I’ve been reading Mitchell’s books for a few years now, picking up stray copies here and there. Reading out of order has a certain delight. You meet old friends in their younger years or unexpectedly learn what happened to a character from an earlier book.

Although Death and the Maiden hasn’t become my favourite Mrs Bradley mystery, it is a first class insight into the post-WWII years in Britain. It was first published soon after the war ended and you can feel society jangling. Old patterns have been destroyed and new ones are still to establish themselves. The mystery itself didn’t enthrall me, but I enjoyed the book.