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Mrs. Bradley #41
Three Quick and Five Dead
A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYRediscover Gladys Mitchell one of the 'Big Three' female crime fiction writers alongside Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.A young woman's body is discovered in the woods. She has been strangled and a quotation from Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' is pinned to her chest with a knitting needle. Soon after, another woman's body is found, in similar circumstances. Then a third body, a fourth, a fifth... What links the victims Scotland Yard is baffled, and all the ingenuity and unorthodox methods of famous detective Mrs Bradley are needed in the hunt for the ruthless killer.Opinionated, unconventional, unafraid... If you like Poirot and Miss Marple, youll love Mrs Bradley.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
Gladys Mitchell
99 books145 followersAka Malcolm Torrie, Stephen Hockaby.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
Born in Cowley, Oxford, in 1901, Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was the daughter of market gardener James Mitchell, and his wife, Annie.
She was educated at Rothschild School, Brentford and Green School, Isleworth, before attending Goldsmiths College and University College, London from 1919-1921.
She taught English, history and games at St Paul's School, Brentford, from 1921-26, and at St Anne's Senior Girls School, Ealing until 1939.
She earned an external diploma in European history from University College in 1926, beginning to write her novels at this point. Mitchell went on to teach at a number of other schools, including the Brentford Senior Girls School (1941-50), and the Matthew Arnold School, Staines (1953-61). She retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961, where she lived until her death in 1983.
Although primarily remembered for her mystery novels, and for her detective creation, Mrs. Bradley, who featured in 66 of her novels, Mitchell also published ten children's books under her own name, historical fiction under the pseudonym Stephen Hockaby, and more detective fiction under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote a great many short stories, all of which were first published in the Evening Standard.
She was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1976.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2024
It’s been quite a while since I read a Gladys Mitchell book. Although they’re quirky, and somewhat inconsistent to say the least I have a bit of a soft spot for them.
Overall I enjoyed this - five young woman killed over a period of about 6 months with notes attached to their bodies. Dame Beatrice Bradley is on her usual form assisting the police, who are at a loss. There’s a lot here - Irish wolfhounds, dog breeding and religious heresies linking the murders. It could be too much, but Mitchell somehow manages it and I stayed pretty gripped throughout.
Stylistically it’s odd, as Mitchell’s books often are. The killer pretty clear two thirds of the way through and the rest of the book spent proving it. By no means a classic whodunnit, but nice to be back in Mrs Croc’s world.
Overall I enjoyed this - five young woman killed over a period of about 6 months with notes attached to their bodies. Dame Beatrice Bradley is on her usual form assisting the police, who are at a loss. There’s a lot here - Irish wolfhounds, dog breeding and religious heresies linking the murders. It could be too much, but Mitchell somehow manages it and I stayed pretty gripped throughout.
Stylistically it’s odd, as Mitchell’s books often are. The killer pretty clear two thirds of the way through and the rest of the book spent proving it. By no means a classic whodunnit, but nice to be back in Mrs Croc’s world.
May 24, 2014
A young woman is found dead in a wood and Laura Gavin is the unlucky person who finds the body when her Irish Wolfhound, Fergus goes missing. Mrs Bradley - Laura's employer - is naturally interested in the case and when another corpse is found shortly afterwards - killed by the same method - it starts to seem as though the area around Wandles Parva is harbouring a serial killer.
This is a compelling and complex mystery written very much in the classic mould. The background, involving as it does some excursions into the highways and byways of early Christian heresies is well written. The characters are believable and the motivations plausible and with plenty of suspects readers will have their work cut out to track down the murderer before the combined efforts of Mrs Bradley, Laura and the police can reveal who did it.
A fascinating and disturbing read with excellent atmosphere and background - recommended to all classic mystery lovers.
This is a compelling and complex mystery written very much in the classic mould. The background, involving as it does some excursions into the highways and byways of early Christian heresies is well written. The characters are believable and the motivations plausible and with plenty of suspects readers will have their work cut out to track down the murderer before the combined efforts of Mrs Bradley, Laura and the police can reveal who did it.
A fascinating and disturbing read with excellent atmosphere and background - recommended to all classic mystery lovers.
February 25, 2022
Not my favorite of the Mrs. Bradley mysteries I've read - it lacks the colorful setting and the opportunities for Mrs. Bradley to be outrageously eccentric that some of the others I've read have. On the other hand, I did read it in a single sitting and was entertained by it. Worth a read, but probably not one I'll return to again and again.
May 11, 2015
I think this is one of the stronger Gladys Mitchell's. Although it was apparent towards the end who the murderer was, Mitchell is capable of sustaining interest beyond the denouement. In fact, I think the fact that Three Quick and Five Dead didn't end with the discovery of the murderer but went on to cover the trial is a strength in itself. It is part of what sets Mitchell apart from the other crime authors of her time period.
November 14, 2010
Gosh, £100 on Amazon.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews