In yesterday's post I mentioned 'cosy murders' and how good it was to snuggle up, nice and warm and read books in this category. Well, this is what I did yesterday afternoon, I was indoors, chores done, including sanding down and undercoating a piece of furniture, so aglow with virtue I made a cup of tea and repaired to the sofa with two delightful books by Carola Dunn sent to me by Constable Robinson, and featuring the Honorouble Daisy Dalrymple. I had spotted these in their catalogue, knew nothing about them, but was rather taken with the covers (I am easily pleased) and they very kindly popped a couple of them in the post.
I loved them and now want to read the others in the series and, while they are never likely to feature on the Booker lists, they are perfect reading for a relaxing afternoon. The heroine is Daisy Dalrymple, it is just after the First World War, she has lost a brother and fiance in the conflict and has decided she cannot stay at home, bored and unhappy, but wants to be independent and to make her way in the world. She is not encouraged in this by her mother who feels that as a daughter of a Viscountess, Daisy should not be lowering herself and mixing with the 'lower orders'. Despite opposition Daisy has a stint as a secretary and then turns her hand to journalism, obtaining an assignment from a magazine to visit and write about stately homes and, at the beginning of Death at Wentwater Court, we find our heroine on the train nervously anticipating her arrival and wondering what she will find when she gets there.
What she does find is Lord Wentwater, a widower for many years who has recently remarried to a woman much younger than him, Annabel. This is resented by his children, particularly his elder son and heir, James who has set himself up against his stepmother. Lord Stephen Astwick, a 'cad and a bounder' has a hold over the younger son, Wilfred, and has extracted an invitation to the Court in order to revenge himself upon Annabel who rejected him prior to her marriage. He is aided and abetted in this endeavour by James and Lord Wentwater's daughter, Margery who is fascinated by Lord Stephen and resents his attentions to her step mother. Daisy picks up on these emotions seething beneath the surface and feels an instant liking for Annabel who is clearly in need of a friend.
So the scene is set: a country house, a collection of suspects, tension abounding and, yes you have guessed it, Lord Stephen is found dead - face down in a freezing lake where he has gone to skate. The ice has clearly given way - but has it?
The second title which I had to hand and read as soon as I had finished this one, was The Winter Garden Mystery and, once again, we find Daisy on her way to write about yet another stately house, this time Occles Hall. Another cast of mixed characters, Bobbie an old school friend of Daisy's and the daughter of the house, Sebastian her devastatingly good looking brother, the secretary Ben Bradshaw home from the war and suffering from the after effects of mustard gas, his overbearing mother, Lady Valeria and her ineffectual husband, Sir Reginald who spends most of his time safe in his model dairy producing cheese (this odd couple put me in mind of Lord Emsworth at Blandings and his obsession with his pigs and his fear of his redoubtable sister, Lady Constance).
Lady Valeria bemoans the fact that finding a decent parlour maid is almost impossible nowadays and that the last one they had ran off with a commercial traveller. It will come as no surprise to the reader that the very next day, while out on a guided tour of the gardens, Daisy spots a dying bush that has been disturbed and when the gardener investigates, the dead boy of the parlour maid, Gladys, is discovered burried underneath the dying shrub.
I am going to make no attempt to go into all the intricacies and ins and outs of the plots, not sure that I could actually, but these books are enormous fun. Rather too many uses of 'spiffing' and 'good egg' in my humble, but their use all helps to ensure that there is a slightly dotty, frenetic, flapperish atmosphere which makes these stories so agreeable.
But we have to have a detective in a murder story and here we have a lovely one. Bit of a mixture between Roderick Alleyn and Peter Wimsey, in that they are not the normal clod hopping inspector so despised by the aristocracy, but more of a gentleman. And so we are introduced to Inspector Alec Fletcher:
"...he rose to his feet. Gentleman or not, he was well dressed in a charcoal suit with the tie of the Royal Flying Corps. Of middle height, broad shouldered, he impressed Daisy as vigorous and resolute, an impression reinforced by rather intimidating, dark heavy eyebrows over piercing grey eyes.....he smiled, his eyes warming and she noticed that his dark, crisp hair sprang from his temples in the most delicious way. Altogether he was rather gorgeous, she decided"
There you have it - the attraction between the two of them is mutual, but of course he feels that she is far above him and Daisy doesn't think he will want to bother with someone like her. Thus, the incipient relationship is set up for forthcoming books.
I am now intent on reading the rest of these as I enjoyed them so much. Perhaps a nice grovelling email to the publishers is called for.............
