Another delightful Daisy book

Daisy Fletcher gets involved in another murder in Carola Dunn's Gone West. Invited to go out to lunch with a school friend, Daisy learns that Sybil Sutherby, a widow whose husband was killed during the war and who has to support her daughter in a good school, has been working as a "secretary" for a writer. Humphrey Birtwhistle had spent ten years in the Wild West in America, where he met Ruby, his wife. Now he has made a living by writing Westerns under a pseudonym, which Sybil initially just transcribed. But three years earlier, Humphrey fell ill with severe pneumonia that took a year to recover from, so while Humphrey came up with the plot lines, Sybil wrote the books, and it turns out she has been a much more successful writer, leading to a dramatic increase in sales. But since that bout with pneumonia, Humphrey has never been the same. Sybil suspects someone is doing something to Humphrey to make him lethargic and unable to work beyond creating plot points. Could one of his family members be doping Humphrey in order to keep the sales up with Sybil's writing? Sybil convinces Daisy to go with her to visit Aerie Farm in Derbyshire to see if she can snoop out the truth.

There, Daisy meets the family and their guests, but she doesn't see anything unusual. She visits the hydro (a kind of natural spa in England that utilizes naturally hot mineral water as treatments for people with illnesses) near Aerie Farm and the town, where she sees Lorna, Humphrey's sister, coming out of the chemist shop. But Daisy doesn't see it as suggestive enough to keep her in Derbyshire, so she makes plans to return home to Alec and her twins. But then that second night, Humphrey goes to bed, but when Ruby checks on him, she finds him dead. The family doctor, also the police surgeon, refuses to sign a death certificate because he can't find a reasonable explanation for the death. Knowing that Daisy is the wife of a detective chief inspector of Scotland Yard, the doctor brings that up, causing the local police to call in Alec.

Of course, Alec is unhappy at finding Daisy in the middle of yet another case, especially that she came to snoop without telling him. He works with the local Detective Inspector Worrell, who has joined the ranks of police eating out of Daisy's hands. The team gets to work investigating, but they also have trouble finding out anything.

The title Gone West is a double entendre, as Humphrey spent ten years as a cowboy and silver miner in America's wild West. But also the preface points out that the term in England means to die, so Humphrey went west in both meanings.

This book was another fun Daisy book. If you haven't read any Daisy Dalrymple books, you don't have to start with the first book and can start with any book, such as this one. Daisy has a special character, making people confide in her, while Alec has to put up with her.

I do sometimes get tired of the repeated sayings, which include "Daisy's guileless blue eyes" that lure people to tell her their deepest secrets. She has her "own idiosyncratic form of Pittman's shorthand" which only Daisy can read. She is always getting in trouble for "meddling," even when other people with her get commended for their assistance. Detective Constable Ernie Piper always has "an endless supply of sharpened pencils." These are others like them get a little tiring.

The plot of this book involved an intriguing premise that I found creative and interesting. I didn't guess the murderer until the person was revealed either. The characters are fun, but the recurring characters have little new details to develop them, and I wish I'd seen more of Alec's staff. The main characters at Aerie Farm had some diversity, but overall, they got a little tiresome. Myra, an orphaned relation of Humphrey's family, is a real stereotype of the "bright young things" who go out into society.

I liked the performance of Lucy Raynor on the audio version of the book. She created strong accents for the American Ruby, the Irish suitor of Myra, and the Scottish doctor and other Scots in the vicinity. The voice she gave Myra got a like little shrill and annoying at times. But mostly I was happy with the performance.

Gone West is not the best of the Daisy Dalrymple books, but any Daisy book is a delight to listen to. The material prior to the murder gets a little tiresome, but it gets better once the murder takes place and Alec shows up. I give the book four stars.

4 people found this helpful

4 and a half

This isn't my favorite book in the series but it's still pretty good. I look forward to the next book.

2 people found this helpful

Meh....

This book was ok, yet at times highly annoying. Ms. Dunn, please refrain from the following sentences/concepts:
1. "Darling, don't be beastly!"
2. Tom treading with a light step for such a large man....Tom's mustache twitching....Tom's extensive vocabulary....Tom's checked suits. I'm sure your readers could write about twenty more examples, but we have you for that.
3. Ernie Piper's well sharpened pencils....his meticulously taken notes in his conspicuous notebooks....taking the sergeant's test soon and going up the career ladder.....
4. Daisy did well last book. She wasn't acting like a narcissist, whining about being left out of investigations, manipulating her poor cuckold husband. YUCK! When you wrote in this book that she was going to withhold important information from her husband to find out if SHE (because it's all about Daisy, right?) could find out more about the case and that she was even contemplating hiding in a corner of the room to eavesdrop. ...COME ON MAN!?!
I will blame Daisy no more. I'm blaming you, Ms. Dunn. You continue to write the same drivel although you are capable of so much more....My gosh, where is your editor.
I will continue on as I'm so far into this series it's not worth giving up now. However,I will keep an antiemetic at my bedside. One can never be too careful.

6 people found this helpful

I keep trying to like these books

As a fan of this genre I keep trying to listen to this series. Although the stories are not too bad I cannot abide the high pitched female voices the narrator uses. Very grating on the ear. Im afraid it spoils these books for me.

1 person found this helpful

No More

Unfortunately, I have discontinued listening to this series with this narrator's artificial and jarring interpretation .

1 person found this helpful

Lucy Rayner is perfect again

I always enjoy Carola Dunn’s books but they are at their best when Lucy Rayner narrates. She is absolutely one of the best narrators in the audiobook arena.

Gone West

Another fun addition to this series. Daisy goes to visit an old friend to see what is going on

Of course a murder happens and Alec gets involved!

The West comes to England

Another Case for Daisy Dalrymple and her Chief Inspector husband from Scotland Yard. Everywhere she travels there is a dead body. Is Daisy a killer or a magnetic draw for murder? Good sleuthing fun in a Country House.

A bit claustrophobic, but otherwise a good, basic Dalrymple

Most all of the story — besides the opening and closing chapters, and a couple of brief forays into the town of Matlock — takes place in a remote farmhouse. A very large house with several wings, but dark, cold and not quite as cozy as one would want. Or maybe it’s the odd family therein that seems less than cozy. In any event, it’s a good mystery, but either the draft the narrator read from of the narrator herself had some minor issues that should have been corrected (and probably were in later print editions, if that’s where they originated. For example, “Uncle Lorna and Uncle Norman”? Tsk.

loved

Really enjoy the adventures of Ms. Daisy. always a interesting and slightly complicated story. Love these historical mysteries. Fun