[sufue]

Four early titles in the looooong Mrs. Bradley series by Gladys Mitchell are $1.99 at Kindle US. All have been on sale before...

Speedy Death, #1
link: https://www.amazon.com/Speedy-Death-.../dp/B00IEIIOCG

Spoiler:

Guests have gathered to dine at Alastair Bing’s elegant country manor, but only one guest—a murderer—is aware of the dead body in an upstairs bathtub. With renowned explorer Mr. Everard Mountjoy noticeably absent from the dining table, the rest of the party searches for him, and soon discovers the explorer’s drowned corpse. The murder is mystifying, not in the least because the body in the bath is clearly a woman’s! As danger and theories unravel, psychoanalyst Mrs. Beatrice Lestrange Bradley observes and interprets all, from shrieks in the night to drowning attempts to poisoning. It’s clear that Mrs. Bradley has a basilisk eye for detail. But can she uncover a motive for murder?

Rediscover the notorious detective Mrs. Bradley in her original starring role. This definitive mystery is the first in Gladys Mitchell’s sixty-six book series featuring this most unusual and brilliant heroine.

The Longer Bodies, #3
link: https://www.amazon.com/Longer-Bodies.../dp/B00H20TA16

Spoiler:

At ninety, the screeching, still lively Great Aunt Puddequet devises a novel means to determine which of her young nephews stands worthy of her inheritance: she will award her fortune to the relative who shows the greatest promise on her homemade Olympics field. Assisted—and occasionally bullied—by the trainer, Kost, the five men of the family take up the sports of the discus throw, the long jump, and the shot put with competitive and varied results. Although no one is publicly pursuing the javelin toss, that sharp instrument nevertheless has a way of turning up on the field, the blade's tip stained with blood each time. Mrs. Puddequet watches her relations' training with great interest, though the old lady's constant companion—a nervous young woman once promised her share of the inheritance—and only grandson (now surrounded by rivals to the estate) survey the scene with considerably less amusement.

The tournament gets thrown off-track once the body of a tenant and Little Longer villager is found on the training grounds. Specifically, the luckless man is tied (with gymnasium rope) to a mermaid statue and submerged in the small mere. Inspector Bloxham tries to make sense of the tableau, and soon has a second death to investigate. Irritated at these mortal intrusions, Mrs. Puddequet tries to chase the police away from her Olympics, but finds a psychiatrist named Bradley (who has taken an interest in the Longer bodies) less easy to deter. While the inspector jumps from one suspect to another, Mrs. Bradley uses logic and psychology to identify the murderer from among the hopeful athletes and inheritors.

The Saltmarsh Murders, #4
link: https://www.amazon.com/Saltmarsh-Mur.../dp/B00H20T9XA

Spoiler:

The simple village of Saltmarsh, upon Mrs. Bradley's arrival, seems positively bustling with malicious deeds and mysterious activity. A villager is tossed into a crypt, the vicar is roughed up and chained to the quarry pound, strangers scramble atop bungalow roofs, and a housegirl named Meg Tosstick has given birth to an illegitimate child. This last incident would not be notable except for the fact that the girl had been employed at the vicarage and is now kept under veritable lock and guard by the landlord of the local inn. When Meg is found strangled shortly after the August Bank Holiday fete, Mrs. Bradley turns her psychoanalytic sights upon the many residents of Saltmarsh. There is, of course, the vicar, the Rev. Bedivere Coutts, who is rumoured to have fathered the now-missing baby; the vicar's puritanical wife and the bumbling young curate (who narrates the tale) also fall under scrutiny. Then there is Mrs. Gatty, a merry old woman who lives in a former lunatic asylum and who likens all acquaintances to corresponding animals—Mrs. Bradley is naturally greeted as Mrs. Crocodile, curate Noel Wells as Mr. Goat, and an ill-tempered financier as Mr. Shark, with only the last person taking offense. The Lowrys run the Mornington Arms Inn where Meg had stayed, and husband and wife seem to be keeping a powerful secret. The strong, secretive Edwy David Burt lives in a solitary bungalow near the sea coast with his actress girlfriend and servant; this group may or may not be involved. And the prime suspect of the police is undoubtably one Bob Candy, a man with violence in his heritage and status as a slow-witted ex-boyfriend of the murdered girl. Before long Cora, Burt's mistress, disappears from the village, and Mrs. Bradley grimly believes that she is not in a touring show but rather still in Saltmarsh, and quite sedentary to boot. An exhumation at Meg Tosstick's grave yields results unexpected by everyone but the thoughtful detective. Calling a meeting at the village hall, Mrs. Bradley begins to untangle the strange events; she realizes that, correctly played, justice will take the form of one final murder.

The Devil at Saxon Wall, #6
link: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Saxon-W.../dp/B00IEIIODK

Spoiler:

The quaint, cozy village of Saxon Wall is hiding a dark, sinister reality. When fiction author Hannibal Jones retires to Saxon Wall in hopes of reinvigorating his writing career, he instead finds himself in the midst of an increasingly puzzling and dangerous situation. Eccentric villagers and stories of curses, demons, and blood sacrifices abound. A devastating drought and imposing vicar escalate the pervasive fear until Hannibal Jones feels compelled to call in his good friend and detective, Mrs. Beatrice Lestrange Bradley. An alarming tale of a missing baby and suspicious deaths comes to light. And soon Bradley and Jones are at the center of a mystery wrought with conspiracy, murder…and witchcraft.

This classic caper promises to entertain, frighten, and intrigue as you revel in the antics of the gloriously unorthodox sleuth Mrs. Bradley.