell can always be relied upon for a packed and meaty novel, and an intelligent one at that.” —The Guardian