Gunpowder Plot

Set in the 1920s in England, main character Daisy Dalrymple is a journalist covering the Guy Fawkes’ Day celebrations at the country manor of an old friend for an American magazine. During the festivities, what first appears to be a murder-suicide takes place. Daisy is now married to Scotland Yard Detective Alec Fletcher, and he is one of those called in to investigate. The storyline follows the investigation, Daisy’s unofficial assistance, and the numerous suspects.

The time-period, setting, and social circumstances are well-drawn. Times are changing, and Daisy is among the new independent working women, though still somewhat constrained by social mores. Her mother is among those who want to keep the old traditions. There is a good show more amount of classism, and marrying outside one’s station is still not widely accepted. There is a missing generation of men due to World War I. All this seems convincing.

However, we then have the weak plot, which is convoluted. There is an attempt to fool the reader into misidentifying the culprit, with lots of unconvincing red herrings. It requires a huge suspension of disbelief to buy into the ending. I liked the first third (before the murder), but once it turned into a standard detective story, it lost me. It is one of those books that wasn’t bad but wasn’t that good either. show less

At first I took great pleasure from what I thought was an undiscovered classic of the golden age - but when I realised that the author is still amongst us, alive and well and living in the US, my attitude began to change. So well is the pastiche done, so perfectly judged is the language (plot, too, and pace), that I did wonder what was the point. Everything here has been done a hundred times before, a hundred years ago, perhaps no better, but certainly not always worse; Daisy Dalrymple adds nothing to the sum of human happiness already amassed by St Agatha and all her acolytes.

While there is no need for every country house murder mystery to descend to parody, perhaps just a single, sly, ironical aside might have leavened the souffle?

This is one of the best novels in the series: lighthearted and fast moving. Daisy and her husband, Detective Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Alec Fletcher, investigate the double deaths of a tyrannical father and his female guest. Nobody is sorry about the father, who terrorized his family for years, but the guest was a nice, friendly woman. Why was she killed?
Quirky family relationships and a host of colorful secondary characters complicate the investigation, as usual. And as usual, I found a word in the author’s expansive vocabulary I’ve never read before. Antediluvian – do you know what it means? I didn’t, but a dictionary came to my rescue. I won’t tell though.
This book was pure joy to read. Using Daisy’s favorite word: show more spiffing.
The only problem I have is with the cover blurb. In the blurb, the murder victim is called a viscount, while in the book he is a baronet. I wonder if whoever wrote the blurb even read the book. If not, it’s their loss. show less

A pretty good murder mystery, other than an awful ending. The 'resolution' of the plot was completely unjustified, and not at all satisfying. The sins of one person do not wipe out the sins of another, after all.
Additionally, this story had some sadder plot elements than are usually depicted in a "cozy" murder mystery.

Now Guy Fawkes is a problem in Ireland, burning a symbolic catholic? Yeah, not popular. Halloween is but 5th November, no. I do understand that it's a popular celebration, today largely stripped of symbolism (except in some areas, mostly in Northern Ireland where sectarianism is still a ugly, divisive issue) so that did shadow my reading of the book.

Gwen Tyndall is an old school-friend of Daisy and invites her to the firework display they have every year, during the celebrations Gwen's father and a visitor is killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Things aren't so clear and it all starts to unravel. Daisy is pregnant and many things are not as easy as they should be.

Those kids were brats. I have a lot of pity for Babs during the show more aftermath and I hope things will get better for her. show less

Daisy is staying w/ a long-time friend, intending to write about Guy Fawkes for Town & Country.

While in the 3 Ravens, a local pub, she & her hosts meet up w/ a couple visiting from Australia. The young man of the manor house invites the older couple to take part in the Guy Fawkes activities & as well as dinner at the estate house.

During the dinner, the young man & his spoiled sister have a row over her rotter sons & the young man runs to talk to his father about stolen rockets.... The young man discovers his father's body along with that of the Australian woman's.

Everyone assumes that his father (a miserable, mean, dictatorial old man) murdered the woman then committed suicide...

Daisy's husband DCI Scotland Yard, Alec Fletcher is show more called to investigate... As it turns out, both people were murdered and there is no end of suspects.

Interesting, compelling read, but once again I figured out "who-done-it", because it was very obvious... show less

Daisy is staying at a country house owned by the family of an old school friend so that she can write an article for her American publisher on their Bonfire Night celebrations. Inevitably there's a murder, and because of past connections, Alec is called into investigate. As usual Dunn gently, and sometimes hilariously, exposes the mores of the period. The murder is initially interesting, but I wasn't convinced by the solution. Still a good addition to the series.