Faintley Speaking (1954)
Blurb:
My review:
Faintly plotted, as well. It begins with a convincingly mystifying event: a telephone call with criminal implications. There then follows the disappearance of a spinster teacher, the corpse discovered by the attractive Laura Menzies and a well-depicted child, on a cliff overlooking the sea. The book is more of a thriller than a detective story proper—Miss Faintley's killer is met once, then accused. Mrs. Bradley goes to France, and Laura goes undercover at Miss Faintley's school. Mrs. Bradley is attacked by the murderer with a chisel (St. Peter's Finger), and there are boat chases and midnight vigils at the end. The plot is derived from Sayers' Murder Must Advertise (1933), but there are elements which crop up in other Mitchells: the slow murder of an unwanted relative (The Devil at Saxon Wall, The Nodding Canaries), and the criminal having himself arrested to escape retribution (Fault in the Structure).