Customer Reviews

Strong Spirits

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4 star:		(2)
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Heroine:  average

      Redheaded Daisy Gumm Majesty is not your average 1920s spiritual medium. Rather, she's a canny and perceptive girl who lacks an actual connection to the "other side", but who uses her unique understanding of the human condition as a "spiritual counselor" to make a good living for her family, including a young husband ruined from fighting the Huns in Germany.

Unfortunately, Daisy's chosen career is just a tad bit illegal as the police would see it more as fortune telling than psychological and emotional assistance. Not that any of her wealthy, satisfied (if a bit flighty) customers would ever dream of turning her in, but Daisy's wheelchair-bound husband's new best friend is none other than her own archenemy Detective Sam Rotondo, a cranky police officer who just misses catching her in the act of her questionable occupation with alarming frequency. But the brusque cop may be willing to overlook Daisy's profession as it appears that her countless social connections would make an excellent unofficial snoop for his cases.

Now if only this card-carrying choir member con-artist can just get past her morally superior ethics and agree!

What worked for me:

Sweet and lovable Daisy is just darling, if a bit garrulous! She's so sincere in her belief that she is helping people that you almost forget that she's truly a con-artist in the eyes of the law. The rest of the cast of characters are also very real and sympathetic. I easily could envision before and after "the Big War" images of Daisy's broken young husband Billy. (Shades of Lord Chatterley, anyone?)

Size-wise Daisy is a bit curvier than is fashionable for the era of boyish flappers, but she doesn't reflect on it very much. She is like many young women, however, in that she's a bit taken aback when she sees a larger, older woman wearing bright colors or getting down on her hands and knees to play with puppies. Life as a large woman is a foreign concept to Daisy for now, but she owns that it may become more familiar to her one day thanks to her fondness for her Aunt Vi's fine cooking.

What didn't work for me:  
  
I don't have a problem with it, but those who have strict genre preferences might. This series defies simple categorization having elements of both cozy mysteries and romance, but you could just as easily consider it light historical fiction with occasional dealings in darker matters like the treatment of homosexuals or the suffering of war veterans.

There were a couple of passages that were so information intensive that I felt like I was getting a history lesson, but aside from that it was smooth sailing.

Overall:

Charming and delightful, Daisy is sure to please readers of many genres, especially fans of novels set in the Roaring Twenties.

     If you liked the Daisy Gumm Majesty mystery series you might also enjoy the "Daisy Dalrymple" mystery series, the "Miss Marple" mystery series ,"The Edge of Town", "High on a Hill", "A Place Called Rainwater", "Lady Chatterley's Lover", or "Ulysses".

Alice Duncan has published a couple dozen novels, mainly Western
romances. With "Strong Spirits," she ventures out into the comic
romance arena to wonderful effect. The book stars Daisy Majesty, a
bright, somewhat cynical young lady who reads fortunes and holds
seances for a living, and who tells us -- in a chatty, charming, and
humorous voice -- of her misadventures in the world of the rich and
cunning in 1920s Pasadena. Her main client is the beleaguered Mrs.
Kincaid, whose wealth cannot shield her from many family problems,
chief among which is her penurious, cranky, mean husband. When Mr.
Kincaid disappears, along with a pile of bank notes, pandemonium
ensues, and Daisy must navigate skillfully between the demands of
Mrs. Kincaid and the suspicions of the attractive, albeit rather
grumpy, Detective Sam Rotondo. Meanwhile, Daisy has a war-invalid
husband smouldering at home, and her love for him is tempered by her
frustrations with his moods. How will she deal with all this? Much,
but not all, is resolved in this book, and Daisy is scheduled to
appear again in subsequent volumes.

Daisy's voice is often sardonic, sometimes hilarious. The author
achieves the breezy charm of someone telling a wonderful story off
the cuff, as if over coffee and biscuits, though sometimes Daisy
indulges her every thought to the reader's dismay. Still, she can
elicit guffaws. Here are a few samples (one or two of which bring to
mind Mark Twain):

"According to my mother, a sharp smack delivered to the rear portion
of the anatomy did wonders to clear up fuzzy thinking in the head
portion of the same body."

"I really hated it when people assumed I was a cheat and a humbug,
even though it was true."

"It would be terrible if I burst out laughing when I was supposed to
be summoning the dead."

"I glanced at the ceiling, hoping God would spot my face among the
millions he saw daily, and asked Him if He didn't think I had enough

burdens to bear already . . . "

"I was seriously beginning to consider purchasing a Hudson as my
next car. You know, when I got rich. Ha! Sorry. Sometimes I get
these silly fancies."

Having fun reading this book, however, is no silly fancy. "Strong
Spirits" is strong medicine for readers who've grown tired of the
same old romances. This one is quick, funny, and knowing. Here's
hoping Daisy Majesty sticks around to tell us many more of her
adventures.

After WWI Daisy finds she can make more money to support her ill husband and her whole family being a spiritualist--it's not fortunetelling though! She reads Tarot cards, has seances and works the Ouija board with her "rich clients".She gives the clients the news they want to hear that gives them hope. That thought also helps her justify her making of the "spirit" by the name of Rolly for this purpose!
Daisy finds herself in the middle of a police investigation by Detective Sam Rotondo due to the daughter and father of her rich client Mrs. Kincaid. The daughter was arrested in a speakeasy and the husband absconded with all the bearer bonds in his own bank. Sam looks into Daisy's life and finds Billy Majesty, her husband,who was in WWI gassed in France and now in a wheelchair most of the time and in great pain. Billy and Sam become friends along with Daisy's extended family but Daisy's reaction to Sam is very mixed but she is happy Billy has a friend. Solving the crime of Mr Kincaid takes Daisy getting involved in a round about way.
Ms Duncan has done a wonderful job creating all the characters. Daisy is great! I hope this is the start of a series. I'm eager to read more about Daisy, Billy & Sam.FINE SPIRITS will be released in July '03 I can hardly wait.

At the age of ten, Daisy Gumm discovers the allure of the Ouija Board, quickly learning to use it on the gullible wealthy. During her teens, Daisy's working class family comes to depend upon her income for survival, as does her war veteran husband when he comes home crippled. Daisy's very practical philosophy summarizes her approach to the world: "It's only the rich in this world who can afford to be disenchanted and blasé. The rest of us are too busy trying to earn a living."

Daisy makes her living off of people like the Kincaids, who "possessed more money than sense." Mrs. Kincaid quickly comes to rely upon Daisy to restore hope when her family seems to disintegrate around her. Her daughter is arrested for drinking in a speakeasy. Her son has his own particular proclivities. And her husband chases the maids from his wheelchair before disappearing under suspicious circumstances. Daisy finds herself caught in the midst of it all, comforting Mrs. Kincaid and guiltily fullfilling Detective Sam Rotondo's demands that she spy on the wealthy family.

STRONG SPIRITS defies an easy categorization, although Kensington lists historical romance on the spine. Instead, STRONG SPIRITS possess a uniquely original tone, imaginative narrative voice, and a marvelous level of the levity. Author Alice Duncan gracefully captures the roaring twenties with its Fizgeraldian affluence and defiance of the war just finished and the one yet to come. Furthermore, Daisy Gumm Majesty is one of the most delightful heroines I have ever encountered, practical, courageous, and determined. Her youthful enthusiasm never abates even when facing daunting challenges. Indeed, Alice Duncan has outdone herself with this sparkling novel. STRONG SPIRITS comes very highly recommended.

Seventeen years old Daisy Gumm marries Bill Majesty just before the latter goes off to fight in the Great War. In France, the Kaiser's troops gas Billy before shooting him. Billy returns home not as a World War One hero, but as an invalid with bad lungs and legs. Daisy must bring in money for the family to live on if they are to survive. She applies her only talent, conducting séances, a skill she has developed since she turned ten. Much of her repeat clientele consists of the wealthy living in the Pasadena, California area.

Daisy's best customer is Mrs. Kincaid, wife of a banker. When Mrs. Kincaid hysterically calls her, Daisy arrives to provide solace to her client. Apparently, someone stole several thousand dollars worth of bearer bonds from her husband's bank. Detective Sam Rotondo believes either the wheelchair bound Kincaid or cashier Del Farrington committed the crime. Sam demands Daisy work undercover finding relevant information about the Kincaids on her visits.

Fans of 1920s mysteries will gain much pleasure from Alice Duncan's strong period piece police procedural. The story line provides a feel for the era as tidbits are treated as a matter of fact so that readers will feel they entered a time warp. Daisy who tells much of the tale is the nucleus that keeps the plot together as the rest of the cast interact through her though some of her humorous Twain-like soliloquies can distract a reader from the investigation. Fans will enjoy the strong spirited debut of Daisy Gumm and want more works like this one from Alice Duncan, an author who has taken over the early twentieth century bailiwick.

Harriet Klausner

Set mainly in the mid-1920's.
Daisy and Billy married shortly before Billy went off to war. Thanks to the Kaiser's men, Billy returned crippled. Unable to work and confined to his wheelchair, it was up to Daisy to provide. She had a talent of conducting seances. Oh, Daisy knew none of it was real, but the rich families seemed to have a need for comforting, regardless of how ridiculous the source of comfort came from. Now everyone knew fortune-telling was illegal, but Daisy NEVER told fortunes, just the opposite! (One could say that Daisy had been getting ready for this job since she was ten years old.)

Mrs. Kincaid was Daisy's best customer. When she called Daisy the day after a seance, she was hysterical. Daisy learned that the spoiled daughter had been arrested while attending a speakeasy. Daisy HAD to go comfort Mrs. Kincaid. After all, that was part of her job. However, it only marked the beginning.

Mr. Kincaid ran the bank in which several thousand dollars worth of bearer bonds had recently disappeared. Detective Rotondo was the one who was investigating the bank problem. His main suspect was the chief cashier, Mr. Farrington.

**** That is the main plot in the mystery. The author made the illusion of the 1920's more realistic by adding touches (such as Model T cars, turn-cranks to start cars, party phone lines, news of women recently getting the right to vote, etc) and mentioned them only casually, as if they were normal in modern everyday life today. There is not really any romance for the main character, Daisy. She is happily married to Billy, so I do not understand why Zebra Publishing lists this novel as Historical Romance. Rather, it is a mystery set in the 1920 era. Daisy is a real pistol! She speaks her mind and is VERY intelligent, much to Rotondo's dismay.

A true delight for mystery fans! Recommended! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch.

Ms. Duncan's "Strong Spirits" is a winner in every way. She is a word artist, painting a story and her character, Daisy Gumm Majesty, with vitality and verve. Daisy will charm readers and I look forward to her next adventure. "Strong Spirits" surprises and enchants with each turn of the page. Ms. Duncan just keeps getting better.

Daisy is an extremely likable heroine - a young woman whose husband has returned from WWI, with crippled legs and gassed lungs. It's up to Daisy to help keep the family together and she has found her calling as "spirtualist" to the wealthy of Pasadena, CA. Daisy knows she is a fake but she sees her job as to bring some hope and closure to those who have suffered lose in the great war. Her husband, Billy, on the other hand is resentful of her job which causes conflict between the young couple.

Called upon to do a seance at the Kincaids, Daisy is disturbed by the hostility, unhappiness and general sense of ill will in the house. Soon she is drawn into a case of bank fraud, missing bonds, and a missing chauffeur - who just happens to be the boyfriend of one of her best friends. She is convinced she knows what is happening but the police refuse to listen to her. Instead, Detective Sam Rotondo seems to be going out of his way to harass her and she develops a strong animosity towards the man. Which is exacerbated when he insinuates himself into her family and becomes good friends with her husband. Rotondo acts on Daisy like a sore tooth that she can't get rid of. And his distrust of her activities drives her mad.

Daisy is delightful, a woman of strong moral character who is determined to help her friends and keep her family going. This is a fun read and I highly recommend it.

However, that said..

Be aware that it is not your traditional romance nor is it a murder mystery. There is some mystery involved but no one gets killed. So if you go into it knowing this ahead of time, you should enjoy this book and be ready to continue with Daisy as her adventures as spiritualist to the wealthy in Pasadena involve her in more engaging activities and adventures.