Customer Reviews

A Mourning Wedding (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 13)

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

 

 

A wedding in the country, a country manor full of gossipy aristocratic relatives with scandalous secrets to hide, and murder -- it could only be the latest installment in the charming and light hearted Daisy Dalrymple mystery series. In "Mourning Wedding," Daisy's good friend, Lucy Fotheringay, is about to be married to her patient and loving longtime beau, Gerald. The wedding is to take place at Lucy's grandfather's palatial manor in the country, and Daisy has agreed to come down ahead of the guests in order to give her friend some much needed moral support. What she finds is Lucy in two minds about whether or not she actually wants to marry Gerald, and a house full of eccentric relatives -- some nice and some rather poisonous. And while Daisy is rather troubled about Lucy's frame of mind, her worries about her friend soon fly out the window when Lucy's grandaunt Eva, a collector of family gossip, is found strangled in bed. Soon, Daisy is trying to figure which one of Lucy's relatives is guilty of murder even as she battles morning sickness. Was grandaunt Eva murdered because of her penchant for collecting scandal? Or is there some mad murderer bent on decimating the Fotheringay family? Fortunately for Daisy, her husband, Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard has been assigned to the case, and together they're bound to discover who the murderer is before (s)he can strike again...

If you're in the mood for a nice, well written, lighthearted murder mystery set in the roaring twenties, "A Mourning Wedding" will definitely please. While not a very "deep" mystery novel that is full of cunning twists and turns, "A Mourning Wedding" was such a pleasant and enjoyable read, and Daisy (the detecting heroine) was such a nice and engaging character, that one soon finds oneself deeply immersed in the goings-on in the book. Charming, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable, "A Mourning Wedding" proved to be an all around pleasing read.

The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is at the manor house of the Earl of Haverhill to provide support to her best friend Lucy, who is marrying Lord Gerald Bincombe in a few days. Daisy's husband Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher is to meet her just before the wedding, but when someone murders Lady Eve, Haverhill uses his clout to have Alec assigned to investigate instead of the local constabulary.

Daisy informs her spouse that the victim collected gossip on aristocrats over the years, which means that just about everyone attending the wedding had a motive. Before Alex gets very far, Lord Farthingay, the heir dies most likely by poison. The next day Lucy's fiancée is found bleeding from a blow to the head and the doctor is not sure whether he will recover from the trauma. Alec and Daisy are under pressure to solve the case before the killer strikes again.

A MOURNING WEDDING is a complex entertaining mystery that followers of the series will enjoy as Daisy is the pregnant amateur sleuth mingling with the aristocracy in a way her spouse cannot in order to aid the official investigation. The married couple is a fine sleuthing team working together to solve the case while adding ardor to their unique relationship that fans of Carola Dunn will appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

This was my first Daisy Dalrymple murder.

THE CON: I was surprised that the author expected you to keep a bookmark in the place where the family tree is, to refer to constantly, in order to understand the plot. There were way too many characters, and thus suspects. I have a better memory than most, yet it became very tedious to try to remember who was who. If the plot had been wildly interesting, the work may have been worth it, but it was rather plodding. I'd rather have an Agatha Christie any day!

THE PRO: Daisy and her husband Alec were likeable enough, and the prose was written in a manner easy to understand.

I may try another Carola Dunn mystery, to see if this was just an anomaly. Three stars!

I found my first Daisy Dalrymple at a bookstore in Thailand. I was desperate for something to read in English and just grabbed it and boy, was I glad. Well, that was many books ago and I now have the whole series. Carola Dunn deals with the changes in the aristocracy in England had to make after WWI, while telling you a good tale and this one is no different. Now I wait with baited breath for her next Daisy Dalrymple book.

The Daisy Dalrymple series is one of my favorites. Great for a quick escape and entertaining read.

I have loved every one of the Daisy Dalyrymple series and this one is no exception. Daisy goes to her old roommate Lucy Fotheringay's wedding and stumbles into more trouble. Her husband, CID Alec Fletcher, is around to help her out. This series is delightfully cozy and set in the twenties it doesn't have the language or graphic gore so many mysteries do. This is a light breezy read that will keep you entertained.