The Case of the Murdered Muckraker

I didn't like this book as much as the earlier books in the series. Daisy is in New York and the bits contrasting American and British English was fun. However, the whole train chase and cross-country airplane chase was a bit too much! But still a fun read.

fest, spoof, culture-shock, murder, murder-investigation, the-scottish-play, historic-buildings, historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, NYC*****

Is it a farce? A satire? Who cares! It's a whole lot of fun!
The cast of characters allude to many real people and scandals of the time which are somewhat unknown to Daisy as she visits with American publishers, her editor, and a famous former NYC reporter and her (dippy) sister, as well as a NYC DA, a new federal agent sent to "keep an eye on her", a barnstormer, and a whole lot more. The fact that she keeps referring to a couple of them as Rosenkranz and Guildenstern might give a clue! Simply too much fun. As a cozy it is full of twists, show more misdirection, and red herrings! Loved it!
Even the narrator got caught up in it. show less

When an unpopular journalist is killed in front of her Daisy Fletcher gets drawn into the investigation. The New York police seem to be more interested in finding someone to blame than finding the truth. Meanwhile Alec is in Washington talking to Hoover and Daisy is finding that America and England are two countries divided by a common language. Before it will all end Daisy will find herself in an Aeroplane!

Not bad but I'm starting to wonder if Jessica Fletcher isn't a descendant.

This was fun. I enjoyed seeing Daisy in New York and also getting a feel for what an airplane ride would be like in the 1920's. It was also good to see Alec go a little wild, not out of character just not the composed proper police officer he usually is.

Alec and Daisy are in America working after their honeymoon voyage. However, while Alec is in Washington DC, Daisy remains in NY to meet with her editor and to write. When she arrives at the printing offices, she sees the same man from an earlier argument in her hotel. As he glances down the elevator shaft for his coming car, a gun shot sends him falling to his death and leads Daisy into a new mystery. As she pursues the culprit, she must also be wary of the American police and Tammany Hall politics. Ultimately, she and Alec end up on a cross-country air pursuit of the killer.
This was not my favorite book in this series. Parts of it would have been better if edited for pacing, several subplots that weren't relevant, and some elements show more seemed contrived. show less

Daisy is staying at the Chelsea Hotel while Alec is working in Washington with J. Edgar Hoover. Daisy is on the scene when a man is murdered and inevitably gets caught up in the police investigation. Although there are some nice comments on the differences between the US and the UK, this book just didn't quite do it for me, Alec is missing and the use of, what seems to be, contemporary NY slang felt contrived and forced - of course some of my annoyance may be down to my missing Tom's and Ernie's contributions to the investigations and wanting to see Daisy and Alec settled in London with Belinda (and of course how Daisy deals with her mother-in-law).

This one's hard to rate. It was madcap, but maybe a little too wild.
What I liked:
Fun and light read, quirky new cast of characters

What I didn't:
The NY slang--maybe it was accurate, but seemed a bit overdone.
The "translation" from English to American was a bit overworked as well.