A better-than-average Daisy Dalrymple mystery. Daisy accompanies her friend Lucy to photograph a grotto for a book their doing on follies. The current owner of the estate is a rich plumbing supply manufacturer; his other guests for the weekend are a mixed bag of bureaucrats and minor aristocracy. The highest ranking lord is completely obnoxious. After two paragraphs of him, I hoped he'd be the victim, because he richly deserved it.

Light fun. ( )

Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher has proved to have a nose for crime…or more rather, perhaps an unfortunate tendency to stumble across bodies. Her husband, Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, takes his fair share of ribbing from his coworkers about his wife’s unique “talent”. But once the initial surprise wears off, Daisy and Alec reliably tackle the case with aplomb, and frequent humor can be expected along the way.

This is, after all, the dazzle of 1920’s, and glamor and wit abound in postwar England. Even murder in the Jazz Age comes with a peculiar kind of style and lasting flourish and Carola Dunn’s series acknowledges this trait with a sharp humor. The atmosphere of postwar England has been carefully traced through the series, the rapid changes and new attitudes and hedonism playing its own role in the tale. Gangsters, bootleggers, flappers, actresses, playboys, and gamblers abound, reveling in the heady freedom of the Roaring ‘20’s. The detail is carefully drawn, and the social impact of the decadent decade ties neatly into the nature of crime.

So when in “Sheer Folly”, Daisy and best friend Lucy go out on research for a book of architectural follies, leaving Alec at home with the kids, it’s only a matter of enduring knowing anticipation before Daisy embroils herself in another murder. And as usual, it’s a somewhat funny situation: stuck at the home of a somewhat droll plumbing manufacturer and enduring a mix of quirky houseguests, it’s only a matter of time before grabby, smarmy playboy Lord Rydal meets a spectacular demise. One almost wonders if Alec and Daisy feel halfway sorry for trying to catch whoever blew up a grotto with Lord Rydal in it, as quite a few seem to consider it a public service; some probably feel rather worse about the loss of a spectacular grotto to have accomplished the job.

By this, the seventeenth entry in the series, the formula is rather well-established, but its familiarity and humor make for a comforting read nonetheless: a new visit to old, charming friends to see the recent developments in their lives and how they confront a fresh challenge is always worth a stop. It’ll be almost a pity to see Alec and Daisy someday reach 1929 and the hardships of the Depression, but unlike the doomed glitz of the ‘20’s, the Fletchers will make it through pretty much anything, including discovering the next body, and continue to do so with their characteristic wit and warmth. ( )