"The Longer Bodies"

Murder most British is on tap this week, as our "Classic Mysteries" podcast reviews "The Longer Bodies," by Gladys Mitchell. This novel, which first appeared in 1930, features the detective work of Beatrice Lestrange Bradley, a psychiatrist who helps the police - and who is sufficiently eccentric in her appearance and her behavior to be one of the more memorable detectives in fiction. You can listen to the full review here.

The plot is complex, but it begins with an old woman's plan to choose an heir for her rather considerable fortune by encouraging her grandnephews to train for the Olympics. Her idea is to award her estate to the first grandnephew to win an Olympic medal for Britain. If that sounds odd, let me stress that it is only the beginning of a most remarkable book that incorporates murder and a bit of madness as well.

If you are fond of mysteries from the golden age, or of other classic mysteries both before and after that era, I hope you'll come visit www.classicmysteries.net - that's where we continue our discussions about these fine vintage mysteries. Come on over and join the conversation!