Customer Reviews

Death at Wentwater Court (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an avid mystery fan, I'm amazed I haven't heard of this series before; I stumbled across this book by lucky accident but will be recommending it to everyone I know.

The setting is 1923 England, a tumultuous time--the nation is recovering from the Great War and changing social mores threaten the status quo. The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple (daughter of a Viscount) has decided to pursue a career as a writer and journalist rather than be financially supported by her family (shocking!). Her upper-class connections allow her access to Wentwater Court to write a story on this country manor house for Town & Country magazine. But Daisy soon finds herself investigating the death of a fellow guest whose skating accident might not have been an accident at all...

This book is a breath of fresh air in a genre whose conventions too often lead to predictability. Daisy is a truly likeable heroine. She is modern, but modern for HER time, not modern for our time. Her involvement with the mystery at Wentwater Court is the product of her attraction to the Chief Inspector on the case and her desire to help the Wentwater family, rather than the result of the all-too-typical "unbridled curiosity" that aflicts most amateur sleuths.

The mystery itself is not a show-stopper, but neither are there any holes in the resolution. The real star of the series is the time and place. Although it's probably a bit overdone, it's wonderful fun to read about all these people calling each other "old bean" and "chum" and exclaiming, "How perfectly ghastly for the old prune!"

I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

I am an ardent reader of British mysteries. I was first drawn to this genre by reading a series of cozies. Over the years my tastes have changed, though, and I now much prefer a British psychological thriller or police procedural. However, I still read a cozy now and then for a change of pace.

"Death at Wentwater Court" is the first book in a series featuring The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple and Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard. Take a weekend gathering at a country estate in the 1920's, one of the guests who is the unfortunate victim, suspects galore, a promising romantic story line, more red herrings than clues and you have the makings of the ultimate cozy.

Most of the sleuthing is done by Daisy, a member of the British aristocracy who, being rather down on her luck, is supporting herself by working as a journalist. Alec seems to be along for the ride providing her with bits of information that set her off in her pursuit to solve the murder. Oh, he also serves a very important role as a possible suitor for Daisy.

I am giving this book three stars because I found it to be a bit too one-dimensional for my tastes. However, if you like an old fashioned very British mystery, this just might be your cuppa.

Daisy Dalrymple is striking out on her own. Using her wealthy background, she gets a job for a magazine photographing and writing about the famous Wentwater Manor. Not too long after she arrives, one of her fellow guests is found dead in a hole in the ice. At first, it's thought to be an accident, but soon Daisy is convinced it's murder. Aiding the handsome Scotland Yard detective assigned to the case, she does her best to find the truth while keeping the family out of scandal.

This is a fun mystery set in 1923 England. I was drawn into Daisy's world and was quite curious about what was really going on. Having said that, the plotting did seem a bit uneven. Still, it moved along nicely and reached a conclusion that was surprising and satisfying at the same time. The characters are almost all English aristocracy, and it was interesting getting a glimpse into their world at a less then ideal time. The dialog was so good that I could hear the accents most of the time.

I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this fun, historical series.

The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple arrives at Wentwater Court to write an article for Town & Country magazine about the estate's history and inhabitants; scandalous tidbits included. Daisy is accepted into the household because of her artistocratic background; even though women of Daisy's social position having a career is practically unheard of.

Almost immediately the most disliked houseguest is found floating facedown in a hole in the otherwise frozen lake on the estate. Thought to be an unfortunate skating accident, Daisy's photographs of the scene soon prove otherwise.

Alec Fletcher arrives from Scotland Yard and requests Daisy's assistance in taking notes. Secrets, tensions, and undercurrents abound among the family and houseguests. Daisy's keen observation of detail and deductive reasoning makes her aid in the investigation of the murder invaluable.

Fast paced with highly amusing 20's language phrasing and descriptions; the reader is treated to a wonderful English country house murder.

Imagine an Agatha Christie mystery with the goofy upper-class air of P.G. Wodehouse -- and you will get what Carola Dunn clearly wanted for her debut mystery. Unfortunately, "Death At Wentwater Court" is too predictable and too easily unravelled, and the mysteries are solved with whimpers instead of bangs.

Daisy Dalrymple -- in defiance of her class -- has taken on a job as a journalist. She arrives at Wentwater Court to do an extensive article on the Dalrymple house, but soon finds that there are potentially deadly secrets lurking there. Lady Wenwater has either a lover or a blackmailer, and her much-older husband is unaware of this. His daughter is infatuated with the blackmailer, and his sons either worship or hate his new wife.

Then the blackmailing guest is found dead in an icy river, and almost everyone present had a motive for wanting him dead (not to mention his army of ex-lovers and their husbands). Daisy teams up with police detective Alec Fletcher to unearth who did the blackmailer in, and why. But soon Daisy learns that the crime is more complicated than she thought...

"Death" is an extremely simple book -- it more or less goes from point A to point B without a lot of twists and turns. It has a fun, cozy atmosphere with a classic setting reminiscent of Christie and Sayers, but without the sizzly plot and dynamic twists that they were well known for. It's almost painfully easy.

Dunn seems to chicken out about halfway through the book, as if she's afraid to make things too complex. Half the red herrings -- such as Lady Annabel's scandalous past, or her stepdaughter's darker side -- are built up as plot developments, only to be brushed aside with a "oh, is that it?" response. And what's the point of a murder mystery if the killer starts sobbing for no reason in front of the detective? However, she does handle the character relationships well, as well as the pleasantly earthy atmosphere of a country manor.

Daisy herself isn't a terribly good character -- while she's refreshingly flawed and likable, she doesn't actually do much detecting. The other characters -- the stoic aristocrat, his neurotic kids, the tough cop -- are more or less stereotypes, pleasant but not memorable. Damsel-esque Lady Annabel in particular lacks a personality, and her blackmailer is all evil, all the time.

Carola Dunn has a good sense of atmosphere and subtle interaction, but she strikes out in her first attempt at mystery writing. Here's hoping the rest of the Daisy Dalrymple series is far and above the pallid "Death in Wentwater Court,"

2 1/2 stars.

My heading refers to a peculiarly adverse turn in the writing process and not directly to the story itself - I'll address more regarding this regrettable blemish further along in my review.

THE STORY: This mystery yarn (written from a very palatable third person perspective) transpires during the Christmas holiday period of 1922. Protagonist Daisy Dalrymple takes on a writing assignment for her employer, "Town and Country Magazine," to profile the aristocratic family and the estate at Wentwater Court. The old Pater, Lord Wentwater (Henry Beddoes), accedes to participate in having his manor-house and relations featured in this reputable magazine chiefly because Daisy herself comes from the aristocracy, albeit from a somewhat impecunious clan whose heyday has passed.

Like so many families throughout the history of England's nobility, Lord Wentwater's more ancient antecedents had occasionally cast themselves in a rather nefarious light, particularly the ladies who were amusingly renowned for abandoning their dreary husbands. The paramours had epitomized the most dubious of cuckolders, ranging in caste from highwaymen to kings. This intrinsic proclivity for passion raises a specter for Lord Wentwater as he anticipates any forthcoming amorous fascinations by his new wife for the several handsome young men around her.

The venerable Lord Wentwater has only recently re-married (his first wife had died some time before) to an charismatic and striking gal many years his junior, Annabel -- in fact, she's roughly the same age as Lord Wentwater's multiple sons, all of whom view Annabel's newly acquired title of "mother" as being awkward at best. And as Daisy pens her magazine article she discovers that there are other captivating personalities living within the household including one particular holiday guest, Stephen Astwick. Lord Astwick is both a peer of the realm and a notorious playboy who has been additionally acknowledged, even by his own family, as a rogue and a swindler of the First Water, and who seems to have been previously well-acquainted with Lord Wentwater's new bride.

Still the clique's activities flow along smoothly during Daisy's first day on the immense estate as the various household members engage in their favorite respective activities: ice skating, horseback riding, card games, and so on; but early the next day Lord Stephen Astwick is discovered face down in the water near the shadow of a bridge where, quite conveniently, a body-sized hole in the ice has rather recently materialized. Daisy sucks up her personal distress and photographs the death scene, anticipating that the ice will soon melt. When the pictures are eventually developed and enlarged there are previously un-remarked indications that the hole in the ice was the unequivocal result of furtive human hands wielding an axe!

The amiable but very tired Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard happens to be working in the district where he has been engaged in attempting to resolve a perplexing incident of upper-class jewel burglary. His London boss thus directs him to swing by nearby Wentwater and sniff out any intriguing details of the drowning episode. As a matter of convenience and having also been alerted by Daisy as to the persuasive evidence of a murder, Inspector Fletcher finds himself somewhat compelled to enlist her assistance in investigating the affair.

Dunn's early 20th Century characters are as positively straightforward as is her writing style, perhaps a worthy and idiosyncratic fusion of Ludwig Bemelmans (Hotel Splendide) and Ruth Rendell A Judgement in Stone.) And while it's simply not fully achievable for a contemporary author to wholly capture the ambiance of an atmosphere which prevailed ninety years ago, Dunn could still succeed in duping most of us were it not for the fresh copyright date found on the fourth page of the book (1994.)

I always allow for expansive and usually necessary "artistic license" when it comes to the mystery genre of books and film, particularly in the instance of the classic cozy murder -- art imitating life, so to speak. And quite honestly Dunn effects this toilsome literary task, artfully preserving a credible plausibility for the first 4/5ths of this particular work. Her research appears thorough as she discreetly engaged in only the mildest entries of melodrama and hyperbole, an actuality which much eggs on the readers of this mostly well-written mystery.

However, (and I cannot account for this apparent alteration in writing technique), it seems as if in the final 1/5th of the book that Dunn tired of all the work associated with penning a great mystery and decided to wrap it all up tersely, rules be damned. This story suddenly transcends from "murder most foul" to "murder goofy"! Throughout the book the author exhibits a wealth of knowledge regarding English history, the culture of period aristocracy, the distinctive vernacular languages of the 1920s era with particular attention paid to oral variables within the classes, how to shrewdly insert subtle (but not corny) humor, and all with an eye to the difficult art of mystery writing itself -- but her familiarity with English law and basic police procedure ultimately takes a dive down Alice's rabbit hole. This is a colossal fumble.

I could have written these concluding pages, finishing with precisely the same ultimate outcome as was arrived at by Dunn, (albeit my style would be very boring but that flaw could be spruced up given the services of a shrewd editor), finding it quite simple to maintain the consistency of excellence and the plausibility of the earlier segments of the story. Of course I foster no desire whatever to do this, (nor hopefully would any rational person encourage me in addressing such an endeavor), but the point I wish to raise here is that this book could have easily earned five stars had the writing not taken this unanticipated downward spiral throughout the latter pages -- what a shame! I cannot be more specific on this issue in the interest of avoiding spoilers but if you read the book then you'll see precisely what I mean. Did Dunn abandon this tale for a time and then ultimately return a year or so later to hurriedly finish the project? I don't know - it's difficult (and probably fruitless) to speculate upon this most curious literary aberration.

A more diminutive flaw relates directly to the publisher's role (Kensington Books) and not attributable to the author in any way. My 1994 paperback edition reveals a total of twelve pages in three different places where the right-hand margins are entirely chopped off (the text is moved to the right-hand edge of the paper.) This is but a minor failing since all the text can still be read (at least in my copy) but it was a careless blunder and consequently appends a preventable stain to the publisher's otherwise good reputation.

In summary I plan to read others of Carola Dunn's subsequent Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. And I'm eagerly anticipating that the unfortunate issue which I've so vaguely outlined is a one-time occurrence. But at least for this entry of the Daisy Dalrymple series I cannot recommend this particular episode which is especially disappointing given that the bulk of the story is so very impressive. This story was AWESOME... just prior to my ultimate SHOCK.

Carola Dunn starts the Daisy Dalrymple series with Death at Wentwater Court. Dunn drops the reader into the Hampshire countryside in the early 1920s. The reader is transported to the cold, snowy English countryside. Daisy Dalrymple is a likeable character both for her strength and her spirit. Her intelligence and insight also draws the reader to her side in most situations. When her plans to write an article for a magazine are interrupted by the suspicious death of a fellow houseguest, Daisy is drawn into the investigation and drawn to the Scotland Yard Inspector on the case. Class distinctions will have the reader biting his/her tongue to keep from shouting at the pages. During the course of the investigations, secrets are revealed that change the lives of the Wentwater family and their houseguests. Dunn immerses the reader in the stories of each of the guests so that the reader wants no one to actually be guilty at some points and to wish for guilt of most of the guests at other points. The characters engage, amuse, intrigue, and frustrate the reader in a way that keeps the mystery a mystery and explores human nature along the way. Dunn's first book in this English cozy series leaves the reader curious about what will happen with Daisy next.

This is a great series, but I'm glad this was not the first book I read. This didn't have the depth or plot interest that many of the others had. I think it was trying to introduce the series, but it was too slow. While its worth a read as part of the series, don't start here or you won't read the rest of the wonderful series!

This is the author's first in the Daisy Dalrymple series and my 2nd in this series. My heartfelt gratitude to the author, Carola Dunn, for taking on the task of writing the series. It is proving to be a delightfully uplifting change in the usual mystery series' on the market now. The painstaking craft of detailing the British style, language and wardrobe of the 1920's is elaborately brought to the forefront in each page. The series is a commitment in itself by the author and respect for the reader is apparent.

Daisy Dalrymple is an independent woman in the 1920's in Great Britain with no apologies given for her decision to be so. Her self proclaimed independence shines forth in her detective skills throughout this story as does her organizationsl skills with peers and her work as a journalist for the Town & Country magazine.
Daisy has experienced a good deal of grief due to the loss of her brother, fiance and father. These experiences, although a heavy loss, does not deter Daisy from getting on with her life and new discoveries that go with it. She then sets out for Wentwater Court to interview and photograph the estate and it's prestigious family for an article in the magazine.
She is introduced to Lord Wentwater and his lovely(much younger) wife Anabel. Anabel and Daisy soon establish a friendship of which Anabel, Lady Wentwater, is in dire need of. Conflicts arise as Lord Stephen Astwick confronts Lady Wentwater in a very crude and public way although completely uninvited and unwarranted. He soon becomes the black sheep of the characters involved. His demise is not in anyway, shape or form mourned by the family and guests at Wentwater court.
Daisy developes a relationship with Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, C.I.D. of Scotland Yard. Their relationship begins with the investigation into the murder of Lord Stephen Astwick but does not end there.
The final few chapters involves an interesting twist to the solving of this murder as it also brings Daisy and the "Chief" in to a greater involvement regarding their future.
I truly like Daisy Dalrymple and look forward to the next in this series. I would highly recommend this book in the Daisy Dalrymple series to any cozy readers looking for a shining example of British life during the 1920's era.
Ellen

This is the first book in the Daisy series. It is a good introduction to Daisy, whose character becomes more fully delineated as the book series continues. The Daisy murder mysteries are sweet, enjoyable reads where the real story is her relationship with Chief Inspector Fletcher, and her writing career with a murder or two thrown in to move the story along. I enjoy the look in the 1920's in England which the author does quite well.