Die Laughing: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery [Hardcover]

Set in 1920s England, DIE LAUGHING investigates the habits of a society where people discuss 'people one knows,' complain about the problems finding servants but keep several on staff, and still defer irrationally to the smallest hint of aristocracy. Although this was a different world, the motives for murder remained the same. And someone who has murdered once just may do so again.

Author Carola Dunn writes with a light touch that kept me smiling. Daisy can't stop her curiosity even though she knows that it drives her husband crazy (fortunately for both of them, it is her curiosity that brings out most of the evidence). The relationship between these characters stands in contrast to that of the victims and suspects, most of whom seemed to be involved in illicit relationships with one another.

I found the beginning of DIE LAUGHING a bit slow and bogged down with social references but Dunn soon picked up the pace and delivered a charming story. Readers will enjoy spotting the killer and then watching Daisy and her husband work their way to the truth.

Although his wife, who is with Daisy when she finds the body, assumes the death was a suicide, Daisy notices some significant signs that suggest otherwise. Neither she nor Alex is surprised when it turns out the good doctor is a victim of foul play. So, who is the most likely culprit? The unfaithful wife who is pregnant with her lover's child? Her lover, who had been told the affair was over? The dentist's own lover, who had been informed of the same? Her bad-tempered former military husband? Talk about an embarrassment of riches...

The Daisy Dalrymple series, set in the years following the first World War, are the sort of mysteries that these days get overshadowed by the Hannibal Lecters and Gary Sonejis. For those who just want to be entertained by amusing characters, scintillating dialogue and a good solid puzzle to unravel, that is a shame. DIE LAUGHING is not only delightfully British but has a marvelous hint of farce throughout that makes the reader wish he or she could jump right into the fun. It isn't difficult at all to envision the action taking place on a stage or a movie screen-perhaps with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant as Daisy and Alex.

What's even better-and something that is all-too-often missing in angst-ridden modern mystery series obsessed with serial killers-is that Ms. Dunn provides all the hints and information necessary for the reader to solve the mystery and identify the culprit. Half the fun of reading this latest installment is finding out if you're right.