The Winter Garden Mystery is the second book in the Daisy Dalrymple Mystery series. Set in the 1920s, this series is along the lines of the Royal Flush series by Rhys Bowen or the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood, mysteries being solved by young women who want more out of life than living at home with Mummy until getting married and becoming a housekeeper. In this case Daisy wants to be a writer and is currently writing articles for the Town and Country Magazine.

Her most recent assignment is to write about the stately home of Occles Hall. But when she is photographing the grounds she stops to investigate a recent digging. She uncovers the dead body of Grace Moss, a missing parlour maid. This solid mystery is delivered with charm and style as Daisy once again works with Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Alex Fletcher and together they explore alibis, feuds and secrets as they uncover the identity of the murderer.

While I am usually in the mood for darker mysteries this lighter version is packed with charm and engaging characters. Witty dialogue helps to make The Winter Garden Mystery an enjoyable and easy read when one is looking for something on the light side. ( )

The Winter Garden Mystery
3.5 Stars

For her new assignment with Town and Country magazine, the Honorable Miss Daisy Dalrymple travels to Occles Hall in Cheshire where she inadvertently stumbles across a corpse in the winter garden. When the innocent Welsh under-gardener is accused of the crime, Daisy is determined to uncover the truth.

Daisy is a simply delightful character. She manages to convey both inquisitiveness and caring without being excessively nosey or snooty. While she does sometimes rush headlong into trouble, she also takes appropriate precautions and often saves the day. Her slow-burn romance with the dark and sexy Detective Chief Inspector Alex Fletcher is also progressing nicely.

Unlike the first book where the mystery is resolved too hurriedly, the investigation here involves more commonplace policework (at least for the 1920s), namely questioning suspects and witnesses, and following up leads. There are one or two rather predictable twists and it is possible to guess the culprit and motive quite easily.

The real highlight of the book is Dunn's skillful portrayal of small-town life in rural England, particularly the social and economic changes in the aftermath of WWI, which add a touch of realism to the cozy genre.

Bernadette Dunne's narration took some getting used to in book #1, but she is growing on me. I look forward to the next installment. ( )

1920s, England, family-dynamics, friendship, murder, murder-investigation, due-diligence, law-enforcement, situational-humor, verbal-humor, cosy-mystery*****

I found the audio on sale and Daisy seemed a familiar character so I bought it. Good thing, too! Loved the story and the vivid characters. I got fooled with a twist or two and the red herrings were well done. Even better was finding that the series is done by Bernadette Dunne, although this is the first I've heard with her doing the British! Good fun. Enjoyed it so much I'll have to dive into the TBR pile and see if I have more hiding there before I buy. ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2017]

The Winter Garden Mystery is the second in a long series of gentle cosy crime mysteries by Carola Dunn, the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries.

Daisy Dalrymple, or more correctly the Honourable Miss Dalrymple, is the daughter of aristocracy but the family estate was passed onto a cousin when her only brother was killed in the First World War. Daisy is expected to live with her mother at the family estate’s Dower House but, independently-minded Daisy prefers to make her own way in the world and house-share with a friend in London, while earning her living as a writer for a country magazine. Daisy has a particular skill for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and becoming embroiled in murder investigations.

It’s 1923 and Daisy is off to stay at Occles Hall to write an article for Town and Country about the history of the house and estate. Invited by the daughter of the house, a girl she was at school with though not particular friends with as the girl was a few years older, Daisy isn’t at all sure what to expect. She’s heard a few stories about the Lady of the manor, Lady Valeria, who carries before her a formidable reputation as an unrelenting battleaxe and Daisy starts to wonder what sort of an assignment she’s taken on.

When she arrives Daisy is soon put at ease by the welcome from horse-fanatic Bobbie, otherwise known as Roberta, her younger Adonis-like brother Sebastian and the family’s secretary, Ben Goodman. Sir Reginald also makes Daisy feel quite welcome, though he is a rather absent-minded man and spends all his waking hours at his estate’s dairy, creating award-winning cheeses. Lady Valeria is the only uncomfortable presence so Daisy does her best to avoid her and goes about writing her article and photographing the Hall and gardens.

A visit to the winter garden is a must as it is February at the time of Daisy’s visit so the winter garden is the best-looking part of the estate gardens to show off in the photos and article. Daisy is handed over to the young Welsh under-gardener, Owen, for the tour of the winter garden and on their visit Daisy spots a dead azalea bush in the middle of the garden which looks quite out-of-place amidst the winter flowering shrubs and evergreens. Owen is dismayed and calls on the head gardener straight away. They go to dig it up and make the shocking discovery of a dead body wrapped in a sheet buried under the dead bush. What’s more, the body is that of young Grace Moss, previous parlourmaid at the Hall and particular friend of Owen. She had disappeared a couple of months previously and it was assumed that she had gone off to London to find fortune and fun. A shocking secret lies buried with Grace as well… something to ruffle feathers and rock relationships up at the Hall.

The local Inspector proves to be worse than useless, so Daisy surreptitiously calls on her friend Alec, Detective Chief Inspector Fletcher, from Scotland Yard; an acquaintance made on a previous case Daisy found herself mixed up in and who seems to be as fond of Daisy as she is of him… though both are very aware that they come from different social classes and so their friendship is frowned upon by some members of the upper classes…

Daisy refuses to leave the excitement at the Hall and head back home to London, so Alec needs to find and catch the killer, with some urgency, before they strike again. Daisy’s meddling nature may well be putting her at risk. The trouble is, with a number of likely suspects and little hard evidence, can this murderer be caught?

A gentle 1920s cosy crime mystery, peppered with social etiquette, manners, and featuring the interesting and newly independent Daisy Dalrymple, finding her way in the new 1920s upper and middle class society. A very enjoyable and easy, lightweight read. Absolutely no gore, no deep psychological twists and no suspense of the sort to stop you sleeping at night. A very good, Golden Age-style, old-fashioned murder mystery. If you enjoy the Daisy Dalrymple series, you may also enjoy the Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear and the Kate Shackleton mysteries by Frances Brody.

A complete list of The Daisy Dalrymple mysteries to date (up to April 2017):
1. Death at Wentwater Court
2. The Winter Garden Mystery
3. Requiem for a Mezzo
4. Murder on the Flying Scotsman
5. Damsel in Distress
6. Dead in the Water
7. Styx and Stones
8. Rattle His Bones
9. To Davy Jones Below
10. The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
11. Mistletoe and Murder
12. Die Laughing
13. A Mourning Wedding
14. Fall of a Philanderer
15. Gunpowder Plot
16. The Bloody Tower
17. Black Ship
18. Sheer Folly
19. Anthem for Doomed Youth
20. Gone West
21. Heirs of the Body
22. Superfluous Women ( )

[bookcover:The Winter Garden Mystery|293072]

Winter Garden Mystery, Carola Dunn

★ ★ ★ ★

Light & easy to read, this held my interest.

Daisy Dalrymple writes for Town & Country magazine, she is on assignment at a former school friend's country estate... Gossip is that one of the housemaids has done a bunk and no one has heard from her since mid-December.

While taking a tour of the Winter garden, getting ideas for the photos she wants for her article, Daisy & the gardener come upon a dead bush & missing irises.... The head gardener immediately decides to pull out the bush, only to find the body of the missing maid buried under the bush.

The police & coroner are so afraid of the lady of the manor house that they do not allow for any investigation and close the inquiry immediately and arrest the Welsh gardener who was in love w/ her.

Daisy, not being convinced calls Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher and he joins in the investigation.... as it turns out most of the entire family have secrets, they are afraid of the matriarch who is a loud, obnoxious, & controlling, harridan.... ( )