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Daisy Dalrymple #10
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
In late 1923, the newly married Daisy Dalrymple and her husband Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, come to America for a honeymoon visit. In the midst of a pleasure trip, however, both work in a bit of business - Alec travels to Washington, D. C. to consult with the U.S. government, Daisy to New York to meet with her American magazine editor. While in New York, Daisy stays at the famed Chelsea Hotel, which is not only close to the Flatiron Building offices of Abroad magazine, where she'll be meeting with her editor, but home to many of New York's artists and writers. After her late morning meeting, Daisy agrees to accompany her editor, Mr. Thorwald, to lunch but as they are leaving the offices, they hear a gun shot and see a man plummeting down an elevator shaft. The man killed was one of her fellow residents at the Chelsea Hotel, Otis Carmody, who was a journalist with no end of enemies - personal and professional - who would delight in his death.Again in the midst of a murder investigation, Daisy's search for the killer takes her to all levels of society, and even a mad dash across the country itself, as she attempts to solve a puzzle that would baffle even Philo Vance himself.Critical Praise for The Daisy Dalrymple novels by Carola Dunn:"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
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2002
77 people are currently reading
755 people want to read
About the author
Carola Dunn
91 books890 followersCarola 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 262 reviews
May 2, 2019
Definitely not my favorite in the series. One of the worst parts was the narrator's American accents, especially males. Then there was a cross-country airplane chase that just worked out too well. We did get to meet some interesting characters along the way, but nothing about the book really worked.
March 2, 2015
This was awful. Even with the expectation that this series is fluff that can be read in a few hours, this was bad. There's no more than an anecdote's worth of plot, and far less action than a would imply. I was convinced that this book was a hundred pages longer than the others in the series, and shocked to discover it's about the same as the rest. I don't know what the point of setting the book in New York was, if all your characters are going to do is sit around a hotel and drink tea. I guess the point was to have some English smugness; only two of the dozen American characters in this book weren't horrible racist idiots, and those two characters were anachronisms. And not only that, we spend 200 pages with these unbearable assholes, and then they ALL disappear and the remaining 60 pages of the book pointlessly introduce a half dozen unmemorable new ones. The reader is forced to wade through reams of nonsense with these morons, and then it turns out to be utterly fruitless. No one does any deducting about the mystery at all; they just endlessly rehash events of which the reader is already aware, and then the case is solved by . Daisy and Alec aren't the soundest of reasoners at the best of times, but this was preposterous.
I know I sound like I dislike this series and one would wonder why I've read ten books of it and still plan to continue. Generally, though my impressions of Daisy and Alec as logicians isn't robust, the books are pleasant, inoffensive, and amusing enough for the two or three hours it takes to read them, and sometimes that's all you want on a snowy afternoon. However, it does mean that when you remove those modest charms, there's nothing left. Except nerd rage. Of which I have plenty.
I know I sound like I dislike this series and one would wonder why I've read ten books of it and still plan to continue. Generally, though my impressions of Daisy and Alec as logicians isn't robust, the books are pleasant, inoffensive, and amusing enough for the two or three hours it takes to read them, and sometimes that's all you want on a snowy afternoon. However, it does mean that when you remove those modest charms, there's nothing left. Except nerd rage. Of which I have plenty.
August 19, 2022
I didn't really like this one I'm afraid. It's a shame because I have liked others in the series but the characters and setting didn't work for me this time.
It was tedious, repetitive and the mystery wasn't really a mystery. Even Daisy (who I do like) couldn't rescue this one. So um yeah. I'm disappointed.
It was tedious, repetitive and the mystery wasn't really a mystery. Even Daisy (who I do like) couldn't rescue this one. So um yeah. I'm disappointed.
August 18, 2013
I didn’t like this book as well as most of the others in the Daisy Dalrymple series. The story deviates from the usual plotline of the series, both in structure and in characters, and the differences are glaring.
First, the action takes place in America, not in Britain, and I commiserated with Daisy, as she struggles to understand the land and its people, as well as translate the frequently unfamiliar vernacular.
Second, all the characters except Daisy and her husband, Alec Fletcher, are Americans, of course, and not nearly as charming as most of the British characters of Dunn’s other novels of the series. The characters are also not well defined, and there are unnecessarily many of them, making the narrative confusing at times. Even Daisy and Alec are kind-of blurry, although my familiarity with them from the other novels served to alleviate this shortcoming.
The mystery itself is rather dull, with a politic flavor, which is also a new wrinkle in the series, and it is not handled in the best possible way. Furthermore, contrary to the British police in the other books, the investigating American police is depicted as corrupt and incompetent. Actually, Alec is on a temporary assignment in America: to help the American government in creating as efficient and incorruptible police force as in Britain. (I can’t help grinning.)
The tale is extremely slow in the first half, while Alec is off the spotlight and Daisy sleuths alone, but as soon as he arrives on the scene, the story builds speed and momentum, exploding in an airplane chase across America: from New York to Eugine, Oregon. Remember – it’s 1923, and planes are still made of sticks and cellophane, so the entire sequence is highly educational and fun to read. But the denouement is disappointing.
Despite the flaws I mentioned, I enjoyed meeting Daisy again. By now, I’ve almost exhausted my secret cache of unread Daisy Dalrymple mysteries – only a couple left – and it makes me sad. Daisy is an old friend, even though this time, her story is not as fascinating and sometimes it even feels contrived, artificial.
To sweeten the deal, this novel, like most Dunn’s novels, contained a couple new words for me, the words requiring a dictionary. The first word is on the cover – Muckraker. When I first picked up this book, I thought it was some kind of a bird or a toy. In all my reading, I’d never encountered this word before. Now, upon consulting a dictionary, I know that it means an exposer or a gossipmonger, someone who digs up dirt. Or an investigative journalist.
The second word new to me was Inapposite, which means irrelevant. Many of the readers might already be familiar with that word, but I wasn’t.
The best feature of this book was Daisy’s puzzled contemplations on the differences between the two cultures and two tongues, even though both tongues are still called by the same name: English.
First, the action takes place in America, not in Britain, and I commiserated with Daisy, as she struggles to understand the land and its people, as well as translate the frequently unfamiliar vernacular.
She wondered why Americans insisted that they spoke English, when they might just as well call their language American. The oddest thing was that people kept telling her, an English woman speaking the King’s English, that she had a quaint accent!
Second, all the characters except Daisy and her husband, Alec Fletcher, are Americans, of course, and not nearly as charming as most of the British characters of Dunn’s other novels of the series. The characters are also not well defined, and there are unnecessarily many of them, making the narrative confusing at times. Even Daisy and Alec are kind-of blurry, although my familiarity with them from the other novels served to alleviate this shortcoming.
The mystery itself is rather dull, with a politic flavor, which is also a new wrinkle in the series, and it is not handled in the best possible way. Furthermore, contrary to the British police in the other books, the investigating American police is depicted as corrupt and incompetent. Actually, Alec is on a temporary assignment in America: to help the American government in creating as efficient and incorruptible police force as in Britain. (I can’t help grinning.)
The tale is extremely slow in the first half, while Alec is off the spotlight and Daisy sleuths alone, but as soon as he arrives on the scene, the story builds speed and momentum, exploding in an airplane chase across America: from New York to Eugine, Oregon. Remember – it’s 1923, and planes are still made of sticks and cellophane, so the entire sequence is highly educational and fun to read. But the denouement is disappointing.
Despite the flaws I mentioned, I enjoyed meeting Daisy again. By now, I’ve almost exhausted my secret cache of unread Daisy Dalrymple mysteries – only a couple left – and it makes me sad. Daisy is an old friend, even though this time, her story is not as fascinating and sometimes it even feels contrived, artificial.
To sweeten the deal, this novel, like most Dunn’s novels, contained a couple new words for me, the words requiring a dictionary. The first word is on the cover – Muckraker. When I first picked up this book, I thought it was some kind of a bird or a toy. In all my reading, I’d never encountered this word before. Now, upon consulting a dictionary, I know that it means an exposer or a gossipmonger, someone who digs up dirt. Or an investigative journalist.
The second word new to me was Inapposite, which means irrelevant. Many of the readers might already be familiar with that word, but I wasn’t.
The best feature of this book was Daisy’s puzzled contemplations on the differences between the two cultures and two tongues, even though both tongues are still called by the same name: English.
November 3, 2018
These books have always been a pretty easy read, and a tad fun. But this 10th instalment was a bit of a grind. Having now read some other reviews, I can see I'm not alone.
I think the setting moving from England to the USA really didn't work for this series. All of the American characters were written as highly irritating and what is generally quaint in Daisy's world became a bit jarring. There were also far too many characters, a meandering plot, and an uninteresting mystery.
Hopefully book #11 brings the series back on track.
I think the setting moving from England to the USA really didn't work for this series. All of the American characters were written as highly irritating and what is generally quaint in Daisy's world became a bit jarring. There were also far too many characters, a meandering plot, and an uninteresting mystery.
Hopefully book #11 brings the series back on track.
January 29, 2021
This one is tedious in the extreme. My goodness. Read this book if you're invested in the series and like to finish things; otherwise, skip it.
I'm so irritated, I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together in an orderly way, you have been warned. Trying hard to remember that this is not supposed to be high class literature. Don't expect perfection. Don't expect perfection. Don't expect perfection. (spoken like a mantra)
From the first book in this series, there have been issues. In every single book, much of the plot hinges on one or more completely illogical mental leaps on Daisy's part. She comes to conclusions that stand for no reason other than that they must stand for the story to conclude the way the author intends. Another thing that has bothered me more with each successive book is Alec's overbearing nature and tendency to jealousy while eventually letting Daisy simply run roughshod all over him. I'm pretty sure the reality of that marriage wouldn't really be pleasant. In spite of those things, I carried on because the stories were entertaining and the characters, for the most part, engaging, if a bit mentally deficient.
And then, this book. This author with this series and America? Absolutely didn't work at all. Daisy comes across as posh in the extreme (but don't forget she really doesn't want to have that "honorary" in front of her name, that's just bad luck on her part- yet somehow, it feels like she's very much sure that her class of people is, in fact, better. The only people in the entire book who are portrayed in a positive light are Alec (as much a bumbling policeman as any, only his wife worships him and the author says he's smart), Daisy (an airhead, let's face it) and that other (posh) British pilot they so conveniently meet at the airfield in NY.... and the poor beleaguered black female pilot who has a personality like an angel and just takes it all like a martyr. I don't know enough about Bessie Coleman to know whether or not she's been portrayed accurately or not but she doesn't exactly fit into the story that well. (Stop here to look on in wide eyed amazement as, with zero training, in the middle of her first air travel experience, Daisy actually successfully co-pilots a plane across the continent. gigantic eye-roll) (Of course, we do have the poor put-upon Irish immigrants forced to work menial jobs in a hotel who are "good guys" but definitely not actually on Daisy's level- I got the feeling they were in their proper place- good enough to work in the hotel but not to be on Daisy's level socially.) Somehow, despite Daisy's so-called liberation, I get the feeling in this book that the way things should be are the British class way.
The author apparently left England and chose (we can assume it wasn't against her will) to live in the US- is she happy there? She sure doesn't write about the US as if it's any fit place to live.
PG Wodehouse wrote about the same class of British people- both in the US and in the UK- but he did it with wit and style. This series is getting old; this book left me irritated and wondering if I want to see the series through to the end.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator for the audiobook definitely also became wearisome.
I'm so irritated, I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together in an orderly way, you have been warned. Trying hard to remember that this is not supposed to be high class literature. Don't expect perfection. Don't expect perfection. Don't expect perfection. (spoken like a mantra)
From the first book in this series, there have been issues. In every single book, much of the plot hinges on one or more completely illogical mental leaps on Daisy's part. She comes to conclusions that stand for no reason other than that they must stand for the story to conclude the way the author intends. Another thing that has bothered me more with each successive book is Alec's overbearing nature and tendency to jealousy while eventually letting Daisy simply run roughshod all over him. I'm pretty sure the reality of that marriage wouldn't really be pleasant. In spite of those things, I carried on because the stories were entertaining and the characters, for the most part, engaging, if a bit mentally deficient.
And then, this book. This author with this series and America? Absolutely didn't work at all. Daisy comes across as posh in the extreme (but don't forget she really doesn't want to have that "honorary" in front of her name, that's just bad luck on her part- yet somehow, it feels like she's very much sure that her class of people is, in fact, better. The only people in the entire book who are portrayed in a positive light are Alec (as much a bumbling policeman as any, only his wife worships him and the author says he's smart), Daisy (an airhead, let's face it) and that other (posh) British pilot they so conveniently meet at the airfield in NY.... and the poor beleaguered black female pilot who has a personality like an angel and just takes it all like a martyr. I don't know enough about Bessie Coleman to know whether or not she's been portrayed accurately or not but she doesn't exactly fit into the story that well. (Stop here to look on in wide eyed amazement as, with zero training, in the middle of her first air travel experience, Daisy actually successfully co-pilots a plane across the continent. gigantic eye-roll) (Of course, we do have the poor put-upon Irish immigrants forced to work menial jobs in a hotel who are "good guys" but definitely not actually on Daisy's level- I got the feeling they were in their proper place- good enough to work in the hotel but not to be on Daisy's level socially.) Somehow, despite Daisy's so-called liberation, I get the feeling in this book that the way things should be are the British class way.
The author apparently left England and chose (we can assume it wasn't against her will) to live in the US- is she happy there? She sure doesn't write about the US as if it's any fit place to live.
PG Wodehouse wrote about the same class of British people- both in the US and in the UK- but he did it with wit and style. This series is getting old; this book left me irritated and wondering if I want to see the series through to the end.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator for the audiobook definitely also became wearisome.
May 3, 2022
Aw, gee! This was baaad!
Poor Daisy hasn't just traveled west, she's gone south, way south accompanied by a set of cardboard characters and an unbelievably cheesy "american" dialogue. What can I say?
After a hundred pages I felt a desperate craving for a good old fashioned butler. Shuffling around on tired worn out feet. In a dusty library. With an overweight labrador snoozing in a corner, smelling of wet fur and silent farts. (And after a hundred and fifty I was tempted to chuck the whole thing in.) So...
1 measly star and a heartfelt wish for a speedy return to the English way of life. And death. And murder.
Poor Daisy hasn't just traveled west, she's gone south, way south accompanied by a set of cardboard characters and an unbelievably cheesy "american" dialogue. What can I say?
After a hundred pages I felt a desperate craving for a good old fashioned butler. Shuffling around on tired worn out feet. In a dusty library. With an overweight labrador snoozing in a corner, smelling of wet fur and silent farts. (And after a hundred and fifty I was tempted to chuck the whole thing in.) So...
1 measly star and a heartfelt wish for a speedy return to the English way of life. And death. And murder.
November 7, 2021
Ziemlicher Quark und definitiv der bisher schlechteste Band dieser Reihe. Der Mordfall war langweilig, die amerikanischen Nebenfiguren absolut nervtötend. Hoffe der nävhste Band wird wieder unterhaltsamer.
September 11, 2016
Normally I enjoy Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple mysteries, but this one was truly, atrociously awful. The plot was very thin, and the actual motive for the murder was the least convincing I've ever heard. (And I write as someone who's read a lot of murder mysteries). The author set it in 1920's America, and what let the book down was the constant written word of American slang, together with the author's constant 'translating' US into British English, which was irritating and very much over the top. There are much better books in this series!
April 22, 2019
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
In this book, Daisy gets involved in a whole new kind of case — one that involves her with the police in America, along with whispers of corruption in the local government, vast amounts of gun crime… and a babysitter arranged for her while Alec is away to try and stop her getting into trouble. (Spoiler: he doesn’t succeed.) This is a very different setting for Daisy and it feels much less cosy, because she’s in a lot more genuine danger at times.
At the same time, there’s a whole section of the book that finally picks up on Alec having been a pilot, featuring an air chase across the US. Pretty epic stuff.
I feel like the this book was somewhat lacking because it has so few familiar characters. Ms Genevieve/Eugene Cannon is pretty awesome, a now-retired former crime reporter who wrote under a male pseudonym for acceptance, but otherwise I missed Daisy’s friends and family, and Alec’s team at the Yard. I’m quite, quite ready for Daisy to be home now. I worried about this series getting too formulaic for me, but with more variation in the background, I missed some of the more routine characters.
I just wish Daisy would go ahead and become a PI, honestly. At least that would put a figleaf over the glaring fact that nobody accidentally finds so many corpses!
In this book, Daisy gets involved in a whole new kind of case — one that involves her with the police in America, along with whispers of corruption in the local government, vast amounts of gun crime… and a babysitter arranged for her while Alec is away to try and stop her getting into trouble. (Spoiler: he doesn’t succeed.) This is a very different setting for Daisy and it feels much less cosy, because she’s in a lot more genuine danger at times.
At the same time, there’s a whole section of the book that finally picks up on Alec having been a pilot, featuring an air chase across the US. Pretty epic stuff.
I feel like the this book was somewhat lacking because it has so few familiar characters. Ms Genevieve/Eugene Cannon is pretty awesome, a now-retired former crime reporter who wrote under a male pseudonym for acceptance, but otherwise I missed Daisy’s friends and family, and Alec’s team at the Yard. I’m quite, quite ready for Daisy to be home now. I worried about this series getting too formulaic for me, but with more variation in the background, I missed some of the more routine characters.
I just wish Daisy would go ahead and become a PI, honestly. At least that would put a figleaf over the glaring fact that nobody accidentally finds so many corpses!
May 29, 2008
this wasn't amazing - in fact, i feel as though it just ended. however, Dunn definitely gets points for her descriptions of the countryside, flying in a small plane years ago when flight was still new.....what I think is interesting about these books is that Dunn does a great job of describing the era (in this case, J. Edgar Hoover is just appearing on the national scene) in a way that makes you think of some history in ways you haven't before. all that while at the same time providing a mystery. not the best "who done it" ever (you often figure out who done it early on), but her books are definitely about the thrill of the chase.
November 13, 2017
2.5 stars. I really hope Daisy goes back to England in the next book. I'm tired of the audiobook narrator's "American" accents. She does some of them just fine, but gives inexplicable drawls to others that are really obnoxious.
The other reason I had to rate this one lower is because of "Oh Sister! Oh Dear!" repeated ad nauseum. At a couple of points I yelled at that character to just. Shut. Up.
The other reason I had to rate this one lower is because of "Oh Sister! Oh Dear!" repeated ad nauseum. At a couple of points I yelled at that character to just. Shut. Up.
August 9, 2018
This was a DNF, at 70% or so, a while back. I don't recall why. So I found the Kindle bookmark and finished it, nearly all of which couple of chapters had to do with Alec and Daisy flying from New York to Oregon in pursuit of a murderer. Not the best of this series, the airplane trip being just a little too easy for reality (always a field, always petrol, yada). So I stretched to 3 stars.
October 19, 2020
Oof! THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRACKER just didn't work for me at all. For me, this is the weakest book in the series to date by far.
In this book Daisy finds herself in the United States where the majority of characters come across as contrived caricatures while the most ridiculous plot plays out.
Hopefully this is just a blip in a series that otherwise offers light entertainment.
In this book Daisy finds herself in the United States where the majority of characters come across as contrived caricatures while the most ridiculous plot plays out.
Hopefully this is just a blip in a series that otherwise offers light entertainment.
April 5, 2017
While the story itself was a lot of fun, the hokey americanisms really grated on me after awhile. I'm sure that NY police in the 20s didn't say Gee whiz & Punk on a regular basis like this book claims. Not my favourite Daisy book.
June 17, 2021
2.5 out of 5 stars
October 18, 2020
DNF @ 85%
WHAT UTTER CRAP.
This series is nothing but fluff to begin with, and I realized when I got to about 50% that this must be the one that averaged about 3.5 stars on goodreads, with the rest generally being 3.7-3.8 (which, generally speaking is bad enough since it's consistent throughout the whole series; it's one thing for the first book to have a lower rating because the books following are read by those that actually liked the series enough to continue it. Most of the time, ratings get at least a little, if not significantly, better as the series goes along). Knowing that, a 3.5 book is REALLY BAD.
And, oh, is it really really bad. The Americans are so fucking cliche and obnoxious. And repetitive. And just stupid. And our heroine is flightier than usual (heh, unintentional pun).
I am not finishing this book. I put it on 1.75 speed to try to get through the last quarter, and I just can't do it.
Per the goodread reviews for the rest of the series, the books go back to being English period fluffy cozy mysteries, but I have to stop in general for now. I don't know if I'll pick this series up again, even if it is included in my audible membership. Just ugh.
WHAT UTTER CRAP.
This series is nothing but fluff to begin with, and I realized when I got to about 50% that this must be the one that averaged about 3.5 stars on goodreads, with the rest generally being 3.7-3.8 (which, generally speaking is bad enough since it's consistent throughout the whole series; it's one thing for the first book to have a lower rating because the books following are read by those that actually liked the series enough to continue it. Most of the time, ratings get at least a little, if not significantly, better as the series goes along). Knowing that, a 3.5 book is REALLY BAD.
And, oh, is it really really bad. The Americans are so fucking cliche and obnoxious. And repetitive. And just stupid. And our heroine is flightier than usual (heh, unintentional pun).
I am not finishing this book. I put it on 1.75 speed to try to get through the last quarter, and I just can't do it.
Per the goodread reviews for the rest of the series, the books go back to being English period fluffy cozy mysteries, but I have to stop in general for now. I don't know if I'll pick this series up again, even if it is included in my audible membership. Just ugh.
September 6, 2022
Definitely one of my least favourites of the series so far. The plot points on paper should have been exciting, but they were not. I am not sure why the magic was missing, but it was.
Also this has to be the least flattering portrayal of Americans I've ever read, and I've read books by Michael Moore. :P
Also this has to be the least flattering portrayal of Americans I've ever read, and I've read books by Michael Moore. :P
April 4, 2018
Probably my least favorite of her books so far. Not sure why as the setting was good and all the characters likable. The mystery seemed muddled though. Still a favorite cozy series ... so much so that I’ve kept these books to read again. That’s rare for me anymore. 3.5 stars
September 7, 2020
I could swear I've read books in this series, but I found this one at a Friends of the Library book sale and just got to read it. Loved the characters, the overall setting, and the action was nonstop! Now I have to go read the rest of the books!
November 29, 2020
3.5 stars. Not as much fun as some of the other books in the series, but still enjoyable.
November 18, 2023
Interesting story about living in a New York hotel and flying cross country back in 1920
May 5, 2024
A mad pursuit across the US in a biplane.
August 14, 2018
Miss Daisy und der Tote im Chelsea Hotel war so ein Buch, das mir ganz zufällig über den Weg gelaufen ist und das ich vor allem aus einem Grund lesen wollte: Es spielt in den goldenen Zwanzigern. Und ich mag Kriminalromane. Die Mischung klang also perfekt für mich und ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Tatsächlich hat das Buch mich von der Stimmung her an die Serie „Miss Fishers mysteriöse Mordfälle“ erinnert, die ich unbedingt mal weiter schauen muss.
Bei Miss Daisy und der Tote im Chelsea Hotel handelt es sich um den zehnten Band einer Reihe. Die vorigen Teile kannte ich nicht und ich habe erst später bemerkt, dass dies nicht der erste Band ist, aber da hat überhaupt nichts gemacht. Ich habe dennoch gut in die Geschichte reingefunden und saß nicht mit hundert Fragezeichen im Gesicht da. Die Reihe ist also definitiv darauf ausgelegt, dass man die Bücher unabhängig voneinander lesen kann, was für mich ein großer Pluspunkt war.
Von der ersten Seite an fand ich Daisy als Erzählerin wahnsinnig sympathisch. Sie hat irgendwie ihren ganz eigenen Charme, ist forsch und lässt sich nicht einschüchtern. Dass Daisy ihren ganz eigenen Kopf hat und sehr neugierig ist hat man ziemlich schnell gemerkt und sind Eigenschaften an ihr, die die Geschichte zügig voran getrieben haben. Das Buch ist nicht sonderlich lang, deshalb aber quasi durchgehend spannend. Die Nebencharaktere haben alle ihre kleinen Eigenarten, manche sehr liebenswert, andere fast schon nervig, aber insgesamt gefielen mir die Charaktere in diesem Buch ziemlich gut, besonders ein paar der Hotelgäste und -angestellten fand ich grandios.
Wie gesagt bin ich vor allem durch das historische Setting auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden und dieses hat mich auch nicht enttäuscht. Seit ich vor ein paar Jahren in der Schule The Great Gatsby gelesen habe finde ich die goldenen Zwanziger irgendwie wahnsinnig interessant und bei Miss Daisy hat sich das vor allem in der Art der Verfolgungsjagd widergespiegelt und anhand der Mittel, die zur Ermittlung und Verfolgung zur Verfügung standen.
Bei Miss Daisy und der Tote im Chelsea Hotel handelt es sich um den zehnten Band einer Reihe. Die vorigen Teile kannte ich nicht und ich habe erst später bemerkt, dass dies nicht der erste Band ist, aber da hat überhaupt nichts gemacht. Ich habe dennoch gut in die Geschichte reingefunden und saß nicht mit hundert Fragezeichen im Gesicht da. Die Reihe ist also definitiv darauf ausgelegt, dass man die Bücher unabhängig voneinander lesen kann, was für mich ein großer Pluspunkt war.
Von der ersten Seite an fand ich Daisy als Erzählerin wahnsinnig sympathisch. Sie hat irgendwie ihren ganz eigenen Charme, ist forsch und lässt sich nicht einschüchtern. Dass Daisy ihren ganz eigenen Kopf hat und sehr neugierig ist hat man ziemlich schnell gemerkt und sind Eigenschaften an ihr, die die Geschichte zügig voran getrieben haben. Das Buch ist nicht sonderlich lang, deshalb aber quasi durchgehend spannend. Die Nebencharaktere haben alle ihre kleinen Eigenarten, manche sehr liebenswert, andere fast schon nervig, aber insgesamt gefielen mir die Charaktere in diesem Buch ziemlich gut, besonders ein paar der Hotelgäste und -angestellten fand ich grandios.
Wie gesagt bin ich vor allem durch das historische Setting auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden und dieses hat mich auch nicht enttäuscht. Seit ich vor ein paar Jahren in der Schule The Great Gatsby gelesen habe finde ich die goldenen Zwanziger irgendwie wahnsinnig interessant und bei Miss Daisy hat sich das vor allem in der Art der Verfolgungsjagd widergespiegelt und anhand der Mittel, die zur Ermittlung und Verfolgung zur Verfügung standen.
December 21, 2022
Planes, trains, and automobiles
March 17, 2023
A really silly, sometimes even slapstick, entry in the Daisy Dalrymple series. It was entertaining, and, of course, delivers quite satisfyingly, but at times the Americanisms were so thick as to be ridiculous. I'll be glad if Daisy stays on her side of the pond in future, though if she does do more American touring you can bet I'll still join her ;) Enjoyable for the fans, if a bit grating at times. Not recommended as a first trial if you haven't experienced any Daisy Dalrymple mysteries previously.
September 22, 2021
I really, really tried to like this book. It’s my first exposure to the series and I figured any mystery series with at list this many entries couldn’t be a bad listen (audiobook on Audible). The voice acting was great! It’s the content that turned me off.
The story is set in 1920���s New York City, and the dialogue often feels like someone was only exposed to 1940’s mobster movies. There was even a “ya see” thrown in. I suppose it was meant to make the character sound like a street tough, but it really struck me as off. The agent from the nascent FBI was portrayed as a bumbling fool, inept at his job and felt like comic relief. This feeling was intensified when he conveniently left the story before the final pursuit.
The dialogue problems are a shame because the author did do research to capture the look of NYC at the time along with political and counter-culture beats. Prohibition featured strongly in the book, though almost completely as reminders that it was the law as almost every character of note drank. I do know that drinking during prohibition was a regular occurrence, but it wasn’t a point necessary to make.
I finished the book hoping that there would be some big plot twist. Nope. No plot twist. Even the chase scene, whole novel in method, was bereft of tension. For those looking for a boilerplate mystery with two-dimensional stereotype characters, this may be a book for you. It just wasn’t for me.
The story is set in 1920���s New York City, and the dialogue often feels like someone was only exposed to 1940’s mobster movies. There was even a “ya see” thrown in. I suppose it was meant to make the character sound like a street tough, but it really struck me as off. The agent from the nascent FBI was portrayed as a bumbling fool, inept at his job and felt like comic relief. This feeling was intensified when he conveniently left the story before the final pursuit.
The dialogue problems are a shame because the author did do research to capture the look of NYC at the time along with political and counter-culture beats. Prohibition featured strongly in the book, though almost completely as reminders that it was the law as almost every character of note drank. I do know that drinking during prohibition was a regular occurrence, but it wasn’t a point necessary to make.
I finished the book hoping that there would be some big plot twist. Nope. No plot twist. Even the chase scene, whole novel in method, was bereft of tension. For those looking for a boilerplate mystery with two-dimensional stereotype characters, this may be a book for you. It just wasn’t for me.
August 19, 2022
As a mystery this was convoluted, confusing and dull. Way too much (absurd) dialogue and way too little plot. I could barely keep track of what the crime was and why the suspects were suspected. There was really zero suspense—I mean there is no mystery to it all. It is the strangest “mystery” I’ve ever read in that sense.
The book was full of annoying one-dimensional stock characters and the final third of the book was so improbable I almost stopped altogether. If you are like me and get to that point, follow my advice: just stop. It doesn’t get better. There are no fun twists in the story. It proceeds exactly as you think it will. The person who did it is exactly who you think did it. And if you’re wrong and thought it was someone else than the author says, you have already come up with a more interesting solution than this book has, so you may as well stop and not be disappointed.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator’s accents were off-putting and perhaps prejudiced me against the entire affair. I would appreciate it if she would vary her cadence a bit more often, too.
Normally I find the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries harmless “potboiler” fun. This one made me resent the time I spent on it when I could have been reading something better. Ah, well, I suppose I only have myself to blame for persisting through to the end.
The book was full of annoying one-dimensional stock characters and the final third of the book was so improbable I almost stopped altogether. If you are like me and get to that point, follow my advice: just stop. It doesn’t get better. There are no fun twists in the story. It proceeds exactly as you think it will. The person who did it is exactly who you think did it. And if you’re wrong and thought it was someone else than the author says, you have already come up with a more interesting solution than this book has, so you may as well stop and not be disappointed.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator’s accents were off-putting and perhaps prejudiced me against the entire affair. I would appreciate it if she would vary her cadence a bit more often, too.
Normally I find the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries harmless “potboiler” fun. This one made me resent the time I spent on it when I could have been reading something better. Ah, well, I suppose I only have myself to blame for persisting through to the end.
April 5, 2013
Out of her normal comfort zone of country houses, The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple, or more correctly at this time, Mrs Alec Fletcher, finds herself in New York where husband Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of the Metropolitan Police, or as he prefers to put it for good effect New Scotland Yard, has gone to advise J Edgar Hoover.
Left alone in New York it is no surprise that Daisy soon finds herself involved in a suspected murder. Minding her own business in the hotel, she suddenly sees a man shot at and fall to his death down an elevator shaft. She spots who she thinks is the culprit running away and, with others, gives chase ... but without success.
However, she comes across the suspect later on and thus begins a chase across the country, that is once Alec has returned from his business in Washington. The pair, along with a New York cop, meet up with an old RFC pal of Alec and an exciting cross-country aeroplane chase begins.
After many harrowing and hair-raising moments the suspect is eventually captured in rather unusual, and somewhat weak for the plot, circumstances.
Left alone in New York it is no surprise that Daisy soon finds herself involved in a suspected murder. Minding her own business in the hotel, she suddenly sees a man shot at and fall to his death down an elevator shaft. She spots who she thinks is the culprit running away and, with others, gives chase ... but without success.
However, she comes across the suspect later on and thus begins a chase across the country, that is once Alec has returned from his business in Washington. The pair, along with a New York cop, meet up with an old RFC pal of Alec and an exciting cross-country aeroplane chase begins.
After many harrowing and hair-raising moments the suspect is eventually captured in rather unusual, and somewhat weak for the plot, circumstances.
December 8, 2021
Fun as always. It was really interesting to see a take on what international travel might have been like in the early 20th century. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of some ‘real life’ characters, and the author’s note that accompanied the story.
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