Gunpowder Plot (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 15)

I had the pleasure of meeting the author on an airplane. Such a delightful woman I decided to try her books. Just as lovely as she is.

The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher returns with fireworks in the 15th installment of this historical mystery series. Six months along in her pregnancy, Daisy is traveling with her old friend, Gwen Tyndall, to Edge Manor, the Tyndall family estate, to write an article for her American readers on the annual Guy Fawkes gala that has taken place here for centuries. Gwen's father is a testy baronet who likes to have everything and everyone under his thumb. He is also something of a snob, and is very upset when his son Jack invites a 'commoner', a friend who is an aeronautical engineer, to stay with them for the gala. Jack wants to become involved with airplanes, but his parents are outraged by the idea of their son working somewhere other than the family lands. When Jack finds the body of his father and a 'common' woman (Mrs. Gooch) who was visiting, with her husband, from Australia, dead in the study following the huge fireworks display, he is the first suspect once it is thought possible that murder took place. Although Daisy had kept her husband's occupation private, Alec is called in to investigate the matter for Scotland Yard. Gwen's family is delighted at the prospect of having a friend of the family involved in the investigation, and Daisy is once more the confidant for many of the suspects' secrets. Gwen's sister Barbara has been the one running the estate in Jack's stead, although it was apparent her father didn't approve. This causes a lot of tension, as well as Gwen's seeming attraction to the man Jack wants to work with, both situations enraging their father. But no one can understand why Sir Harold would kill a stranger and then shoot himself on the night of the gala, which was Sir Harold's pride and joy. Suspects range from the children to perfect strangers to burglars, but Daisy, despite the fatigue and hunger brought on by a healthy pregnancy -- er condition -- uses her charm and common sense to pull the pieces together to help Alec solve the mystery with a minimum of fuss. Dunn presents a wonderful cozy series depicting the many changes that England was experiencing in the 1920s. Daisy is a respectful young woman with a mind of her own whose views reflect the changing times mingled with understanding of how things used to be. Her love and loyalty to her friends and family is one of her most fantastic characteristics, but she is also open-minded enough to understand the vagaries of human nature. This is an historical mystery with a delightfully developed plot for those who don't care for a lot of violence and bloodshed. www.gumshoereview.com

This is a very good book. I have all of Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple books, and this one ranks as one of the best.

This 15th installment in adventures of the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple continues the light breezy style of this delightful series. Daisy is a houseguest at a country manor, invited to observe a traditional Guy Fawkes celebration. Her intent is to write an article about the festivities, but when the host and an unexpected guest are shot dead, Daisy is once again inadvertently involved in a murder investigation. The plot line is reasonable. The author's efforts to distract the reader's attention from the culprit are a bit heavy-handed, but this slight failing is amply counter-balanced by a supporting cast of quirky characters who are even more amusing than usual for the series. All in all, this is a highly enjoyable book.

In 1924 pregnant Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher visits her friend Gwen Tyndall at their family's Cotswolds estate, Edge Manor where a Guy Fawkes gala will be celebrated. Daisy quickly realizes that the Tyndall family is at odds with one another. Iron fisted patriarch Sir Harold demands his son Jack take over the running of Edge Manor from his sister Barbara as Babs being a female has to be incompetent. Harold also has problems with the nerve of aeronautical engineer Martin Miller wanting Jack to join his firm though he seems to ignore that his youngest daughter Gwen and Miller are an entry. Starting with squib, Daisy finds she is under assault from the young sons of the third sister Adelaide. During the Gunpowder Plot celebration someone murders Sir Harold and the wife of Jack's Australian guest Mr. Gooch. Daisy's husband, DCI Alec Fletcher investigates the two homicides with motive being the key leading to either Gooch killing his spouse and her lover or Jack knowing his dad's will is being changed to remove him from inheriting anything. Alec follows the money so bets are on Jack while his wife believes otherwise and begins to snoop. The GUNPOWDER PLOT is a wonderful historical English mystery that fans of the intrepid Daisy will fully enjoy as she investigates while refusing to allow her delicate condition to get in her way. Interwoven little tidbits bring to life the era like Daisy informing Gwen she plans to learn to drive, a rarity for females in 1924 (but then again this is not the "Victorian Dark Ages"). The whodunit is fun but as always with this series it is the cast especially the heroine who makes the novels a Dunn deal to read as soon as possible for delighted loyal fans. Harriet Klausner