The Saltmarsh Murders

Noel Wells, curate in the sleepy village of Saltmarsh, likes to spend his time dancing in the study with the vicar's niece, until one day the vicar's unpleasant wife discovers her unmarried housemaid is pregnant and trouble begins. It is left to Noel to call for the help of sometimes detective and full-time Freudian Mrs Bradley, who sets out on an unnervingly unorthodox investigation into the mysterious pregnancy, and investigation that also takes in smuggling, the village lunatic, a missing corpse, a public pillory, an exhumation and, of course, a murderer.

Mrs Bradley is easily one of the most memorable personalities in crime fiction, and in this classic whodunnit she proves that some English villages can be murderously peaceful.