Mistletoe and Murder

Seething resentments, well-kept family secrets, and a savage murder set the stage for Christmas in Cornwall in this cozy holiday installment of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries.

In December 1923, the formidable Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple has decided that for Christmas the family will all gather at Brockdene in Cornwall at the invitation of Lord Westmoor. Her daughter - Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher - is somewhat less than pleased but yields to the demands of her mother, especially as she'll be there just before the holidays working on another article for Town and Country about the estate itself. But the family gathering quickly goes awry.

Brockdene, it seems, is occupied only by the Norvilles - poor relations of Lord Westmoor - and Westmoor show more himself won't be joining them. So Daisy; her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard; and their family must spend their Christmas holiday trapped in an ancestral estate with a rich history of lore, ghost stories, and rumors of hidden treasure and secret passageways with a family seething with resentments, grudges, and a faintly scandalous history.

The veneer of civility that pervades the halls of Brockdene, however, begins to wear thin when long-held family secrets threaten to bubble over, and one of the Christmas guests is found savagely murdered. With few clues as to who committed the murder, and with too many motives as to why, it is once again up to Daisy to sort out the truth that lies beneath a generation of poisonous secrets. show less

Using a family connection, Daisy heads to a historical estate to do a story for her magazine as well as spend the Christmas holiday with her family. However, when the family snubs them leaving them to the illegitimate side of the family living at Brockdene, Daisy's mother is none too happy. Add in the return of sea-faring Uncle Victor with a moody priest and the party turns awkward. However, the murder of the priest shifts the mood from holiday into investigation.

Daisy's entire family is supposed to gather at Brockdene in Cornwall to celebrate Christmas at the insistence of her mother, the dowager will not be disobeyed, They find themselves in a house full of secrets and resentments and mysteries and then a murder.

The setup is a bit strained but the mystery kept me guessing, I enjoyed it.

I really liked this story, it held my interest and the ambiance of the historical setting was positively foreboding.

From the inside cover: "In December of 1923, the formidable Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple has decided that for Christmas the family will all gather at Brockdene (Castle) in Cornwall at the (wrangled) invitation of Lord Westmoor.

Her daughter- Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher-is something less than pleased but yields to the demands of her mother, especially as she'll be there before the holidays working on another article for Town & Country about the estate itself.

But the family gathering quickly goes awry. Brockdene, it seems is only occupied by the Norvilles-poor relations of Lord Westmoor-and Westmoor himself won't be joining show more them.

So Daisy, her husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, and their families must spend their Christmas holiday trapped in an ancestral estate with a rich history of lore, ghost stories, rumors of hidden treasure and secret passageways, and a family seething with resentments, grudges, and a family scandalous history.

The veneer of civility that pervades the halls of Brockdene, however, begins to wear thin when long-held family secrets threaten to bubble over, and one of the Christmas guests is found savagely murdered (in the chapel).

With few clues as to who committed the murder and with too many motives as to why, it is once again up to Daisy to sort out the truth that lies beneath a generation of poisonous secrets."

I took off 1 Star, because although the book was set in 1923, it was written in 2002, and Dunn was disrespectful & graceless in her use of the "S" word when describing a Native American woman's feather purchased for Daisy's daughter's "costume".... Totally inappropriate & incorrect. show less

Enjoyable book but not the best in the series. The murderer was obvious very early on despite the appearance of red herrings. I would have liked to see more of the Dowager Countess. Her interaction with Alec could have been quite humorous. Also the descriptions of the house required a good deal of thought -- wished I could have had a little map of house and surroundings.

A return to form in this book. Daisy is writing about a Cornish manor owned by a distant relative. As its Christmas the family join her even though the lord of the manor is absent. Inevitably there's a murder and Alec's Christmas is ruined as he is called into investigate. The mystery is quite interesting as a re the reasons for the murder when the murderer is discovered, but this is still not quite as fun as other books in the series.

2.5 rounded up.
I think I would have liked this more had I started at book 1, but I was looking for Christmas read and this title jumped out at me. It was cute, definitely a cozy, but it took a minute for the story to get going. Cute but I didn't love it.