Death at the Opera (Vintage Classic Crime)
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Product Description
Review
`I hope that Vintage keep on bringing them out - she's just such an interesting writer' -- Desperate Reader
`Gladys Mitchell could so easily have been another Agatha Christie. Her output was formidable, her plots skilfully constructed and her characters convincing' --Daily Mail
`If a relaxing diversion is of the essence for a good holiday, a Gladys Mitchell novel is a must'
--The Daily Mail
`Gladys Mitchell could so easily have been another Agatha Christie. Her output was formidable, her plots skilfully constructed and her characters convincing' --Daily Mail
`If a relaxing diversion is of the essence for a good holiday, a Gladys Mitchell novel is a must'
--The Daily Mail
Book Description
A brillianty witty and entertaining Golden Age crime writers, apparently written as a send-up of Agatha Christie
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The main plot is the murder of a mild mannered and inoffensive school mistress - Carma Ferris. At first her death - in the middle of the school's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado - is ruled to be suicide by an inquest but the headmaster feels there is more to be discovered. He asks Mrs Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley - psycho-analyst with a multitude of contacts in all walks of life - to come to the school and see if she can find out what has gone on. She takes over the victim's role as arithmetic teacher.
The plot - and its related sub-plots - is complex with some very interesting and eccentric characters, including Mrs Bradley herself. The atmosphere in the school where everyone is suspecting everyone else and many have a possible motive for murder is well evoked. The seaside boarding house life in Bognor where the victim's aunt lives is also intriguing.
I enjoyed reading it and I think modern readers need to bear in mind that the book was first published in the 1930s and therefore reflects the manners and mores of that time. I shall definitely be looking out for this author's other books.
The plot - and its related sub-plots - is complex with some very interesting and eccentric characters, including Mrs Bradley herself. The atmosphere in the school where everyone is suspecting everyone else and many have a possible motive for murder is well evoked. The seaside boarding house life in Bognor where the victim's aunt lives is also intriguing.
I enjoyed reading it and I think modern readers need to bear in mind that the book was first published in the 1930s and therefore reflects the manners and mores of that time. I shall definitely be looking out for this author's other books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A school production of "The Mikado". Katisha turns up dead. The Inquest says suicide. The Head suspects murder and asks Mrs. Bradley to investigate....
Needless to say, lots of suspects, motives, opportunities - the solution (a surprise, but interesting) reached by a circuitous, not always convincing, route. Gladys Mitchell seems more restrained in this third novel I have read, cutting back on eccentrics that have tended to populate. Mrs. Bradley, though, remains remarkably bizarre - she cackling, tiny and old, often compared with a crocodile (this last bit hard to picture).
Gilbert & Sullivan addicts may have a problem - it difficult to accept meek and mild Miss Ferris would ever have been cast in the first place as the awesomely overpowering Katisha. Another stumbling block is that serial killer just found not guilty of drowning his wife. Is it likely he promptly be inviting people into his home so he can dispose of them in his bath?
It is wise not to question certain aspects too deeply. Treat the novel as fun, a leisurely read. I enjoyed it.
Needless to say, lots of suspects, motives, opportunities - the solution (a surprise, but interesting) reached by a circuitous, not always convincing, route. Gladys Mitchell seems more restrained in this third novel I have read, cutting back on eccentrics that have tended to populate. Mrs. Bradley, though, remains remarkably bizarre - she cackling, tiny and old, often compared with a crocodile (this last bit hard to picture).
Gilbert & Sullivan addicts may have a problem - it difficult to accept meek and mild Miss Ferris would ever have been cast in the first place as the awesomely overpowering Katisha. Another stumbling block is that serial killer just found not guilty of drowning his wife. Is it likely he promptly be inviting people into his home so he can dispose of them in his bath?
It is wise not to question certain aspects too deeply. Treat the novel as fun, a leisurely read. I enjoyed it.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a big fan of classic detective fiction (such as Agatha Christie), I thought that this book would be of an equal standard. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Although the genre is similar, in that the story is set in the 1930s, and there is a lady detective (Mrs Bradley) with a distinctive personality and methods of deduction, I was very disappointed.
The principal story is the investigation into the murder of a schoolmistress, obviously with other sub-plots (some of them pointless, in my opinion). However, my main gripe with this story is that the motive for the murder committed was wafer-thin and completely unbelievable, leaving me cross that I'd wasted my time in reading the book. Another irritation was Mrs Bradley's constant use of the word "child" when she addressed anyone, be they young or old. I felt like chucking the book in the bin every time I saw that word!
Perhaps other books by Gladys Mitchell are stronger than this but I don't feel inclined to try one.
The principal story is the investigation into the murder of a schoolmistress, obviously with other sub-plots (some of them pointless, in my opinion). However, my main gripe with this story is that the motive for the murder committed was wafer-thin and completely unbelievable, leaving me cross that I'd wasted my time in reading the book. Another irritation was Mrs Bradley's constant use of the word "child" when she addressed anyone, be they young or old. I felt like chucking the book in the bin every time I saw that word!
Perhaps other books by Gladys Mitchell are stronger than this but I don't feel inclined to try one.
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