The Winter Garden Mystery by Carola Dunn

The Winter Garden Mystery (Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, #2)

by Carola Dunn

So who put the body in with the spring bulbs?

The merest hint of spring has arrived in Cheshire, and so has young reporter Daisy Dalrymple. The feisty flapper's visit is a breath of fresh air for gloomy Occles Hall. But while photographing the rather barren grounds, Daisy spots that someone's been digging among the first green shoots - and much to her horror unearths the corpse of missing parlour maid Grace Moss.

So begins an extraordinary adventure, as first the dead woman's shocking secret is revealed and then Daisy swiftly realizes she needs to catch the killer before she herself is left pushing up the daisies . . .

Praise for the Daisy Dalrymple series:

'Manners (P G Wodehouse-style) and mystery get equal time in a low-key story with considerable charm.' Kirkus Reviews

'Engaging . . . Dunn's style gives an entertaining spark.' Publishers Weekly

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on

4 of 5 stars

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On this second outing with the Hon. Daisy Dalrymple I have to wonder if she'll start to be a Jessica Fletcher-esque harbinger of doom for people she visits which could be problematic for her job of photographing and documenting some of the stately homes in England.

The beginning implies that there have been connections between herself and Inspector Fletcher but no meeting with his relatives yet, but she is suspicious when she finds a body while exploring the gardens of the latest stately home she's visiting. There she finds an acerbic mistress of the house who has caused bad blood with people around her.

One of the maids who was supposed to have run away to London turns up dead under some flowers and the investigation is slipshod, the welsh undergardener is blamed but Daisy is certain he's innocent, she gets Fletcher involved.

I like this series, light but with enough detail not to annoy.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 19 August, 2015: Reviewed