A Colourful Death

Cornish Mystery #2

by Carola Dunn

Book by Dunn, Carola

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

485 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2010

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

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The biggest downfall in the book was that I knew who did it almost from the beginning, so there wasn't much of a mystery.

Most of the book goes from interview to interview of the suspects. It's all a bit too rambling and not very interesting.

I gave it a two instead of a one because I do like the dog in the story and the atmosphere. I just don't care much for the people.

[Mary Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like feisty old ladies who solve mysteries, especially when the locale is a beautiful English village.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another terrific yarn with Eleanor Trewynn as the leading character.
Always in such good humour too.

[Elena Granger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why I even read the second book when I didn’t like the first one much? Well, the issue with CM series is that very often the first book is mediocre, but the more you read, the more you get involved and like the series. And… that’s not the case, probably 3 and 4th books will do?
I didn’t like the mystery line and had some issues loosing the thread of the narration, because it’s boring and makes you lose the attention. Still I don’t want to give up on the series for several reasons.
First, I really love the setting of a small village, when there were no social networks and all those fancy tech things, it’s just so calm and steady, which creates a pleasant, warm, and cozy atmosphere.
Second, the characters are also nice and I really, really want the story to gain some good pathing and nice turns.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is slightly better than the first in the series. Unfortunately, some of the same problems that plagued "Manna from Hades" recur in "A Colourful Death". While the cast of recurring characters are now familiar, ten suspects are introduced. Way too many. Not surprising I had trouble keeping them straight at times. Also, the guilty party and the need to frame Nick were obvious from the beginning. I am glad, however, that Ken barely made an appearance in book two.

While I think branching out and creating a new series was a bold move by Carola Dunn, she does not manage to recapture the magic found in the Daisy Dalrymple series.

[Chris Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy with really interesting main characters is a treat. These books have reawakened my love of small English villages and the delightful eccentrics who live there and solve mysteries.

[FangirlNation · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Colorful Death by Carola Dunn, sequel to Manna from Hades, set in Cornwall, focuses on local artists, first and foremost Nick Gresham, neighbor to Eleanor Trewynn. Nick returns joyfully from a trip to an important gallery in London that has requested to display his artwork for sale, only to find that several of his major pieces have been slashed by a fellow artist in jealousy over Nick's success. Furious over the destruction of the work he has put so much effort into creating, Nick determines to confront Geoffrey Clarke. Insisting on going along as an experienced life-long diplomat, Eleanor joins Nick in traveling to Geoff's studio, only to find the artist stabbed in the back, surrounded by bright red that looks like blood. Immediately, Geoff's lover comes in and screams that Nick has stand Geoff, claiming she witnessed Nick stabbing Geoff.

Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation

[Kav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew who the murderer was right from the very start so this wasn't so much a whodunit for me as waiting to see who figures out what I already knew first. But I'm still enchanted by all things Eleanor and Cornwall and was pleased to see so many of the 'regulars' back for this second mystery. Truthfully, I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I read the book (as opposed to listened.) I think Wanda McCaddon's narration really amps up my enjoyment of this series.

[Caroline Taggart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I haven't read the Daisy Dalrymple stories for which this author is best known,so can’t compare. This was a perfectly enjoyable lightweight whodunnit – an artist is found murdered and it seems that everyone he knew thinks the world will be a better place without him. Enter our heroine, an elderly widow with an improbable combination of absent-mindedness and great acuity.

Fair enough, if nothing special. But the book seems to have been set in the 1960s for no better reason than to allow characters to be shocked at the idea of artists living in a commune or an old people’s home having a black nurse. Our elderly widow isn’t shocked, but that’s only because she has travelled the world and seen far worse in Darkest Africa or the like. I appreciate that a setting without mobile phones is useful in detective stories, but I did feel that the author evoked some of the least sympathetic aspects for the recent past without its adding to ambience or plot.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really deserves 1.5 stars. I had the whole mystery figured out in the very beginning--right from the discovery of the body. The really unbelievable effort of the murderer to pin the crime on Nick by screaming that she saw him stab the victim, when that was not possible, followed by her grabbing the dagger so that there would be an explanation for her prints being on them was a dead giveaway.. The rest of the book we had to put up with people being unbelievably stupid and unimaginative not to notice themselves what had happened.

[C.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This writer excells at cozy mysteries that are not too cozy, if you know what I mean. In this outing, Evelyn Tyrnewell returns from picking up her neighbor Nick from the train station only to find his studio broken into and his art slashed. Thinking he knows the culpurate, Evelyn persuades him to allow her to go with him, to prevent him from doing something foolish, only to find the guy dead. It's up to Evelyn to convince the police that Nick's innocent.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, the mystery was really easy to solve (because Dunn likes to make the least pleasant person guilty) but I was there for the characters and was not disappointed. The time period is just distant enough to be exotic to me.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by JoAnne
Book provided by the publisher

This is a disappointing whodunnit set in Cornwall, England and is the second book in the series.  Not having read the first book, Manna From Hades , I was missing part of the backstory especially what Eleanor Trewynn  had been involved in previously with the police. The dialogue was sometimes hard to follow given my unfamiliarity with most of the Cornish words used but some could be figured out in context and other words from something another character might say.

There are a lot of characters to sort through since there are police personnel from two precincts involved in trying to solve the murder.  There are many artists who live on a commune with farmers, Doug and Margery Rosevear, their landlords for the apartments/studios that they rent. The murder victim is also an artist and is one of their own, Geoffrey, who lives and works in the commune but is not liked or even held in high esteem by any except Stella, a fellow artist who lives there and who is his sometimes girlfriend. Eleanor's niece, Megan Pencarrow, is the Detective Sergeant on the case and Megan's boss is Detective Inspector Scumble who can be quite terse at times. Throw in Eleanor's neighbor, Nick, another artist who is familiar with all of the other artists involved in the story and her friend Jocelyn amongst many others and there are a lot of people. All seem to be taking part as witnesses, confidants, friends or foes.  Eleanor's dog, Teazle, goes everywhere she does and seems everyone knows or gets to know Teazle along the way.

There were family and friends along with lots of police, artists and medical personnel.  There were many descriptions of food, the town, the farm and countryside as well as artistic terms, styles and artwork.   The story was often simplistic and had a lot of action going on from different people's perspectives.  Megan and her boss are trying to put a case together to solve the murder so there are witnesses to question and timelines to create.  Of course, Eleanor as an amateur sleuth, is always at the forefront with information she's gathered or remembered from being at the crime scene and drags Nick and/or Joce with her and Teazle.  There is repetition at times from all the witnesses corroborating what they saw while being separately interviewed as well as from the police rehashing the case and bringing each other up to speed.  Unfortunately, I pinpointed the murderer almost from the start so the ending was anticlimactic except that it tied up some loose ends.  Justice is ultimately served when the murderer is captured and life returns somewhat to normal for Eleanor and the others.

Dunn is a new to me author and I had heard good things about her Daisy Dalrymple series.  I may give another book or two a try since I do enjoy mysteries every now and then and hope that I can be brought deeper into the storyline and thus better enjoy it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleanor Trewynn's friend and neighbor in the small Cornish town of Port Mabyn, painter Nick Gresham, just had a London gallery accept some of his paintings. Instead of celebrating, though, he's fuming because another local artist, jealous of Nick's success, has slashed several of Nick's other paintings. Eleanor refuses to let Nick pursue Geoff alone, fearing what might happen, so accompanies him to Geoff's gallery in Padstow--where they find Geoff stabbed to death. Geoff's girlfriend Stella, who sometimes worked at Nick's gallery and was responsible for Geoff being there and learning Nick's good news, appears on the scene and instantly and vociferously accuses Nick of the murder. When the local inspector seems disinterested in hearing Eleanor's account of the day--which completely clears Nick--Nick is taken to the local jail. Eleanor stays over at a local artists' commune, where many of Nick's friends live, and where Stella and Geoff lived as well. Eleanor quickly learns that many people other than Nick had reason to hate Geoff, and once the irascible Inspector Scumble and Eleanor's niece, DS Pencarrow, are on the case, Eleanor is sure that justice will be served. If she doesn't give Scumble an apoplexy first.

Even though the murderer was fairly obvious fairly early on, I still thoroughly enjoyed this--except when the hysterical Stella kept repeatedly accusing Nick, which was a bit stressful to listen to in audiobook form. Otherwise, the settings were well-drawn, the characters interesting and reasonably distinct, and Eleanor is just a good person--I enjoy spending time with her, and with Nick. I look forward to more in this series!

[Stephanie Hartley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love reading a good crime novel, but I think this errs on the side of a 'midsomer murders' esque mystery book than something I could really get my teeth into. This is the second book I've read this year that's clearly intended for an older audience and just didn't grip me at all. It put me into the worst reading slump I've had in a long time and was the closest I've come to DNFing a book in years.

A Colourful Death is set in Cornwall where a local artist is murdered in his studio. Local shop owner Eleanor Trewynn ends up right at the heart of the investigation (as she did last time something like this happened), and needs to clear her friend Nick of being accused of the crime. A rival local artist, Nick's the number one suspect as the murdered man destroyed some of Nick's paintings shortly before he was found dead. Between the local cops and Eleanor, the real killer can't stay on the loose for long.

This book just wasn't for me. It was definitely aimed at a much older reader, and although I like slow books with a lot of description, this was slow with a lot of tangents about minor characters that I just didn't care about. Usually with this kind of book I am gripped in trying to work out who the real killer is, but I just totally lost interest as I made my way through it.

I gave this one star and would only recommend it if you enjoy slow crime novels. It reminded me a little of The Thursday Murder Club, but with a lot less humour and with characters that weren't as interesting.

[Todayiamadaisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple books are lightweight, murdery fun, so I had high hopes for this. Alas, no. This is a different series, about a crime-solving old lady. It's long, trying to be complex, and plodding. A pity, because the two protagonists (widowed charity shop worker and Aikido practitioner, Eleanor Trewynn, and her niece, Detective Sergeant Megan Pencarrow) could have been interesting. They just needed a better book. Certainly one that didn't make the culprit obvious from the moment the crime is discovered. Also one that didn't turn the police into idiots. I mean, I'm no expert, but I don't think they let suspects and witnesses sit in on interviews with other witnesses. Also, the cutesy acronym, CaRaDoC, used for the Cornish police just irritated me.

I spent a lot of the book trying to work out when it was set. It seemed modern — everyone drives, and Eleanor lives next to a Chinese restaurant — but was also oddly old-fashioned. I eventually guessed it might be the 1970s, although that was never set out. (It was only when I reached the end of the book and read the advertisement for the next book that I realised it was the 1960s.)

I did like the dog, though.

[ArtemisKate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very silly and lighthearted mystery. Though I knew who 'did it' before revealed I enjoyed the journey for the characters to get there. I liked the abundance of characters - a bit more like 'clue.' Part of the charm for me is that it takes place in Cornwall, England...probably my favorite place in all the world. The main character is an elderly women who is endearing. I don't find Dunn's mysteries to be superbly written, or total page turners...but they are slow burns that if you enjoy the place and the banter of the characters, then it is a nice place to while away a few hours. I needed an easy, light hearted read, and as I read the first in the series I knew what to expect. I do like this series better than Dunn's other mystery series. Too bad she puts more energy in that series...this is the last one in the Cornish Mystery series and it was published in 2010...not much hope for a third.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audio version was good company while I worked at menial tasks. I’m a big fan of Wanda MacCaddon, the narrator, who is gifted at bringing characters to life. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the book as much without her or if I would have been able to sit still to read the book itself. I will try another in the series to find out. Other reviewers pointed out how obvious the guilty party was early on, and I’d have to agree. Despite effort to raise other possibilities, none were ever seriously worthy of suspicion like the culprit. I did appreciate that Eleanor Trewynn was not solving the case instead of the police, and that her contributions were incidental. That made the story more credible for me.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Capably written, but for the first half I was distracted by trying to place the time period. The book was published in 2010, however mobile phones were absent and the police took carbon copies of statements. I decided it must be set prior to the '90s, but then it confusingly mentioned that The Lord of the Rings was popular! On checking Wikipedia, I found that this series is set in the late '60s, so the Lord of the Rings reference must be to the books rather than the movies.

The culprit was obvious from the moment Stella falsely accused Nick of the murder, but the climax was still fun.

This cosy mystery would be more charming without the racism of some of the elderly characters.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of silliness in this one, but that just adds to the enjoyment. Eleanor is still 5 steps ahead of everyone else who think she's just a forgetful old lady. Nick, an artist in the community, comes home to find his paintings slashed and a note from Stella (the woman who shares the shop) apologizing for the behavior of his rival, plus, she's removed all her sculptures. Nick, along with Eleanor and her little dog, arrive at Geoffrie's studio, only to find him dead on the floor with a dagger in his back, and Stella immediately begins screaming that she sees Nick stab him. The police come, and then it gets complicated. There is a lot of silliness, as I said, but there is also a mystery hidden in there, and this is a cozy mystery. Good read.

[Carôle Ceres · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Really Very Good Tale

Book 2 in this series, a vast improvement to the inaugural tale. This story is full of eclectic characters and a artist ‘commune’ and also the disagreeable Detective Inspector with the long suffering Detective Sergeant, Meghan.

I’ll admit that this is the best Carola Dunn novel that I have ever read (& I’ve read the majority of the mundane Daisy Dalrymple series), but this is step above all of those. I listened to the audiobook version of this title read by Wanda McCaddon, is not too bad, she hasn’t mastered accents and occasionally she mixes (or merges) a couple of the female voices, but not enough to ruin the enjoyment.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it about as much as I have enjoyed any of Ms. Dunn's other books, but I knew who the murderer was from the second that the body was discovered. To me it was horribly obvious, in spite of the red herrings sprinkled throughout the rest of the story. I was wanting to slap the detectives for not spotting the obvious. But that would have shortened the story to "here's the body, this is who did it, the end." It also would have prevented the second murder, which was kind of another red herring. Oh, well. On to the next one.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder amongst the artists in a Cornish village.
This is the first of these books I've read and I was confused from the start - I thought it was set in the 1930's or 40's - only when a mini skirt was mentioned that I realised it was the 60's. I thought the main character, Eleanor, was in her 20's or 30's - not until quite a way in I realised she was a Miss Marple type character. Too many other characters, too many similar characters - they all become a blur.
Not enough to keep me interested.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geoffrey Clarke not only gives himself a royal nom de artiste (Monmouth), he paints in a totally out of fashion pre-Raphaelite style. To add realism, he commissions the local blacksmith to forge him an Arthurian dagger. When the dagger ends up in Geoffrey’s back, Eleanor Trewynn and her dog Teazel find themselves ideally positioned to investigate. The pace is very relaxed and the plot has little mystery, but the story is written in an engaging, almost real-time style that invites sitting back and getting cozy.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retired world traveler moves back to supposedly quiet Cornish village where her artist friend discovers his paintings slashed and the other artist stabbed in the back. Her friend stands accused of murder until Eleanor can unravel the mystery with the help of her Neice detective, a colony of artists and a nosy noticing group of senior citizens. A British cozy with twists and beautiful Cornish scenery and a cute Westie pup.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the setting and the people, Ellie collects for charity, her friend Joce is the vicar's wife and often runs the charity shop, her niece DS Megan has the official police side. Neighbor artist Nick is framed here for stabbing another artist suspected of slashing his paintings. Of course the friends work together and compare results over tea. Makes me thirsty, but I never solve the case before they do. Full of surprises they are.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book set in Cornwell, England. Eleanor is retired, yet active and very involved with the used goods shop located on the first floor of her flat. Although she had planned a very quiet life after having travelled the world to help the "have nots", she keeps getting inadvertently involved in solving murders. Her niece is a policewoman who is a joy to be with. The two find themselves tiptoeing around Megan's irascible boss in the police department.

[Humbledaisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to make some sort of “lie back and think of England” joke about this mystery but I just couldn’t make it work. Dunn makes me long for the old fashioned Cornwall portrayed in her novels - but it also makes me thankful I don’t have live through these painful mysteries again. The joy of Miss Marple is that people underestimate her. Main character Eleanor makes me worry she is one step away from dementia.

[Kelly Callaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor collects Nick, her friend and neighbour from the station. When Nick gets home he find his painting are all slashed. He is confident this was done by Geoffrey Clarke. Nick takes off to confront him, with Eleanor in tow. But when they get there they from Clarke murdered and Geoffrey’s girlfriend asserting that Nick had stabbed him.

Very slow moving until the last 20 or so pages. Set in fictional Cornwall is a fictionalised past, see with rose coloured glasses.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable cozy. This is book #2 with these characters and there is a lot of reference to developments from the first book (which I hadn't read).

This book seems to be set in the 1970s since there is reference to one of the characters being the first woman police detective but there is no actual mention of the date. (It was published in 2010.)