Styx and stones

While Howard Engel's latest (Murder in Montparnasse, reviewed above) is set in 1920s Paris, this delightful installment in Dunn's entertaining series (Damsel in Distress, etc.) unfolds across the Channel in 1920s England. The Honorable Daisy Dalrymple is invited by her brother-in-law, Lord John Frobisher, to take a holiday at his country estate and to investigate a series of poison pen letters. The brutally hot August of 1923 has brought out the worst in one of the villagers, for Daisy learns that John and other locals have been receiving threatening letters from someone who knows their most damning secrets. In a small village rife with gossip, there are many suspects, from the postmistress, Mrs. Burden, to the local busybody, Mabel Prothero. Daisy tries to sniff out the letter-writer without having to inform her fianc‚, Scotland Yard Inspector Alex Fletcher, who's resigned himself to Daisy's snooping. But when a murder occurs, the local police must reinforce Daisy's efforts. The upper-crust Daisy is an appealing heroine who always retains her respectability, even when encroaching on traditional male enclaves. While light in tone, her newest adventure, like the others in this series, offers enough tart wit to engage the seasoned mystery reader. And the novel is a feast for anglophiles; even the (too predictable) resolution enables Daisy and Alex to join in a consummate English pastime: a friendly game of cricket. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

At her brother's behest, series sleuth Daisy Dalrymple investigates a series of poison-pen letters that result in murder in a 1923 English village. A pleasant historical. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

So-so eighth in a series set in the early 1920s, dealing with the misadventures and triumphs of the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, part-time writer and full-time snoop, the latter an activity bemoaned by her fianc‚, Scotland Yard's D.C.I. Alee Fletcher. Daisy's worried brother-in-law Lord John Frobisher has come to London from Kent to have lunch with Daisy and to tell her about the unsigned poison-pen, obscenely worded letters he's been getting. They accuse him of having an affair with youngish widow Mrs. LeBeau in the village of Rotherden. It's true, unfortunately, though over now, but Daisy decides to pay a visit to her sister Viole--to explore the territory and see whether any other villagers are victims of the poison pen. She finds a score of them, including the postmistress, Mrs. Burden; retired Brigadier Lomax; local Dr. Padgett; and mechanic Sam Basin. The Vicar, Reverend Osborne, has an atheist brother, a professor who's anathema to the Vicar's wife, and, it emerges, the Vicar has his own sin to hide. Daisy, asked to address the Women's Institute at the church hall, is on her way to do so, walking through the churchyard, when she spots a body pinned under a large stone angel--which has obviously pushed or fallen from its stand. The victim is the Vicar's brother, and Daisy, true to form, is soon in the middle of the investigation. The answers, when they come, are hardly believable, even as the characters and events seem contrived most of the time. Only Dunn's most devoted fans will relish this tepid tale. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.