The first in the Mrs. Bradley mysteries was probably more of a joy to readers in 1929. Mystery readers now know that Mrs. Bradley is the heroine, more often than not the sleuth who solves the case. But reading this book without that knowledge adds Mrs. Bradley to the list of suspects for the initial crime; knowing her future importance in the books written by Mitchell, we are sure she is not going to be hanged for the murder.

(Note: the casting of Dame Diana Rigg -- the quintessential English high society woman -- as Mrs. Bradley in the television shows might have been a smart move, but she couldn't be further from the description of the novel's Mrs. Bradley, who is described as being "dry without being shrivelled, and birdlike without being pretty." She reminded one of the house party of "a pterodactyl he had once seen in a German museum.")

The book is very well written, and a classic example of the English manor house murder where all the suspects are under one roof for the duration. Some of the happenings are a bit outlandish, but that's part of the fun.

I must have missed a few details since I didn't find all my questions answered at the end, but it was still a satisfying read.

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This is one example of having my expectations splintered due to watching the BBC's "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries" before reading this book. In the television series, Mrs. Bradley is portrayed by the elegant Diana Rigg, so I had her appearance firmly fixed in my mind. Gladys Mitchell's Mrs. Bradley could not be more different-- and it took me half the book to get Diana Rigg out of my head!

Gladys Mitchell's Mrs. Bradley is old, small, and the words used to describe her are "bird" (think vulture, not songbird), "reptile," and "dinosaur." She doesn't go out of her way to converse with others, wears tatty clothes, and wears her eccentricity like a badge of honor. The further into the book I got, the more I realized that she relished intimidating and shocking the other guests in the country house-- that is, when they noticed her at all. (The woman is very adept at flying beneath the radar.) The one thing that I didn't particularly care for was the fact that Mitchell seemed to keep all her characters at a distance from the reader. I almost wished Speedy Death had been written in the first person so I could worm my way further into Mrs. Bradley's head.

What absolutely delighted me besides the main character was the originality of the plot. I'm not about to give the ending away, but Mrs. Bradley is far from being the usual amateur sleuth, and she's not afraid of getting her hands dirty. She's definitely the type of character I want to know more about, so I'll be reading more in the series. Reading this first book about Mrs. Bradley put a big smile on my face, but then... I'm not exactly normal either!

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