The Bloody Tower

Daisy's back to writing! Having given birth to twins, Daisy is back up and about writing articles for her American magazine. In her 16th outing, she decides to write about The Tower of London - also known as 'The Bloody Tower'. Realizing this could be something of a macabre story, she decides to focus on the less violent aspects of its history like the Ceremony of the Keys - until she stumbles - literally - over the body of one of the Yeoman Warders early the following morning on a narrow set of stairs, with a partisan (big sharp sword/axe) stuck in his back! Daisy makes several trips to the Tower to investigate all angles of the history of the edifice - the famous chopping block for beheadings, the Council Chamber where people were interrogated, the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, the Ravenmaster, and the housing of the Crown Jewels. There are currently people in residence in the Tower; Resident Governor of the Tower Major General Carradine and his family, and garrisons of Yeoman Warders, aka Beefeaters, as well as The Keeper of the Regalia Sir Patrick Heald, although he is only there part of the time. Colonel Duggan, married to Major General Carradine's sister-in-law, is also in residence as the officer in charge of the Hotspur Guards, all of whom are also living in the building. Carradine's daughters know their way around the edifice, and the soldiers - the only other people there that are their own younger age - so they offer to play tour guard to Daisy when the others aren't available. After Daisy discovers the murdered man, the young women beg Daisy for advice, and therefore are the reason that Daisy is able to return to the Tower and aid her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, in his investigation with tidbits that only someone quite familiar with the history and floor plans of the sprawling castle would be able to piece together as important to the mystery. I think Daisy is absolutely wonderful. I have loved reading all of her adventures, and this one is no different in that aspect. However, following the people and places in The Tower of London is very difficult to do in one's head, and I've been to The Tower of London (once, briefly). In the front of the book there is a map of the building to help put the different areas in perspective. But I also I have to admit that my confusion gave me a good idea of how confusing it must be for someone like Daisy, who is also unfamiliar with it, to physically maneuver through the different areas. Keep them coming, Carola! This is a great cozy - despite the morbid British history - or maybe because of it! Dunn manages to tease the audience with bits of history without lecturing, making them want to research it on their own to find out the whole story. Or maybe the ghosts were responsible...

There seems to be a sudden proliferation of mystery novels set in Post WWI England -- it almost seems as if it is the "in" thing to do right now. And while some of the more recent offerings have proved to be rather well written pieces, I have to admit that for me, my favourtie has to be Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple series. In this latest installment, "The Bloody Tower," Daisy has been asked by her American editor to write a series of articles on the Tower of England. Having just recently given birth to twins, this assignment fits in nicely with Daisy's plans to remain close to home while working. Another bonus is the realisation that a friend of her mother-in-laws, the eccentric Mrs. Tebbit and her daughter Myrtle, are currently living with the Resident Governor, Major General Carradine and his two daughters. Now, if only her luck would hold, she won't find herself embroiled in yet a murder investigation! Unfortunately for Daisy, her luck doesn't hold: invited to spend the night at the Resident Governor's so that she can observe the Ceremony of the Keys, Daisy almost trips over the body of Chief Yeoman Warder Crabtree as she leaves the Tower the following morning. That Crabtree has been murdered is evident; but who would want to murder the nice, harmless Mr. Crabtree? In spite of her good intentions, Daisy soon finds herself giving her husband, Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, some unsolicited assistance on the case once again... "The Bloody Tower" was a quick and easy read from the very first page. This was due entirely to the author's energetic and effervescent prose style, and the fact that she managed to maintain and light touch in spite of the dark overtones the storyline sometimes decreed. I particularly enjoyed all the colourful and atmospheric descriptions of the Tower of London shrouded in fog. It was only two paragraphs long, but it set the tone and was completely memorable. I also enjoyed the all the wonderful red herring suspects that the author had thoughtfully provided for me as well as interesting plot twists. Best of all though, was observing how Daisy and Alec interacted with each other, assisting and respecting each other's strengths, and so working together to catch another killer. All in all a very enjoyable and absorbing read.

Daisy has a commission to write about the Tower of London. One would think that at least there, a place guarded by Yeomen Warders and the military, she should be able to visit without meeting up with mayhem and murder. Daisy stays overnight to see the ceremony of the keys because all the gates are closed and locked just before this ceremony begins. The next morning a she leaves early to return to Alec and her children, she stumbles over a body. How could someone be murdered with sentries and guards all over the place? The situation is such that Daisy can not be as involved as she usually is in the mysteries but she is more involved than either Alec or the Assistant Commissioner ( crime) like. Of course, no crime in which Daisy is involved is ever simple or straightforward and there are various events and episodes before the case is solved. Carola Dunn and Daisy always please.

The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher has been asked to do a series of articles about the Tower of London for an American magazine. It will be the first time she returns to work since the twins were born four months ago. People take a natural likening to Daisy and she gets a personalized tour of the Crown Jewels, interviews the people in power in the tower, learns about the feuds between the Yeomen Warders and the Hotspot officers, and is told the stories of the ghosts who haunt the place. When she gets ready to leave, she comes across the murdered body of the chief Yeomen Warder with a partisan (pike) in his back and his neck broken. She gets someone to call the superintendent who calls her husband DCI Alex Fletcher, who is resigned to the fact that Daisy will once again be in the middle of a homicide investigation; but this time she walks away and is dragged back by the entreaties of two teens she befriended. She contributes to the investigation and hopefully with what she learns it will lead to the killer. The latest Daisy Dalrymple mystery is as refreshing and entertaining as are the rest of the books in this delightful historical amateur sleuth police procedural combination. Points of views keep changing between the spouses who learn much of the same information from different sources in different manners. This is a perplexing case because everybody liked the victim and it is only when knowledge of the victim comes to light the Fletchers begin to even come to solving the case. Harriet Klausner

My usual rating for a Daisy Dalrymple mystery is a full five stars. I gave this one four not because this was not a bad book, but it lacked the usual fun romp feel of most of the other books. So - Daisy fans enjoy your fist introduction to Daisy, new mom, but first timers - try Murder on the Flying Scotsman first.