Sheer Folly

July 6, 2009
At the start of Dunn’s sprightly 18th Daisy Dalrymple mystery (after 2008’s Black Ship
), Daisy travels to Wiltshire because she’s writing a book about an architectural folly, an elaborate grotto, at Appsworth Hall, owned by Mr. Pritchard of Pritchard’s Plumbing Products. Best friend and freelance photographer Lucy Binscomb (aka Lady Gerald) accompanies Daisy, who leaves behind her husband, Scotland Yard’s Det. Chief Insp. Alex Fletcher, to look after their twin children. On arrival at Appsworth, Daisy and Lucy discover that Mr. Pritchard is hosting a lavish house party, which includes eligible bachelorette Julia Beaufort; Lord Rydal (aka Rhino); Lady Ottaline Wandersley (with whom Rhino is having an affair); and Charles Armitage, a Canadian charmed by Julia. A shocking grotto explosion that takes Rhino’s life spares Lady Ottaline and Rhino’s chauffeur. While Dunn’s cozy confection doesn’t offer a lot of surprises, it does a neat job of evoking upper-class life in 1920s England.