The Bloody Tower

June 4, 2007
In Dunn's cunning 16th Daisy Dalrymple mystery (after 2007's Gunpowder Plot
), the charming Daisy stumbles over the corpse of the Chief Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. Daisy and her husband, Scotland Yard's DCI Alec Fletcher, team up to unmask the killer. Daisy does all the really clever sleuthing, but she kindly allows her hubby to think he's putting things together himself. Things get tricky when one of the chief suspects, who may also be a blackmailer, disappears. And then there's the curious matter of the manner of death: the autopsy concludes that the Yeoman Warder died of a broken neck, so why was there also a partizan, or Yeoman Warder's halberd, sticking out of his back? Appropriate historical detail and witty dialogue are the finishing touches on this engaging 1920s period piece.

August 1, 2007
It is 1925, and Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is ready to resume her career in journalism after giving birth to twins. An article about the Tower of London for an American magazine will allow her to work while remaining close to home and children. She does, however, need to spend one night in the Tower to observe the Ceremony of the Keys. Having toured the edifice, seen the Crown Jewels, and interviewed the Yeoman Warders (do not call them Beefeaters!) and the Ravenmaster, Daisy thinks that the assignment should be simple. An eerie night in the thick fog keeps her from seeing much of the ceremony, and she decides to leave early the next morning, but she trips over the body of one of the Warders and finds herself once again working with her husband, DCI Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, to solve the case. The odd folk who live in the tower and the tyrannical nanny who feels that parents have no place in the nursery add color to this historical cozy. Daisys fans will be happy to have her back at work.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)