The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 10) [Paperback]

Carola Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

In late 1923, the newly married Daisy Dalrymple and her husband Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, come to America for a honeymoon visit. In the midst of a pleasure trip, however, both work in a bit of business - Alec travels to Washington, D. C. to consult with the U.S. government, Daisy to New York to meet with her American magazine editor. While in New York, Daisy stays at the famed Chelsea Hotel, which is not only close to the Flatiron Building offices of Abroad magazine, where she'll be meeting with her editor, but home to many of New York's artists and writers.

After her late morning meeting, Daisy agrees to accompany her editor, Mr. Thorwald, to lunch but as they are leaving the offices, they hear a gun shot and see a man plummeting down an elevator shaft. The man killed was one of her fellow residents at the Chelsea Hotel, Otis Carmody, who was a journalist with no end of enemies - personal and professional - who would delight in his death. Again in the midst of a murder investigation, Daisy's search for the killer takes her to all levels of society, and even a mad dash across the country itself, as she attempts to solve a puzzle that would baffle even Philo Vance himself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her 10th cozy featuring English writer Daisy Dalrymple (To Davy Jones Below, etc.), Dunn captures the melting pot of Prohibition-era New York with humorous characterizations and a vivid sense of place, and with careful plotting lays out an enjoyable tale of adventure. While her husband, Alec Fletcher, DCI at Scotland Yard, is consulting with J. Edgar Hoover in Washington, Daisy is on her own in New York. At the Chelsea Hotel, Daisy meets a number of eccentrics, including a formidable retired crime writer, a hustling elevator boy with the connections to get good whiskey and the reporter Otis Carmody. Carmody's path crosses Daisy's once again at the offices of her American editor in the Flatiron building where Daisy witnesses the reporter's murder. He'd riled the mob and many Tammany politicos, any of whom might have reason to kill Carmody as well as any witnesses. With little confidence in the politically aware DA and his bumbling detective, Daisy and her new friends recreate a scenario that points to perpetrator and motive. Daisy knows this is just speculation, but by the time Alec arrives, she is chasing a thread across the country on a hitched ride on a plane. As an amateur sleuth, Daisy never overreaches the limits of what she can plausibly uncover; the cross-country trek is earned by a sure and gradual build-up of suspicion. Throughout her travels in the States, Daisy is keenly attuned to people and place: race relations, regional accents, even foods all add to the texture of the story.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Now married to a Scotland Yard detective, series sleuth Daisy Dalrymple takes on another murder case when the pair honeymoons in New York. While there, Daisy sees a journalist fall down an elevator shaft after being shot. With lively city surrounds circa 1923, including the Chelsea Hotel.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758203721
• ISBN-13: 978-0758203724
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carola Dunn is the author of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. Born and raised in England, the author now lives in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fun read, February 10, 2002

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 10) (Hardcover)

This latest Daisy Dalrymple mystery novel is not that much of a murder mystery at all, and more of an adventure abroad novel. However it is also the most light hearted of the Daisy Dalrymple mystery novels to date, and quite a bit of fun.

For Daisy and her husband Alec (a DCI with Scotland Yard), this visit to the United States of America is supposed to be a honeymoon trip. The reality is that Alec is in America in order to advise the Americans (J. Edgar Hoover in particular) on how to clean up and set up their Investigation Bureau of the Justice Department. So while Alec is stuck in Washington, Daisy is in New York, gathering material for her magazine articles and meeting her American editor. After one such meeting, while on their way to lunch, Daisy and her editor hear a gunshot and witness a man plummet to his death down an elevator shaft. Daisy quickly recognizes the murdered man as a fellow resident of the Chelsea Hotel. She then discovers that he is/was the journalist, Otis Carmody, an investigative reporter, also known as a 'muckraker.' It soon becomes apparent that Daisy, her editor, and a federal agent that had been shadowing Daisy (Alec's superior at the Scotland Yard had apparently warned Hoover that it would be wise to provide a watchdog for her as Daisy has the habit of getting involved in all kinds of unsavory goings-on) are the only credible witnesses to the Carmody's death (which of course turns out to be murder). Why was Carmody murdered and who committed the crime? Striking up friendships with other guests (and workers) at the Chelsea, Daisy discovers that Carmody was quite the crusading journalist, and that he had angered more than his fair share of dangerous and powerful men. Could one of them have commissioned Carmody's murder? And then there is the tantalising information about Carmody's estranged wife and her shady lover... Before long Daisy discovers that New York is not England, and that she could be in danger herself because she witnessed Carmody's murderer escaping. Never before has Daisy missed Alec so much or wished that she did not have this propensity to fall over a murder wherever she went.

"The Case of the Murdered Muckraker" is strictly for Daisy Dalrymple fans. It is a lighthearted read full of eccentric and quirky characters, and funny moments when Daisy ponders over the differences between the English that the British speak and the English that the American speak -- how this brought back memories of my first few years in the US -- and the differences between the manner in which Scotland Yard would have run things and the manner in which the New York detectives carry out an investigation. And while there some gathering of information and sounding out of theories, this mystery novel is still not much of a murder mystery like the previous Daisy Dalrymple mystery novels -- no red herrings, twists and turns in plot development, etc. However it is a charming and humourous book, that is bound to entertain and lighten the mood. And Carola Dunn does a wonderful job of bringing to life Prohibition-era New York, as well as certain character types. So read it for fun and entertainment and a bit of a laugh, and read something else if you're in the mood for a wicked murder mystery.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, a complete waste of time, September 29, 2009

By 

Kristin (Western WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 10) (Paperback)

Frankly, I have no idea how this particular suppository of a novel got past an editor. What an utter waste of time, ink and paper.

Dunn was obsessed with pointing out all the quaint ways in which the British and the Americans are different, so Daisy Dalrymple spends the entire book going "Oh, I SEE. You say COOKIE where in England we say BISCUIT." "Oh, I DID NOT KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT JUST THEN, but when you say ELEVATOR you mean LIFT." "GOSH LET ME THINK FOR A MINUTE WHAT YOU COULD MEAN BY SAYING TRUCK. COULD IT BE THAT YOU MEAN THE THING THAT I, BEING BRITISH AND ALSO A LIMEY FROM ENGLAND, WOULD CALL A LORRY?"

Dunn is every bit as heavyhanded about trying to establish a "period" feel for the book. Obviously not really having the slightest in-depth clue about period literature from the 1920s, she splatters the whole thing with exposition that reads like it's cribbed straight from a high school history textbook.

"Good afternoon, Daisy. Would you like some tea? I would offer you a glass of sherry except that as you know we're under Prohibition here in the United States, where you are not from, since you are from England and also a British Limey. It is also known as The Noble Experiment, and the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption are banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, many of us drink alcohol on the sly, ha ha, in establishments called speakeasies and through bootlegging."

Daisy rushed down the hall to the lift, passing a woman with a stylish bob haircut. "Gosh," thought Daisy, "there goes one of the "new breed" of young women who wear short skirts, bob their hair, listen to the new jazz music, and flaunt their disdain for what is now considered acceptable behavior. She is stylish but flappers are also seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms."

Don't even get me started on the dialogue she writes trying to make characters seem "period". They all sound like Al Capone spoofs from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. "Awright, mister. Do ya got da goods on da stiff what snuffed it on disyere elevator? Or do I gotta take yous downtown for da mug book wid Dollface here?" One character even switches mid-novel from a stereotypical Irish brogue to "tough 20s street kid" dialect!

And after all that pain ... NO MYSTERY. Nope. Neither the slightest spark of interest to the question of who killed the victim, nor the slightest bit of doubt the whole time as to who did it.

I want my 3 hours back, so I can spend it reading REAL period writing and REAL mystery from the once and future Queen, Agatha Christie.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing, January 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case of the Murdered Muckraker (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, No. 10) (Paperback)

Fans who have enjoyed this series so far will be disappointed by this disjointed jumble of mystery, travelog, and fanciful biography. All begins well as Daisy witnesses the murder of an unpleasant muckracking reporter. The reporter's faithless wife and her beau make an appearance. Unnameed powerful political enemies and a mysterious cousin are suggested as suspects, but never become part of the real story. No new clues are introduced and a lot of time is spent on impugning the competence of the FBI and the honesty of New York City police. Alex finally returns from Washington after an extended stay with J.Edgar Hoover,(interesting choice of partner for his honeymoon!) Daisy thinks she glimpses a man wearing a hat similar to someone she saw in the hallway during the murder. (I'm not making this up.) Based on this brainwave Daisy, Alex, and the FBI agent begin a transcontinental chase that begins in a taxi cab and then languishes in a bi-plane for several chapters. Bessie Coleman becomes a pinch-hitting pilot for them and we are treated to Carloa Dunn's idea of African American dialect as Bessie shares the story of her life. (These are interesting facts that have absolutely no bearing on the slowly lumbering plot.) Meanwhile criminal has been thoughtful enough to hijack several mail planes while he is on the lam. This is very useful since there is no evidence to connect him to the murder and the world's flimsiest is cranked out in the last pages. Eventually we are told the murderer was arrested. (Daisy chose to hide behind the plane while this was going on, so the readers have to use their own imaginations for the climax of the story. While they're at it the readers may as well imagine the whole thing and save themselves the price of this hodge podge.