The Winter Garden Mystery

A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery

By: Carola Dunn

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

In this second installment of Carola Dunn's cozy mystery series set in 1923 England, plucky Daisy Dalrymple embarks on another assignment for Town and Country magazine and discovers that daffodil bulbs aren't all that's buried in a country estate's flower bed.

Feisty flapper Dalrymple is a breath of fresh air to the occupants of gloomy Occles Hall in Cheshire, among them her former school chum, wallflower Bobbie Parslow, and the thorny mistress of the manor, Lady Valeria. While photographing the barren ground behind the house, Daisy suspects someone has been digging amidst the soil's first green shoots, and promptly unearths the corpse of Grace Moss, the missing parlor maid. So begins a harrowing romp as the dead woman's shocking secret is revealed.

©1995 Carola Dunn (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Set in a British manor house in 1923, this traditional charmer will please most everyone." (Library Journal)
"Manners (P.G. Wodehouse-style) and mystery get equal time in a low-keyed story with considerable charm." (Kirkus Reviews)

Can't wait for more

This is a surprisingly substantial slice of life in the 20's. I enjoy all the characters, especially Daisy. Yes, it's a dumb name for a well drawn character. Daisy is everything a heroine should be.
The narration is excellent as well!

Very Funny!

I love this series! This is the 2nd one I read and it's light, refreshing, and the characters fun! I love going back in time!

Missing Maid and Bully of a Mother

The second in the Daisy Dalrymple series finds Daisy invited to Occles Hall in Cheshire (unbeknownst to Lady Valeria) to write an article for Town and Country Magazine. Sir Reginald approved her visit, hopeful for a piece on his model dairy. Daughter, Bobbie Parslow, a school mate of Daisy's is quite plain, yet she's enamored with Daisy's working girl confidence. Sebastian, her brother, is brow beaten and seems to be unable to take a step without his mother's constant criticism. In fact, the entire manor house quakes at the sight of Lady Valeria. Sir Reginald's laid back and ignoring most of his wife's antics, usually retreats to his dairy for solace. As Daisy prepares to write her story, she steps into the winter garden to take some photographs, noticing that the bulbs seems to have been disturbed, leaving a bare spot. Upon closer inspection, Daisy is dismayed to find that a corpse is buried below! Soon the body is identified as the missing parlor maid, Grace Moss. Lady Valeria is a pill to deal with, once having learned that a dead body was in discovered in the winter garden. Daisy feels compelled to contact her old friend at Scotland Yard, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher for help. The investigation takes all kinds of twists and turns . . . with plenty of help from Daisy, despite Alec's protestations. The mystery is set in the year 1923 in England, and all but one part fits perfectly. I'm a little miffed when authors insert political issues into historical mysteries. Yet this is a great series which I will continue.

What a fun Cozy

Daisy is a young Miss Marple and it’s a delight to see her notice and solve crimes. Her meddling in other people lives to their benefit is just as fun to watch

Dune is the best Narrator.

The other books narrated by Lucy make Piper sound like a girl and Daisy absolute idiot a flibbertigibbet. And Alex like an old Olga voice. I stuck with them because I liked the writer and the series but I really can’t understand why you didn’t keep Bernadette done as the Narrator of the whole series.

Excellent listen!

I enjoyed every single minute of this listen. Wonderful story with very intriguing twists and turns!
Most impressive performance by Bernadette Dune

Spiffing!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is only book 2 of this series, but I'm hooked. It's an interesting way to tell a story using different perspectives, so as a listener, you have to mentally change focus, but it works.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the plucky heroine, Daisy, and her keen eye.

Which character – as performed by Bernadette Dunne – was your favorite?

Daisy has all the great sayings of a young person of the 1920's - it's lots of fun.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forward to the next title in this series.

loved it.

Just love books set in England in the early 1900s. so much fun. once again lots of suspects with the actual murderers turning out to be a complete surprise.

Fun story, excellent narration

Fun, light mystery for those days when you don't need horror or darkness, just a sweet little murder. I enjoy this character and it makes mowing the lawn and driving in traffic so much nicer. Great period fiction. Can't wait to listen to the next one in the series!

What a cute story

I love these mysteries. I just found them and love the story lines. I listen to them at work.