Die Laughing

Daisy Dalrymple #12

by Carola Dunn

In April 1924, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher must face her darkest fears and confront the one person she's tried to avoid-the dentist. But upon arriving for her appointment, she discovers the dentist stone-cold dead. The circumstances of his death are suspicious but everyone seems anxious to write it off as accidental. Once again it falls to the redoubtable Daisy to uncover the truth behind this case of murder most foul. Critical Praise for "The Daisy Dalrymple" novels by Carola "Replete with well-drawn characters, snappy dialogue and interesting plot twists...Easily the best entry in a charming series." ("Booklist" on "Mistletoe and Murder"). "The period sense remains vivid, the characterizations are excellent, and the mysteries are, if anything, more perplexing than ever." ("The Oregonian" on "Rattle His Bones"). "Daisy and her husband spring into action, surrounded by historical armaments, secret rooms, hidden treasure, and family secrets. For fans of British cozies and Dorothy Sayer's novels, this is a very inviting situation." ("Library Journal" on "Mistletoe and Murder"). "Styx and Stones is a swift, deeply enjoyable read. While Dunn's influences are many, she ultimately makes this territory her own." ("The Register-Guard"). "Reading like an Agatha Christie thriller, "Rattle His Bones" is a charming look at life after the first World War." ("Romantic Times"). "Dunn captures the melting pot of Prohibition-era New York with humorous characterizations and a vivid sense of place, and with careful plotting lays out an enjoyable tale of adventure." ("Publisher's Weekly" on "The Case of the Murdered Muckraker").

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Historical Mystery

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Carola Dunn is the author of more than 30 Regency romances, as well as 16 mysteries (the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series is set in England in the 1920s). Ms. Dunn was born and grew up in England, where she got a B.A. in Russian and French from Manchester University. She travelled as far as Fiji before returning to settle in California. After 30 years in the US, she says she still sounds as if she arrived a month ago.

Prior to writing, Ms. Dunn’s various jobs included market research, child-care, construction--from foundation trenches to roofing--and writing definitions for a dictionary of science and technology. She wrote her first novel in 1979, a Regency which she sold to Warner Books.

Now living in Eugene, Oregon, Ms. Dunn has a son in California who has just made her a grandmother, and a large black dog named Willow who takes her for a walk by the Willamette River each morning. (www.belgravehouse.com)

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why should one read these? The writing is not the best; they have no greatness at all.

THAT'S IT! These little mysteries are like a bag of sweets, even though they are not good for you and you are all grown up, (or growd up as my daughter used to say), those sugary lumps are your secret pleasure.
Good fun, but not for all.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of us dislike dentist appointments, but in this case Daisy is not only dreading it, but arrives to find her dentist dead in the chair. He has seemingly died laughing through overdosing on nitrous oxide. Although many want to believe the accidental suicide, Daisy has other ideas and starts to do her own investigation.
12 books in and these are still pretty fun reads. I liked that the beginning of this has Alec wondering how Daisy seems to keep finding dead bodies (don't we all), and I actually quite liked that the author acknowledges the unlikelihood of this! ;)
Although the mystery was pretty easy to solve, I enjoyed the book for the ride and the characters and will continue on to lucky 13.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy stumbles into another murder & mystery which she is, of course, integral in solving much to the chagrin of Alec & the higher ups at the Yard. This one is close to home & gives a lot of glimpses into the social life of the time. The times are changing, too. Servants, once a staple, are now becoming harder to get & keep. Daisy is fiddling with a story about it, so there is some commentary on how folks are treated, expectations, & changing lives. I found that as interesting as the twisty mystery of who killed whom & why. One of the better novels in this series, still mostly puff, though. Well narrated.

[Olga Godim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll miss Daisy, the protagonist of my favorite cozy mystery series. I didn’t read it in chronological order, and I intentionally didn’t read the novels of this series back to back, to prolong the pleasure, but every good thing comes to an end. This book is the last of the series I hadn’t read before, except for the new one, just released. Now, to get a new Daisy, I’ll have to wait for eternity (well, maybe another year, but still…)
As always, Daisy stumbles upon a dead body in the beginning of the book. And not just a body – it’s her dentist. The investigation, conducted mostly by Alec, the DCI of Scotland Yard and Daisy’s husband, proceeds in a normal way, but now and again, Daisy comes up with a new little factoid or a new insight, and they frequently turn Alec and his crew in a new direction.
I can’t comment on the characterization in this book alone. I absorb Daisy as a whole, like a living person. With every encounter – every book in the series – she grows more complex and more human, progressing from a literary mystery heroine to a woman who lives nearby. I love her. For me, she is a friend, insatiably curious, wise, and deeply compassionate, always ready to take those less fortunate under her wing. Her resentment-laced relationship with her mother-in-law makes her even more alive.
The secondary characters are well defined as well, some of them recurring, others entirely new. Together, they form a solid framework for the story – the only story in the entire series where the culprit has got away from justice. But the search for the murderer is a fun ride, fast and baffling. Every chapter, one more red herring is disposed of, and a new suspect appears.
I didn’t guess the real villain until close to the end of the novel, and to tell the truth, I’m still not certain. As Alec couldn’t make an arrest, there was no confession and no real evidence, just the conjectures and the possible motivation for the crime. But the process of elimination works here as well as it worked for Sherlock Holmes: “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
The author’s subtle humor, present in the whole series, comes to the fore in this book. After all, how many dentists get murdered in mystery fiction? This is the only one I know.
My favorite quote from the book:

As Daisy gave her address, she was trying to decide what to do next. The sergeant obviously wasn’t going to listen to her. Should she phone the Yard again, or just give up and let some maniac run loose hither and yon murdering dentists?
The notion was undeniably attractive.

She resists the attraction manfully and goes on helping the investigative team in any way she can, even using her “adhesive loquacity” (what a phrase!) when needed.

Note: Look at the gorgeous cover of this paperback. I read the hardcover edition with a different cover art, also good, but this one with a skeleton is just fantastic!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery was useless but it was fun to see Daisy dealing with middle class married life, her step daughter, and her mother in law.

[Silke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy is such a cheerful and lovely character following her "sleuthing" always gets me out of a funk mood. It's a light hearted mystery series which also takes some time focusing on Daisy private life.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got my wish of a mystery where the wife doesn't hide important information from her police officer husband (and actually takes sensible precautions) and the police officer husband listens to his wife and admits she has insights he doesn't.

A dentist is found dead, and fortunately Daisy is there to forestall any ideas of suicide. From there it moves into a tangled tale of love and murder.

The look into 1920s, between the Wars, England is interesting from the aristocracy to the regular people who no longer want to be "in service" because there are more fulfilling ways to earn a living.

[Andrea]

This is a solid series of mysteries - Daisy is neither too-competent nor a clutz, and I'm glad that Alec has pretty much accepted that murder will happen in Daisy's wake, and she's good at finding out what's going on.

[Sarah AF · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a little break from this series, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed stepping back into the world of Daisy and Alec as they navigate their way through mysteries and married life.

The structure of this mystery centring around a dentist integrated the community in which Daisy and Alec live in very nicely, showing Daisy at her personable best and Alec floudering in his attempts to be more like her. That said, the perpetrator was ridiculously obvious from the off. When there's one, singular character who everybody seems rub up against abrasively while everybody else is getting along perfectly fine, it's fairly obvious who your perp is going to be and so it proved!!

[Anastasia Abboud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this Daisy Dalrymple mystery. One of my favorite things about the series is the way author Dunn incorporates Daisy’s life, love, and family together with the mystery. In Die Laughing, we see Daisy doing her best to embrace life in her new home and neighborhood.

Daisy, herself, is just so sweet.

Love this series.

[Claire Tomonaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in this series!

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little 1920’s murder mystery novel, well written but swamped with dialogue in many parts and sometimes lacking more detailed descriptions. The plot is not unoriginal but there was no major twist and the outcome could be quite predictable. I enjoyed the dynamic of the husband police inspector and the wife sleuthing journalist. Characters were well written but some rather underdeveloped. Overall a good book, but nothing amazing.

[Nancy Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Daisy, and I had a ball with this book. Another fun, well-written and well-paced story in this series. I believe this was the first book with now-married Daisy in her new neighborhood. Fun!!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always enjoy this series.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

1924 London. Daisy Fletcher, nee the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, has a wretched toothache. Her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of New Scotland Yard, pushes her to go see his local dentist, Raymond Talmadge, and Daisy reluctantly makes an appointment. It’s an excuse to get out of the house, at least, which she is uneasily sharing with Alec’s mother, who does not approve of Daisy and makes that well known at every possible juncture. However, when Daisy arrives at the Talmadge house, where the dentist has his surgery, no one is awaiting her. When the nurse finally arrives late from her lunch break, then Mrs. Talmadge comes home, they search for the dentist, and find him dead—with the laughing gas mask over his face. Although others assume accident or suicide, Daisy sees evidence that makes her suspect murder—so she calls in the police. There are no shortage of suspects, from the straying wife to the mistress to the wife’s lover to the mistress’ husband, and more. Even with help from Daisy, can Alec get it sorted out before something worse happens? And how is he going to keep the peace at home?

I love this series, which is reliably solid and full of wonderful period detail, even if sometimes the mysteries aren’t all that mysterious. Daisy is such a cheerful, fun character, and while I don’t like series in which the detective’s miserable personal life becomes the focus, I do appreciate that each Daisy book does advance her relationship with Alec and his family both before and after they marry, in a believable way. It’s also nice to see the diversity that the author has done her best to add, considering the time period, though McKinnon is a little too stereotypically Scotch! (He’s not the diversity, though—that would be Daisy’s Indian friend and her family.) Anyway, a fun series.

[Emma Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is frankly subpar. The plot is on so small a scale and the suspects in so low a number that I found the story deeply dull at times, more so because I guessed the identity of one of the murderers fairly early. It's happened before, even with more veteran authors such as Christie (I'm thinking about Cards on the Table here) but it's been usually compensated with interesting character backgrounds. None of that here and the dialogue is too redundant to be of real interest - how many times can you have Alec described in exactly the same way and how many times can you have the housekeeper and the nurse quarrel? I wouldn't recommend this one, the only truly engrossing detail was Daisy's musings on her next magazine article about the evolution of domestic service. Her insight was particularly well-developped and very welcome.

[Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of dark, complex books lately, so this gentle cozy mystery was a perfect contrast to them.

I've never read this author before, and obviously I'm reading in the middle of the series, but I had no problems following Daisy's personal situation (living some time in the 1920s, married to a detective from Scotland Yard, with a sweet step daughter and the mother-in-law from Hell) and certainly no problem fitting her into the world in which she lives. Considering that Daisy's life is a major part of the book, that is a good thing.

The book has most of the things I require, interesting characters, a twisting plot, and since it is a mystery a good puzzle. I'll be looking for more of these.

[C.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't you know that a visit to the dentist would result in a dead body, at least it would for Daisy. Digging into the man's life reveils a long history of adultery on the part of both the man and his wife. What is amazing is that the all the rather messy relationship issues don't bog down the books breezy tone. Also, this is the book where Alex's difficult mother finally moves out, leaving Alex and Daisy in charge of their own house.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ stars

This Daisy Dalymple is set in the neighborhood of Daisy's home with her husband, Chief Detective Inspector Alec Fletcher, his daughter Belinda (Bel), and her mother-in-law Mrs. Fletcher. We finally get a glimpse of Daisy's domestic life and her new neighborhood. We also get to meet some new characters we've heard a bit about, such as Deva (Bel's Indian friend) and her mother, Sakari.

Daisy has an appointment with the Fletcher family dentist - she has a cavity of some sort, and going to the dentist is not Daisy's favorite thing to do! This is her first trip to see Mr. Talmadge professionally. She's met the Talmadges in the local "society" gatherings; Mr. Talmadge is tall and very handsome; Mrs. Talmadge is well-dressed and carefully made-up. They're quite the pinnacle of the middle-class suburbia.

Except that when Daisy arrives at Mr. Talmadge's office for her 2:00pm appointment, there's no one in the reception area and the door to the surgery is locked. After waiting 10 minutes, Daisy's nerves have her just about to give up when Nurse Henley flies in, out of breath. She says that she's late arriving back from lunch, and she sighs in relief when she finds that Mr. Talmadge isn't around. Except that when the Nurse and Daisy go through the house to another door into the surgery, they encounter Mrs. Talmadge, getting out of a taxi cab, resplendent in a brown suit, brown hat, and brown veil. Mrs. Talmadge obviously doesn't like Nurse Henley, and she insists upon locating her husband herself. Grabbing the surgery key, Mrs. Talmadge proceeds Daisy into the surgery, and quickly gasps, then tries to block Daisy's view. But it's too late - Daisy's already seen the dentist, Mr. Talmadge, in a chair, with the laughing gas mask and an eerie smile on his face. Mrs. Talmadge exclaims that he must have fallen asleep, but as he's not moving, Daisy quickly checks his pulse... and sure enough, the dentist is dead.

Nurse Henley exclaims it must have been an accident - that the dentist just didn't turn on the oxygen necessary with the gas. She turns the oxygen on, but it's still too late. Daisy tells them to call the doctor and the police, to which both the nurse and the wife blanch. Surely it's just an unfortunate accident! But Daisy notices a small rectangular mark by the dentist's mouth that smells like the sticking plasters of the day (could someone have blocked his air through his mouth?), as well as creases on the arms of his suit that could indicate the dentist had been tied to the chair - probably with bandages. Daisy shoos the ladies out, puts on her gloves, locks the surgery, carefully pulls the door shut, and locks it.

A Sergeant Mckinnon is originally called to the scene, and he seems to be competent enough, except that he poo-poohs Daisy's ideas. So Daisy phones Alec. Poor Alec! And once again, Alec's the assigned DCI.

But the sleepy suburban middle-class neighborhood comes to life after the doctor, the police, Scotland Yard, and a coroner show up. And sure enough, there's evidence to support Daisy's theory of murder. Mrs. Talmadge is in hysterics; Nurse Henley is fighting with everyone, mostly Mrs. Talmadge's maid, and Nurse mentions that Mrs. T wasn't such a good wife, not having an affair. Mrs. T's maid says that "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander", leaving Daisy to believe that Mr. T was also having an affair. Somehow, Daisy becomes not only peace-maker, but Mrs. T clings to her side; Daisy and Mrs. T have been nodding acquaintances, but now Mrs. T treats her as a bosom friend. What's Daisy to do?

Suddenly Daisy is thrust into the spotlight as a witness, and becomes subject of Mrs. Fletcher's disapproval, the neighborhood gossip's best friend and most-invited to luncheon, tea, and dinner. Due to her "Honorable" status, the neighborhood never quite accepted Daisy as one of their own -- except for the mothers of Bel's two best friends. Daisy tries to carefully walk the line between being part of the investigation, pleasing Alec, making peace at home, and finding out who's been sleeping with whom.

It comes to light that Mrs. T has, indeed, been having an affair - with a Lord Creighton. And Mr. T's latest mistress seems to have been the wife of Major Walker - a slippery woman, who tells lies as easily as she breathes. When Major Walker ends up dead by apparent suicide (head in the gas oven), and Mrs. Walker's fingerprints are found on the gas, a mug containing Ovaltine and a sleeping draught, and the pan where the milk was heated, it seems as if Mrs. Walker is covering her tracks.

But are Daisy and Alec on the right track?
================
This fast-paced book was enjoyable, because we get to see Daisy's domestic life. We see the tension between Daisy and Alec's mother in the home; Alec's mother never approved of the marriage between her middle-class son and the lady of noble birth; she certainly doesn't approve of Daisy's writing career, her housekeeping skills, or her penchant for stumbling over bodies and then interfering in the murder investigations.

We see Mrs. Fletcher take an extended vacation with a friend to her sister's home in Brighton. Daisy is depressed, until Alec tells her that his first wife, Joan, and his mother didn't get along well either; in fact, his mother only came for rare visits while Joan and Alec were married. Alec wonders if he can get his mother to move out permanently, giving everyone the space they need. Belinda is delighted with Daisy as her new mother, and Alec likes the way his daughter is carefree again.

We can only hope that Alec succeeds... we don't know when the book ends.

I hope for more scenes of Daisy's domestic life. It's fun to see her go to historic homes for her articles, but it's refreshing to get a glimpse of her "real" life... to see the setting in which she's joined Alec and Belinda. Thank goodness the Fletcher's domestic help is on Daisy's side!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Daisy Dalrymple books are light and fluffy, but that makes them the perfect thing for our current times -- and the perfect counterpoint to some of the more serious books I also enjoy.

In this one, Daisy goes to the dentist only to find him dead. It looks like a suicide, but she quickly realizes it was not. Then the plot gets surprisingly twisty! Unlike some previous installments, I honestly found myself unable to figure out who the murderer was all the way to the end. And in a good piece of writing, I thought, no one in the story figured it out before the very end, either.

For those who have been reading the series, I will add that this one seemed to turn a corner away from Daisy uttering cute little flapper expressions and much more toward Daisy assuming a new role as she settles into married life. It was a nice development.

[Nente · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery solution in this one was quite believable, what's unbelievable is how long they take to get to it. It jumped to my attention at once, waving a big red flag actually.
I liked the picture of Daisy&Alec's married home life a bit more than I did their courtship, and altogether this is way better than almost any of the previous installments. Fewer stock phrases, less Alec getting enraged at something Daisy couldn't help, less modern attitude forcibly brought in to make us like and relate to the characters.
I was still wondering why continue reading, but after this one perhaps I've got more of a reason.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another typical mystery in this series. This time Daisy stumbles upon the death of a dentist. She doesn't want to go because dentistry was literally torture in those days, with the patients having to be strapped to the chair! When she gets there she finds that the dentist is dead in his chair with the laughing gas mask strapped to his face. It appears to be suicide, but Daisy suspects foul play.

This was an interesting story. I figured out early on who the killer was, but all the red herrings that kept getting thrown onto the path confused and prolonged the story beyond reason. It was okay, but not as fun as usual.

[Victoria Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The twelfth book in the Daisy Dalrymple Series is Die Laughing which follows Daisy as she investigates the murder of her dentist. My favourite part about reading long series' like this one is getting to see the writer improve and I think that this might be the best mystery so far. The suspects seemed fewer but more distinctive which is much better than in some of the previous books, and it reinvigorates the series in my eyes. It remains true to it's genre of being a cosy murder mystery enough that it still has a sense of familiarity to it which keeps me coming back to the series time and time again. I really enjoyed Die Laughing and look forward to Daisy's next adventure.

[Len · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I was young there was a thing called Painting by Numbers – it may still exist. You had a prepared sheet with an outline drawing divided into sections, each section given a number that corresponded to a numbered colour on the palette provided. You dutifully completed the painting process, stood back and saw something you wouldn't hang on the toilet wall.

Well, I'm sorry, but for me that is Daisy Dalrymple. Not Agatha Christie for modern readers, more Enid Blyton for adults. I must apologise again as I can't think of an American author similar to Blyton. All the writers who made up Carolyn Keene perhaps?

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

#12 in the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple (and her husband Scotland Yard Detective chief Inspector Alec Fletcher), magazine writer and heiress (no inheritance due to British entailed system) mystery series. It is March (?), 1924 and a toothache sends a reluctant Daisy to a neighboring dentist only to discover him dead.

Sidelight: Daisy has a bothersome toothache which sends her to the Fletcher family dentist. At the office, the bothersome tooth ceases to be a bother and no longer a part of the plot.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was downright boring:

Daisy goes to the dentist (a neighbor of hers who has an office to the side of his home) only to find him dead, in his chair of a Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) overdose....

His wife was having an affair, as was he... She, however, is pregnant by her lover, so they both agree to end their affairs & work things out for the baby.

Then, the dentist's lover's husband is found dead w/ his head in the oven... Could it have been a second murder?

I really didn't like the characters, I especially do not like Daisy's mother-in-law nor her mother...

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Thank goodness we’ve returned to where Daisy is comfortable and sensible in being. Introduction of her friends is refreshing and lovely to give her some other women equal to her intellect. Alec is tedious and I am unsure why any woman would find him charming or marriageable material. But he was limited in this story to a more sensible police role. Not particularly excited about the future pregnancy that is bound to occur. But as there are at least 8 more books ahead for me, I guess Daisy still manages to trip over dead bodies

She’s no Jessica Fletcher, but few are.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who else but Daisy (Dalrymple) Fletcher could go to a dentist appointment and find herself in the middle of a murder investigation? She alone notices the subtle indications that the death was not an accident and there are a few points in the story where her husband, Detective Inspector Alec Fletcher, actually appreciates her help in solving the case. Meanwhile Daisy gets an idea for an article on the problem of finding servants in post-WWI England, with the odd thought that it might have something to do with how they are treated. Light and very readable.

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Honorable Daisy Darymple Fletcher works with and around her policeman inspector husband, Alec, to solve a murder. This mystery had two deaths and many suspects but it was difficult to arrive at the answer of "who did it." Only one death was a murder. The other individual took his own life but it seemed like it might have been murder and a suspect was almost arrested. It's a most interesting read and my first featuring this heroine.