The Corpse at the Crystal Palace
The Corpse at the Crystal Palace A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery by Carola Dunn St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 03 Jul 2018
Review
The Corpse at the Crystal Palace is a charming 1920s mystery set in Britain. Unlike many set in the time period, it doesn’t focus on glamorous flappers and decadent society, instead focusing more on middle and upper class family life. The entire Dalrymple clan, as well as quite a few friends and relatives, play major roles in the case. When Daisy, her children, their young cousins and a few close friends visit The Crystal Palace, the last any expect is to be drawn into another murder. While exploring, Belinda and her cousins see Nanny following another nanny. Perplexed, they follow. Nanny is found unconscious in a fountain and another nanny is found dead in the ladies restroom. (*small spoiler*) It is soon discovered that the nanny found dead was not a woman at all, but a man in women’s clothes - a man with a history of lurid practical jokes and a bevy of angry acquaintances. Daisy’s husband Alec is assigned the case, but as you might expect the bulk of the investigation is done by Daisy. After all, she is the one with the society connections.
The story is an entertaining one, and Carola Dunn is always good at creating interesting characters and situations. The historical tidbits are of definite interest. Alec is a bit ineffectual, but that is to be expected with a wife who has a long history of taking over his investigations. On the whole, The Corpse at the Crystal Palace is a solidly written mystery that can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages.
4 / 5
I received a copy of The Corpse at the Crystal Palace from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
— Crittermom
Description
A casual outing to the Crystal Palace in London takes a mysterious and murderous turn in The Corpse at the Crystal Palace, the latest mystery in Carola Dunn’s beloved Daisy Dalrymple series. April 1928: Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is visited in London by her young cousins. On the list of must-see sites is the Crystal Palace. Discovering that her children's nanny, Nanny Gilpin, has never seen the Palace, Daisy decides to make a day of it—bringing her cousins, her 3-year-old twins, her step-daughter Belinda, the nurserymaid, and Nanny Gilpin. Yet this ordinary outing goes wrong when Mrs. Gilpin goes off to the ladies’ room and fails to return. When Daisy goes to look for her, she doesn't find her nanny but instead the body of another woman dressed in a nanny's uniform. Meanwhile, Belinda and the cousins spot Mrs. Gilpin chasing after yet another nanny. Intrigued, they trail the two through the vast Crystal Palace and into the park. After briefly losing sight of their quarry, they stumble across Mrs. Gilpin lying unconscious in a small lake inhabited by huge concrete dinosaurs. When she comes to, Mrs. Gilpin can't remember what happened after leaving the twins in the nurserymaid's care. Daisy's husband, Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, finds himself embroiled in the investigation of the murdered nanny. Worried about her children's own injured nanny, Daisy is determined to help. First she has to discover the identity of the third nanny, the presumed murderer, and to do so, Daisy must uncover why the amnesic Mrs. Gilpin deserted her charges to follow the missing third nanny.
