Review by Booklist Review
Now here's a proper British mystery. The title refers to the two million excess women left unmarried after WWI. Dunn's heroine, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple, now wife of Scotland Yard Inspector Alec Fletcher, is friends with one of these women, Willie Chandler, a chum from school who has just moved to Beaconsfield with two other roommates. With Daisy recuperating in the village after a bout of bronchitis, she renews the acquaintance, and she and Alec gladly accept an invitation to Sunday lunch. Though the smell of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding wafts through the kitchen, another, less aromatic smell comes from the basement. Alas, it is the exceedingly dead body of a woman. Are Willie et al. the murderers? What about the leasing agent, who had a thing for the home's former owner? Or the lascivious schoolteacher? Daisy, much to the chagrin of her husband (though he's getting used to it), is as involved as ever in this twenty-first book of the series. A thoroughly cozy atmosphere combines with a solid mystery. More Daisy, please.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The shadow of WWI hangs over Dunn's affecting 22nd mystery set in 1920s England (after 2013's Heirs of the Body). To escape the London smog, journalist Daisy Dalrymple and her husband, Scotland Yard's Det. Insp. Alec Fletcher, have come to the Thames Valley town of Beaconsfield, where a school friend Daisy hasn't seen in years, Wilhelmina "Willie" Chandler, has bought a house with two other unmarried women. When Daisy and Alec go to a luncheon given by Willie and her housemates, Isabel Sutcliffe and Vera Leighton, the couple find their hostesses without a key to the wine cellar. Alec offers to pick the lock and upon entry into the cellar makes the gruesome discovery of a dead body. With Willie, Isabel, and Vera as murder suspects, Daisy sets out on her own to unearth the truth. Dunn sensitively portrays a largely female society devastated by the war that cost the lives of more than 700,000 British men. Agent: Alice Volpe, Northwest Literary Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
On a visit to her old school chum Willie and her two unmarried roommates, Daisy has to figure out who killed the house's former owner, whose body is found inside a locked wine cellar. The 22nd entry (after Heirs of the Body) in the charming 1920s-set series proves that Dunn just keeps getting better. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The wife of a high-ranking Scotland Yard detective finds herself involved in yet another murder case. The dangerous London smog of 1927 has driven Daisy Fletcher to The Saracen's Head in Beaconsfield on orders from her doctor. Coughing and weak, she works up the strength to visit Cherry Trees, the home of her school friend Willie Chandlera rare female Chartered Accountantand housemates Vera Leighton and Isabel Sutcliffe. With so many men killed in the war, England is awash with such so-called superfluous women. When Daisy's husband, Alec, arrives to see her, they are invited to dine with the three ladies, who wish they could get into the locked cellar to see if perhaps former owner Mrs. Gray left a nice bottle of wine behind. Alec obligingly picks the lock only to find a badly decomposed body, most likely that of Mrs. Gray. Pleasant local Inspector Underwood asks the Yard if Alec can work the case on an unofficial basis, little knowing that they'll get not only Alec and his sergeant, but Daisy, whose insatiable curiosity has involved her in many a murder investigation (Heirs of the Body, 2013, etc.). Daisy turns up a good deal of local gossip through Sally, a hotel waitress who's been especially helpful and whose grumpy aunt is the house cleaner at Cherry Trees. Although Daisy's sure none of her friends are involved, there are many secrets to uncover before the case is solved. Fans of classic British mysteries and Dunn's clever heroine will find plenty of local color and red herrings in her latest charmer. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
