The Death-Cap Dancers

Members of a folk-dancing troupe are dying, their corpses found with poisonous mushrooms stuffed in the wounds. Mrs. Bradley is brought in to help solve the crime when it appears her niece is in danger of being a suspect and a victim. This is an entertaining and fast-moving mystery. At its center is an interesting group of young, bohemian-types who comprise the dance troupe. An absurd amount of emphasis is placed on the fact that one of the men is somewhat effeminate, and can dress up to play women's parts in the dances. There's all sorts of effort to say in not so many words that he may be gay, which appears to be automatically conflated with slightly effeminate looks and a willingness to play female roles on stage. That aside, this is show more an able mystery. The solution does not come until the very last page, and there's minimal wrap-up. A bit to abrupt in the ending, but a good journey nonetheless. show less

More red herrings criss-cross this mystery than there are paths through the moors. And believe me, a large number of paths through the moors are described in loving detail here. While the mystery isn't much, I found the scenery and characters engaging enough to keep reading. However, don't let this be your first Gladys Mitchell mystery. This is not her at her best.