Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Until now, the Daisy Dalrymple series has been fairly enjoyable. This book, however, is a HUGE disappointment. The previous book, To Davy Jones Below, set on the high seas, was bearable. This one isn't. Set in New York City and ultimately Eugene, Oregon (author Carola Dunn's current home) the book is a hodgepodge. The identity of the murder victim, the "Murdered Muckraker" of the title, is vague. He was a muckraker? The plot is weak and the book is overloaded with characters of little interest. Daisy's new husband, Alec, appears briefly at the end of the book. Overall, this is a disasterous potboiler just barely keeping the series alive. I plodded to the finish of this book but I'm not giving up yet. Hopefully, when Daisy goes home to England, the next book will be better.

I enjoy Daisy Dalrymple books. This one has Daisy staying in New York, working on a series of articles about America for an American magazine. While there (here's a shocker!) she's a witness to a murder.

OK, no problem. This now gives Dunn a reason to talk about America in the 1920's. She throws in Tammany Hall, J. Edgar Hoover, Prohibition, racial discrimination, the plight of the immigrant, etc, etc. I could put up with that, mostly, if there was a great plot. But there's not. The plot is rather thin. And the American dialect and jargon she throws in is so distracting that I kept losing sight of the story. I was really disappointed in this one. Please, Dunn, keep Daisy in England where she belongs!

Daisy's latest is fun, but a little too light.

From reading the reviews this book does not sound like too many people liked it. But funny thing is I am trying to find a copy of it so I can make my own judgement and everybody want's $20.00 bucks or more for a paperback copy. What is up with that?