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Mrs. Bradley #30
The Twenty-Third Man
In a mountainside cave on the Canary Island of Hombres Muertos rests the twenty-three dead men, mummified ancient kings still adorned in their royal robes and jewelry. Dame Beatrice chooses this colorful spot as a holiday destination, and quickly discovers that her fellow travellers are bringing their own ghosts to the island. Caroline Lockerby, an emotional young woman visiting Hombres Muertos with her enigmatic brother, Telham, has left England to forget a strange incident that resulted in the death of her husband. Another ship passenger, a pale man named Clun, has recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for manslaughter. The hotel residents are equally infamous: there's Mrs. Angel, a woman who, according to rumor, does brisk business in native slave sales; Mr. Peterhouse, an eccentric who cultivates poisonous Alpine plants; and Karl Emden, a handsome lothario whose dalliances have been infuriating women (and their boyfriends and fathers) across the island. There's even a tiny group of native bandits, led by men nicknamed Tio Caballo and Jose el Lupe. Shortly after Dame Beatrice settles in at the hotel, Karl Emden disappears, and the concensus agrees he's gone to live among the troglodyte cave-dwellers and is hiding from someone. An expedition to the cave of dead kings creates in Caroline hysteria, in Telham a controlled calm, and in Mr. Peterhouse an uncharacteristic silence. Dame Beatrice also notes that the figure of the twenty-third man is taller than his companions. The disappearance of a mischievous and headstrong boy named Clement brings about a second examination of the cave, and Dame B. is not surprised to discover another body, a knife still stuck into his back, taking the place of the twenty-third king. Dame Beatrice sets out to unmask the killer and put into motion her unique version of justice.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1957
35 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Gladys Mitchell
92 books140 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 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 27, 2014
Review first posted on BookLikes:
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...
The Twenty-third Man is another installment of the cozy mystery series starring Mrs. Bradley, though now elevated to Dame Beatrice.
Dame Beatrice visits a fictional island holiday resort in the Canaries, and is inevitably drawn into the investigation when one of the hotel guests is found dead.
In TheTwenty-third Man, the murder mystery does not take centre stage. Maybe it was supposed to but in this story the actual sleuthing is less enjoyable than Mrs. Bradley's - erm, sorry - Dame Beatrice's interaction with the other hotel guests. Here's one of my favourite scenes:
"Clement pushed her into the ornamental lake yesterday. Of course, Clement is not like other children," said his foster-mother. "We believe in absolute freedom. Any psychiatrist will tell you..."
"Pardon me, but there is at least one who will not."
"I meant to say--"
"You see, I am a psychiatrist myself."
"Oh? Oh! Then you'll be just the person!"
"I am afraid I must contradict you."
"But Clement--"
"I am here on holiday, and, in any case, my methods would prove too drastic for Clement, I fear."
"Oh, I don't mean shock treatment or anything of that kind! I thought an analysis under light hypnosis would be best."
Dame Beatrice cackled. "Hypnosis would certainly be necessary," she agreed. She got up. "I am glad your son did not push me into the ornamental pond."
"Well, for your sake..." Mrs. Drashleigh began.
"For his," said Dame Beatrice.
Even more impressive than Dame Beatrice is her assistant Laura, who is seconded to the island while Dame Beatrice returns to the UK to conduct research into the some of the suspects' background.
The story is convoluted at times, but one by one Dame B. and Laura untangle a web of deceit until the truth of the murder is revealed. As always with Dame B., the investigation is driven by psychological assessment rather than by forensic analysis.
Enjoyable, but not very demanding. Goes nicely with tea and biscuits.
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...
The Twenty-third Man is another installment of the cozy mystery series starring Mrs. Bradley, though now elevated to Dame Beatrice.
Dame Beatrice visits a fictional island holiday resort in the Canaries, and is inevitably drawn into the investigation when one of the hotel guests is found dead.
In TheTwenty-third Man, the murder mystery does not take centre stage. Maybe it was supposed to but in this story the actual sleuthing is less enjoyable than Mrs. Bradley's - erm, sorry - Dame Beatrice's interaction with the other hotel guests. Here's one of my favourite scenes:
"Clement pushed her into the ornamental lake yesterday. Of course, Clement is not like other children," said his foster-mother. "We believe in absolute freedom. Any psychiatrist will tell you..."
"Pardon me, but there is at least one who will not."
"I meant to say--"
"You see, I am a psychiatrist myself."
"Oh? Oh! Then you'll be just the person!"
"I am afraid I must contradict you."
"But Clement--"
"I am here on holiday, and, in any case, my methods would prove too drastic for Clement, I fear."
"Oh, I don't mean shock treatment or anything of that kind! I thought an analysis under light hypnosis would be best."
Dame Beatrice cackled. "Hypnosis would certainly be necessary," she agreed. She got up. "I am glad your son did not push me into the ornamental pond."
"Well, for your sake..." Mrs. Drashleigh began.
"For his," said Dame Beatrice.
Even more impressive than Dame Beatrice is her assistant Laura, who is seconded to the island while Dame Beatrice returns to the UK to conduct research into the some of the suspects' background.
The story is convoluted at times, but one by one Dame B. and Laura untangle a web of deceit until the truth of the murder is revealed. As always with Dame B., the investigation is driven by psychological assessment rather than by forensic analysis.
Enjoyable, but not very demanding. Goes nicely with tea and biscuits.
January 19, 2016
Finally! Just as I was beginning to doubt, Gladys Mitchell knocked it out of the park! A really solid murder, and I have new appreciation for her -- reading the book, there was a moment that it suddenly occurred to me that there could never have been a moment when there were 24 kings in the cave, and I shook my head, thinking that she'd goofed. Shame on me. Two chapters later, Laura goes, 'wait. There couldn't have been 24 kings in the cave! Why did the kid say there were?' Mrs. Bradley replies, 'Did you only now realise he's lying?' (totally paraphrased). Teach me to jump to conclusions!
Be warned that Mitchell's terrible teenage slang makes another appearance in this book.
Be warned that Mitchell's terrible teenage slang makes another appearance in this book.
Read
January 2, 2017A rather unusual murder mystery in that the location is an island that theoretically has no penalty for murder, and no extradition policy.
May 29, 2018
A little bit drawn out and typically idiosyncratic. Mitchell is an acquired taste, I find. Good for a holiday read though.
January 13, 2013
Even on holiday, the peripatetic Mrs. Beatrice Bradley (now elevated to Dame Beatrice) cannot take a vacation from murder. While on the out-of-the-way and entirely fictional Canary island of Hombres Muertos (Dead Men), Mrs. Bradley takes a visit to a tourist attraction that consists of 23 dead, mummified prehistoric kings (which gives the island its name). But there's a 24th dead man, stabbed in the back, there -- Karl Emden, a womanizer who had managed to "go native" in the few months he'd been on Hombres Muertos. Considering that his demise came almost immediately after Mrs. Bradley's arrival, the psychiatrist and British Home Office consultant takes a very close look at the party that disembarked on the island along with her as the most likely culprits.
That party includes a nerve-patient named Telham and his pretty sister, a 20-something widow named Caroline Lockerby, whose husband died in very strange circumstances; the pale Clun, recently released after serving a sentence for manslaughter; and a hellion of a boy named Clement Drashleigh and his overly permissive parents. Mrs. Bradley also casts a jaundiced eye on the locals: an avid bird-watcher named Mrs. Angel, who's sure to prove anything but angelic; a botanical enthusiast and pathological prevaricator named Peterhouse; the fiery hotel owner and his daughter, and a band of soft-hearted bandits led by Tío Caballo and José el Lupe.
When Mrs. Bradley's self-styled secretary and general dogsbody, Laura Gavin (née Menzies) and her infant son Hamish join Mrs. Bradley on Hombres Muertos, the plot gets even better and more humorous. The Twenty-Third Man has plenty of twists and turns as Mrs. Bradley and Laura poke around both on the island and back in England. The novel ranks as one of the best of Gladys Mitchell's novels -- and that's saying a lot! Don't miss this excellent mystery!
That party includes a nerve-patient named Telham and his pretty sister, a 20-something widow named Caroline Lockerby, whose husband died in very strange circumstances; the pale Clun, recently released after serving a sentence for manslaughter; and a hellion of a boy named Clement Drashleigh and his overly permissive parents. Mrs. Bradley also casts a jaundiced eye on the locals: an avid bird-watcher named Mrs. Angel, who's sure to prove anything but angelic; a botanical enthusiast and pathological prevaricator named Peterhouse; the fiery hotel owner and his daughter, and a band of soft-hearted bandits led by Tío Caballo and José el Lupe.
When Mrs. Bradley's self-styled secretary and general dogsbody, Laura Gavin (née Menzies) and her infant son Hamish join Mrs. Bradley on Hombres Muertos, the plot gets even better and more humorous. The Twenty-Third Man has plenty of twists and turns as Mrs. Bradley and Laura poke around both on the island and back in England. The novel ranks as one of the best of Gladys Mitchell's novels -- and that's saying a lot! Don't miss this excellent mystery!
August 9, 2025
Gladys Mitchell continues her theme of murder mysteries set in hot locations, in this case Canary island of Hombres Muertos. The book is a fine read as with plenty of odd Brits living abroad all with a secret to hide. Mrs Bradley starts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Karl Emden from the hotel she is staying and is later found dead in the caves in the above hillside. With everybody seemingly something to hide Mrs Bradley has to get to the bottom of the case. The Twenty-Third Man is not really traditional whodunnit it's more of a case of wait and watch.
August 12, 2013
I bought a job lot of Gladys Mitchell books, 10 of them, I'm glad they were very cheap. Ngaio Marsh she isn't. Maybe I'll get used to the disjointed style and ragged plotting as I read through the rest, though I'm a bit disheartened by reading on a tribute site that this is regarded as one of her more comprehensible stories.
Read
May 10, 2024My second Mrs Bradley book - and her thirtieth (of sixty-six!) sees Dame Beatrice (I dread to think how she got the promotion) off for a holiday in the sun, only to bump into - quelle surprise! - a murder. The body having been hidden, though not very effectively, among the mummified kings in a cave in the mountains, which seems to provide the main point of interest for the island she's picked, not to mention an excuse to comprehensively Spinal Tap Graham Greene with the title. The British expats and holidaymakers are a suitably dreadful bunch; the botanist and the birdwatcher are both the subjects of concerning rumours, and there's one acknowledged killer, though the faddish educationalists are probably the worst of the bunch ("they're foster parents, and all they foster in me is a sort of dreary loathing"). The Spanish staff, meanwhile, alternate accordingly between letting their passions run away with them and 'manana'. There are also some hilariously feeble bandits, and I don't know enough about the original inhabitants of the Canaries to be sure whether the troglodytes on the margins of the story are an offensive portrayal, but given the treatment of everyone else, you almost hope so; otherwise they might feel left out. As everyone keeps reminding us, the island has no extradition, and the local police don't really give a toss, but Dame Beatrice investigates, more for something to do out of any burning sense of justice. There's a vibe of oracular nonsense; at one stage Dame Beatrice strings together an entire paragraph of clichés for a lark, and I'm pretty sure it's the only golden age crime I've read in which anyone throws a live fish at the detective. I suspect Mitchell saw it principally as a vector for the central image of the corpses in their cave; personally, I'm haunted by the names plucky sidekick Laura invents for her infant son, Hamish Alistair Gordon Grant Iain Sinclair, which encompass both the future Brigadier, and another noted writer of place who was barely out of short trousers when this was published.
April 17, 2021
I am ashamed to say I hadn't heard of Gladys Mitchell until I stumbled across this one in a charity shop. I think it was written in the fifties, so well before email, mobile phones, faxes, regular air travel... you get the picture. When our heroine needs to do some research back in England, she has to hop on a boat and sail the six days or whatever it was back. It's a long way through a series of murder mysteries involving sleuth Dame Beatrice (Mrs Bradley?) who is really rather cool. She's an old woman with dark hair, her hands described as yellow claws and covered in rings, she does witty one liners and put downs and she's a psychoanalyst. In this book she's on holiday on the island of Hombres Muertes (yep, island of dead men - doesn't bode well), which is a Spanish colony of some type six days travel on a ship from the UK. There's a cave up in the mountains where 23 dead mummified bodies, "kings" sit around, and it's a tourist attraction. Except a rather fresher corpse rocks up a couple of days after the Dame's arrival. Who could have done the dastardly deed?!
It's quite witty in its writing style, not much description and very dialogue driven. Wasn't the most exciting mystery I've ever read in my life, and although I enjoyed the story I didn't much care who had done it. It all felt a bit so what? I think its best feature are the conversations. I certainly wouldn't say no to another Dame Beatrice mystery, if only for the conversation.
It's quite witty in its writing style, not much description and very dialogue driven. Wasn't the most exciting mystery I've ever read in my life, and although I enjoyed the story I didn't much care who had done it. It all felt a bit so what? I think its best feature are the conversations. I certainly wouldn't say no to another Dame Beatrice mystery, if only for the conversation.
December 29, 2019
Written in 1952. I used to love Gladys Mitchell's Dame Beatrice Lestrange Bradley stories but I think too much time has passed. The writing is excellent as always but a tad dated by today's norms.
The plot seems more suited to an even earlier decade and the story takes a long while to get interesting. Perhaps it is merely my tastes that have changed. The first half was a tad tedious although the second half improved.
I still love Ms Mitchell's writing style - her use of language and the quotations and allusions.
The plot seems more suited to an even earlier decade and the story takes a long while to get interesting. Perhaps it is merely my tastes that have changed. The first half was a tad tedious although the second half improved.
I still love Ms Mitchell's writing style - her use of language and the quotations and allusions.
October 10, 2023
2.5 stars. An unusual plot structure, not sure if it’s quite successful, I found the to-ing and fro-ing from the island distracting. But I liked having Laura and her baby have a big role!
Content notes: Racism and stereotyping, especially towards the native people who live on the island and also towards the Spanish people. (I think they mean Spanish from Spain? Sometimes books of this era use Spanish to mean Hispanic so I’m not sure)
Content notes: Racism and stereotyping, especially towards the native people who live on the island and also towards the Spanish people. (I think they mean Spanish from Spain? Sometimes books of this era use Spanish to mean Hispanic so I’m not sure)
March 17, 2019
Always enjoy the Mrs Bradley Mysteries - oddly modern themes, with only the somewhay formal speech from characters that gives away the era.
Set largely on a Mediterranean island, this is a pretty classic whodunnit. Yeah it's not a huge shocker, and the end is a bit weak, but it's a nice easy read.
Set largely on a Mediterranean island, this is a pretty classic whodunnit. Yeah it's not a huge shocker, and the end is a bit weak, but it's a nice easy read.
March 28, 2021
Honestly, these should be right up my street - I love golden age crime and Mitchell is probably the last of the really well known names I haven’t read much of, but every time I try to read more I realise that the reason is because they’re really tough going. Give me a reread of Ngaio Marsh or a pot luck from the British Crime Classic series any day.
November 29, 2018
There were some wonderful twists this one, and the story flowed far more easily than in "Come Away Death".
The English characters are all casually racist, but as it was written 61 years ago, this made for a more interesting as opposed to frustrating read.
The English characters are all casually racist, but as it was written 61 years ago, this made for a more interesting as opposed to frustrating read.
November 1, 2022
Another good one
Gladys Mitchell mysteries simply do not fail to entice and entertain. These old stories are enthralling and complex, and, best of all, safe from the modern twin scourges of sex and gore.
Gladys Mitchell mysteries simply do not fail to entice and entertain. These old stories are enthralling and complex, and, best of all, safe from the modern twin scourges of sex and gore.
September 26, 2023
Dame Beatrice is just wonderful
I can actually hear Diana Rigg speaking the Dame's words. A marvelously complex murder mystery with a wild collection of characters. And, the boy. Clement adds an interesting dimension. Worth reading.
I can actually hear Diana Rigg speaking the Dame's words. A marvelously complex murder mystery with a wild collection of characters. And, the boy. Clement adds an interesting dimension. Worth reading.
February 11, 2024
The lead character's dialogue and personality were the best bits in this disjointed murder mystery. The setting was also highly imaginative. The rest of the characters, their motivations and actions just dragged along, with nothing totally hanging together logically. A disappointment...
April 12, 2020
Very quick read with an ending that leaves you wanting more.
May 9, 2021
It's good but could be about half the length. So much waffle!
December 21, 2021
This one felt like work, tedious to read I had to push myself to finish I may have not been in the right frame of mind,but so far it's my least favorite of the series.
January 22, 2023
Slow rambling story, characters that are tedious and uninteresting - maybe the second half gets better but I won't know...
June 16, 2024
Sometimes putting the show on the road isn't the best idea.
Mystery writers love to send their detectives to exotic locales to solve mysteries and I can see their logic. For one thing, it's a way to use the author's travel experiences to good advantage. Also, a group of tourists is likely to be diverse in a way difficult to reproduce at home, where we are generally surrounded by those of similar ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds.
Agatha Christie did herself proud with "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile" and I'm not sure why Gladys Mitchell's excursion to the Canary Islands isn't as successful. Dame Beatrice Bradley is a sophisticated, well-heeled lady and would certainly have traveled to the places that attracted European tourists in the 1950's.
There's a nice assortment of characters found in the group that's marooned (so to speak) on the island of Hombres Muertos until the next ship arrives in one month. Not to mention the locals, including the hotel owner and his lovely daughter, a mysterious female ex-pat who has resided there for many years and who's reputed to have illegal interests in South America, and a male ex-pat who's also a long-term resident. He says he collects orchids, but quickly changes his story when Dame Beatrice points out that there ARE no orchids worth collecting on the island.
And who could resist the local bandits - Uncle Horse and Jose the Wolf? They exist by kidnapping tourists and demanding ransom for them, but they're so soft-hearted as to seem more vulnerable than threatening. As to the island's claim to fame (twenty-three mummies in death masks and fancy clothes sitting around a stone table in an isolated cave high in the mountains) it's a story full of holes. If they were kings in the years before Spain invaded the island, why were there so many of them? And wouldn't the Jesuits have insisted on them being buried or otherwise disposed of?
Mrs Bradley lands with a brother and sister and a sinister type who makes no bones about the fact that he's recently finished a prison sentence for manslaughter. Caroline is a recent widow whose husband was killed in a street fight. Her high-strung brother Telham was involved and (according to his sister) suffered a nervous breakdown afterwards. She thinks he could benefit by Mrs Bradley's professional help, but she seems more a tad neurotic herself. Telham and the ex-con Clun immediately clash in a way that implies there may be a back history between them.
A European already on the island quickly disappears. Is Karl Emden afraid of meeting someone who came in on the ship? Two Americans (father and daughter) are brought on-stage, but not given much to do. An elderly couple comes from the nearby island where they live with their uncontrollable adopted son. Teenager Clement may suffer from his parents' crackpot ideas on child raising, but they're struggling, too. Where did the kid come from and what's his hold over them?
When it becomes apparent that Emden won't be rejoining the party, Mrs Bradley sets out to discover who stuck the knife in his back. The local police are fine with that, another development that's hard to swallow. She comes to believe that the answer lies in the histories of the four tourists (Caroline, Telham, Clun, and Emden) and goes back to London to investigate.
That part is boring, but the book is saved by Mrs Bradley sending her secretary Laura to the island to do a little investigating of her own. Laura Menzies is always a welcome addition in this series. The adventure-loving Amazon has married Inspector Gavin of the Metropolitan Police and produced her first son. Her approach to motherhood is as distinctive as everything else about her. With baby in tow, she heads to the island to see what she can ferret out.
Eventually, all kinds of secrets emerge, both from London and locally. Too many for one book, in my opinion. Still, I always enjoy Dame Beatrice, even in the books where she's not at her best. This is a LONG series and Mitchell cranked out one or two books every year while working as a teacher and involved in various causes and hobbies. Fans agree that the quality varies, although everyone has his/her own favorites. This is not one of mine.
Most puzzling is the young boy Clement and his elderly adoptive or foster (Mitchell couldn't seem to make up her mind) parents. Mitchell loved teaching and children, although her ideas on child rearing and education may seem strict to us now. While most people on the island think Clement is a pest, both Dame Beatrice and Laura pity him as a child who's fallen into unwise hands.
He begs to be sent to boarding school and the author (and her two main characters) were strong believers in the value of that experience for both boys and girls. Will they help him persuade his parents? Will you find the ending as unsatisfactory and as atypical of both women as I did?
I don't regret reading it, but it's not one of the best in this series.
Mystery writers love to send their detectives to exotic locales to solve mysteries and I can see their logic. For one thing, it's a way to use the author's travel experiences to good advantage. Also, a group of tourists is likely to be diverse in a way difficult to reproduce at home, where we are generally surrounded by those of similar ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds.
Agatha Christie did herself proud with "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile" and I'm not sure why Gladys Mitchell's excursion to the Canary Islands isn't as successful. Dame Beatrice Bradley is a sophisticated, well-heeled lady and would certainly have traveled to the places that attracted European tourists in the 1950's.
There's a nice assortment of characters found in the group that's marooned (so to speak) on the island of Hombres Muertos until the next ship arrives in one month. Not to mention the locals, including the hotel owner and his lovely daughter, a mysterious female ex-pat who has resided there for many years and who's reputed to have illegal interests in South America, and a male ex-pat who's also a long-term resident. He says he collects orchids, but quickly changes his story when Dame Beatrice points out that there ARE no orchids worth collecting on the island.
And who could resist the local bandits - Uncle Horse and Jose the Wolf? They exist by kidnapping tourists and demanding ransom for them, but they're so soft-hearted as to seem more vulnerable than threatening. As to the island's claim to fame (twenty-three mummies in death masks and fancy clothes sitting around a stone table in an isolated cave high in the mountains) it's a story full of holes. If they were kings in the years before Spain invaded the island, why were there so many of them? And wouldn't the Jesuits have insisted on them being buried or otherwise disposed of?
Mrs Bradley lands with a brother and sister and a sinister type who makes no bones about the fact that he's recently finished a prison sentence for manslaughter. Caroline is a recent widow whose husband was killed in a street fight. Her high-strung brother Telham was involved and (according to his sister) suffered a nervous breakdown afterwards. She thinks he could benefit by Mrs Bradley's professional help, but she seems more a tad neurotic herself. Telham and the ex-con Clun immediately clash in a way that implies there may be a back history between them.
A European already on the island quickly disappears. Is Karl Emden afraid of meeting someone who came in on the ship? Two Americans (father and daughter) are brought on-stage, but not given much to do. An elderly couple comes from the nearby island where they live with their uncontrollable adopted son. Teenager Clement may suffer from his parents' crackpot ideas on child raising, but they're struggling, too. Where did the kid come from and what's his hold over them?
When it becomes apparent that Emden won't be rejoining the party, Mrs Bradley sets out to discover who stuck the knife in his back. The local police are fine with that, another development that's hard to swallow. She comes to believe that the answer lies in the histories of the four tourists (Caroline, Telham, Clun, and Emden) and goes back to London to investigate.
That part is boring, but the book is saved by Mrs Bradley sending her secretary Laura to the island to do a little investigating of her own. Laura Menzies is always a welcome addition in this series. The adventure-loving Amazon has married Inspector Gavin of the Metropolitan Police and produced her first son. Her approach to motherhood is as distinctive as everything else about her. With baby in tow, she heads to the island to see what she can ferret out.
Eventually, all kinds of secrets emerge, both from London and locally. Too many for one book, in my opinion. Still, I always enjoy Dame Beatrice, even in the books where she's not at her best. This is a LONG series and Mitchell cranked out one or two books every year while working as a teacher and involved in various causes and hobbies. Fans agree that the quality varies, although everyone has his/her own favorites. This is not one of mine.
Most puzzling is the young boy Clement and his elderly adoptive or foster (Mitchell couldn't seem to make up her mind) parents. Mitchell loved teaching and children, although her ideas on child rearing and education may seem strict to us now. While most people on the island think Clement is a pest, both Dame Beatrice and Laura pity him as a child who's fallen into unwise hands.
He begs to be sent to boarding school and the author (and her two main characters) were strong believers in the value of that experience for both boys and girls. Will they help him persuade his parents? Will you find the ending as unsatisfactory and as atypical of both women as I did?
I don't regret reading it, but it's not one of the best in this series.
March 26, 2012
The detective novels of Gladys Mitchell are very much a curate's egg. She created a truly memorable detective in the character of Mrs Bradley, but the novels themselves are very patchy in quality, and some are almost impenetrable.
The Twenty-Third Man is one of Mitchell's books that I found easier to get through, with a fairly straightforward 'whodunnit' mystery at its core.
Mrs Bradley is holidaying on Hombres Muertos, an island renowned for its cave of twenty-three mummified kings. When an extra king is counted, it leads to the discovery of a murder. In this respect, it shares its central premise with Ellis Peters' later novel, One Corpse Too Many.
The unravelling of the mystery is relatively logical and straightforward, although one or two enormous coincidences have to be accepted to make the denouement work.
Not the best of golden age mystery fiction, but far from the worst I've read.
The Twenty-Third Man is one of Mitchell's books that I found easier to get through, with a fairly straightforward 'whodunnit' mystery at its core.
Mrs Bradley is holidaying on Hombres Muertos, an island renowned for its cave of twenty-three mummified kings. When an extra king is counted, it leads to the discovery of a murder. In this respect, it shares its central premise with Ellis Peters' later novel, One Corpse Too Many.
The unravelling of the mystery is relatively logical and straightforward, although one or two enormous coincidences have to be accepted to make the denouement work.
Not the best of golden age mystery fiction, but far from the worst I've read.
September 2, 2013
Another entertaining mystery featuring Mrs Bradley, this time on a remote island where a group of English holidaymakers seem to spend an inordinate amount of time relaxing at a sunny hotel. One of their number is murdered and his corpse left in a cave where (normally) 23 mummified remains sit at a stone table, a bizarre relic of ancient times which has become a tourist attraction.
Mrs Bradley's investigations uncover a web of deceit and connections between some of the suspects. The solution is odd (though some of the hints are there) and relies more on her psychiatry than traditional clue-hunting, but it is satisfactory as far as it goes.
Mrs Bradley's investigations uncover a web of deceit and connections between some of the suspects. The solution is odd (though some of the hints are there) and relies more on her psychiatry than traditional clue-hunting, but it is satisfactory as far as it goes.
August 30, 2016
Could have been half as long
I'm a fan of this series, but having read ten of them in a row, I am inclined to think it's time to take a break.
I have tended to rate these books rather highly, probably more than I should have, but I like the characters - each book has its own set, with only a few standards.
The back stories leading up to and generally including the mysteries are usually pretty good, this one could have been much shorter, which might have made it a bit more palatable.
I'm a fan of this series, but having read ten of them in a row, I am inclined to think it's time to take a break.
I have tended to rate these books rather highly, probably more than I should have, but I like the characters - each book has its own set, with only a few standards.
The back stories leading up to and generally including the mysteries are usually pretty good, this one could have been much shorter, which might have made it a bit more palatable.
November 27, 2013
Another convoluted outing for Mrs Bradley. As ever the plot was serpentine and the writing was engaging, she is a good "golden age" crime author though I have to say that overall I prefer Dorothy L for characters and Agatha Christie for plots. Its quite late in the series I think so maybe not the place to start if you want to understand the relationships & backstories between some of the characters & Mrs Bradley herself.
April 11, 2016
I could not finish this one. Dry and slow, and after the unfortunate finale of her first novel, I couldn't press on through the dust in hopes this would end any better. I also found I couldn't like the detective/protagonist. Sad to find this contemporary of Agatha Christie was not at all on her level. No wonder I had never heard of her until a couple years ago.
July 24, 2024
Nicely-written and outrageously-plotted, another trip out with the gloriously-amoral Mrs. Bradley. Marred only by a weak last page (not a spoiler: if you skip to it you'll be disappointed but none the wiser).
August 6, 2016
Another outing for the inestimable Mrs Bradley, this time on holiday to the Canary Islands, and a cave with a somewhat erratic number of mummies of ancient Kings. As usual for this series, enjoyable murder mystery with a fair bit of macabre humour.
June 17, 2014
I really enjoy Gladys Mitchell books, they're very Christie-esque in style. I've felt let down by the reveal at the end in both books I've read so far though, too rambling or something. Still, a nice read for a detective novel addict like me :)
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