"Death and the Maiden"

Gladys Mitchell is not very well known to most readers in the United States, which is a pity. Her mysteries, going back to the Golden Age, were quirky, funny, well-written books, with surrealist touches and impossibly eccentric English characters. On this week's Classic Mysteries podcast, you'll find a review of "Death and the Maiden," one of Mitchell's best works. You can listen to the full review here.

Mitchell's central character was psychiatrist Beatrice Lestrange Bradley, herself both cantankerous and eccentric, with a smile that has been described as that of a crocodile contemplating its intended prey. "Death and the Maiden" begins when a woman's second cousin and the cousin's wife show up on her doorstep and announce that they are moving in with her. This will eventually lead to murder - but quite probably not in the way you might imagine. There are other oddities, including reports of a water nymph, a naiad, in the river that flows through the English cathedral city of Winchester.

It's a complex plot, with a lot of twists that are both funny and peculiar. Many of Mitchell's books were never published in the United States when they were written, so it's good to find this 1947 novel back in print. Mrs. Bradley is quite a character. You should meet her.