Mitchell, Gladys - Tom Brown's Body (1949)

Review by Nick Fuller

5/5

Mrs. Bradley arrives in Spey village in order to purchase a book dealing with her ancestor Mary Toadflax from the local village witch, one Lecky Harries, who has dealings with two of the masters at Spey School, one of whom is later found murdered in the other's garden, shortly after the discovery of a decapitated black cockerel there. The witchcraft is nicely tied in, and the end is remarkable. Mitchell deals with a world full of the uncanny (the 'reconstruction' of the crime is amazing). The supernatural also occurs in the form of a monstrously tall thing wearing a Tibetan devil-mask which pushes one of the victim's lovers down a flight of stairs, and in the form of 'Hecate at School House' — Mrs. Bradley herself. Other Mitchell elements turn up: a pair of twins — one dislikes girls and sex; (mock) decapitation of an idol; and dead animals. The detection is a mixture of psycho-analysis, witchcraft / mumbo-jumbo, and police detection. This is as satisfying as anything in Blake, Carr or Christie, while being more original. The writing is zestful and witty, and the story is what an ideal detective story should be. One of the best scholastic mysteries ever written.