Murder Begins at Home

Jane and Dagobert Brown #2

by Delano Ames

Jane Brown writers mysteries, Dagobert Brown solves them, and this second case, first published in 1949, finds the young English couple in the New Mexican desert.

There are too many clues with each one pinning the crime on a different suspect--but Dagobert Brown unsnarls the tangle of murder and hate a Palo Alto.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Delano Ames (May 29, 1906 – January 1987) was an American writer of detective stories. Ames was the author of some 20 books, many of them featuring a husband and wife detective team of amateurs named 'Dagobert and Jane Brown'. A later series of novels involved a character named Juan Lorca, of the Spanish Civil Guard, who solved local mysteries.

Born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Delano's father Benjamin worked for the local newspaper, but moved the family in 1917 to New Mexico.

Ames married Australian born writer, Maysie Greig (1901-1971) in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1929. Greig was a prolific author of light-hearted romance novels. They divorced in 1937.

Ames lived in England for the next few years, where he married his second wife, Kit, and was assigned as a British intelligence officer during World War II. He also worked on anthologies on mythology and as a translator for Larousse in France. His last book was an introduction for a book of photography of Spain in 1971.

He died in Madrid, Spain, in January 1987.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane and Dagobert Brown arrive in the United States with the aim of visiting his Aunt Clotilda in Detroit. Dagobert seems to think the best way to get there is to buy an old jalopy in New York and head for New Mexico. And, of course, that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Miranda Ross, a beautiful WAC Dagobert met in World War II, lives on a ranch in Alamogordo, NM. Certainly not. But the Browns don't exactly get a warm welcome when they first all up Miranda from Pa Fergusson's gas station. Miranda seems vague on her memories of Dagobert and just couldn't possibly put them up...but then, suddenly, she changes her mind and invites them to stay for the weekend. It's only Thursday.

So...they wind up with an assortment of other house guests--from Miranda's younger sister Peggy and her beau, Bill McFarlan to her protégé, the successful Dwight Karnak and his wife Sue. Though Miranda's family and friends and hangers-on all sing her praises, it soon becomes apparent that she's not as well-loved as it seems. And when she's found stabbed to death one morning Dagobert turns detective to help Pa Fergusson (Deputy Sheriff as well as gas station owner) solve the crime.

I really enjoy the relationship between Jane and Dagobert. The witty back and forth and the way that Jane absolutely understands her husband. The character of Pa Fergusson was very well-drawn as well. The rest of the cast--especially the "sainted" Miranda? Not so much. And the plot just didn't seem to pick up as quickly as in the Ames books I've read previously (She Shall Have Murder and For Old Crime's Sake). It seemed to drag a bit in the first third of the book. But it did have a nicely done solution and I enjoyed watching Dagobert work everything out and explain it.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, my copy of this does not have the first page. It's probably not necessary, but it would be nice to know why totally English Jane and Dagobert are driving an old jalopy across New Mexico, with plans to drop in on Miranda Ross, whom Dagobert knew when in the Army in Europe. Miranda is beautiful, intelligent, rich--and married, but when the Browns arrive at her ranch, they soon learn that she's not loved by the family she's supporting or even by some of the friends who are also visiting the ranch. But it's still a surprise when she's found stabbed to death the next morning. The local law is represented by Pa Ferguson, who runs the gas station down the road, and whose son and daughter-in-law are mixed up with the people at the ranch in complex ways.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this second entry in the Jane and Dagobert Brown series (this one written in 1949), the couple is traveling across the U.S. and ends up in New Mexico, where Dagobert insists that they drop in on his old acquaintance, Miranda. But Miranda is murdered shortly after they arrive, and they get involved in solving the murder. This book takes a while to get going, but it's still entertaining. But not as perfect as the first book.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

see review other edition

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stuff!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One of the best things about gathering copy for novels is that you can, with a clear conscience, pry into other people's affairs, peek through keyholes, and listen to telephone conversations."

I picked this book up in the secondhand shop, solely on the basis of the weird cartoons on the cover. I loved the detective duo - Jane and Dagobert - so much that I'm trying to track down the rest of the series. A fun romp and a pretty good mystery, although at times the characterisation of the great Miranda seemed a little shaky to me.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery, well written (copyright 1950). They just don’t write ‘em as well in these modern times! Plenty of twists, feels like you’re one of the guests on the ranch and you know everyone quite well.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - rounded up for heroine's wry view of her husband; he's quite a character.