Death and the Maiden is a 1947 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twentieth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.
Near Winchester in Hampshire, a water nymph is reported to have been spotted in the River Itchen. Basing herself in a hotel in the historic city, Mrs Bradley investigates rumours that two boys found dead in the river had been lured to their deaths by the nymph.