It’s Not So Funny to “Die Laughing”

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The 12th Daisy Dalrymple book, Die Laughing, by Carola Dunn, has just been released on audio, and this book is one of the stronger ones in the series. After wrestling with a toothache for a long time, Daisy Fletcher finally breaks down and makes an appointment to see the dentist used by her new husband and his family. She arrives on time, only to find no one in the dentist’s office. His nurse comes bustling up ten minutes late and certain she’ll be in trouble for arriving back from lunch past her scheduled lunch hour, but Dr. Talmadge still has yet to make an appearance. When Daisy finally does get into the dentist’s office, she finds him dead, wearing the mask from his nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, but without the oxygen turned on.

Since Daisy has reasons to suspect foul play, her husband, Alec, gets assigned the case in the hopes of his superintendent that he can stop Daisy from interfering too much, as if he hasv ever been able to do anything to stop her from meddling before. It does not take long before the detectives come to realize that both of the Talmadges have been carrying in extramarital affairs. He has had many women, while she has remained true to just one man for the past 15 years or so. Could either spouse’s partner be the murderer?

Lucy Rayner performs the audio version of this book. I enjoyed her depictions of the events and characters in the book.

Out of the Daisy Dalrymple books, Die Laughing is a particularly strong one. It weaves issues of class, race, and prejudice into the mystery plot, showing bigotism to be the ridiculous and evil thing it is. In the midst of these valuable lessons, the book contains a well-written plot. I give the book five stars.

To purchase this book for yourself, click here on Amazon.

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