Alec Finds A Body Dead for a Month in “Superfluous Women”

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Daisy Fletcher goes to Beckensfield to recuperate from a bad case of bronchitis and finds herself involved in another murder in Superfluous Women by Carola Dunn. Learning that an old school chum is living at Cherry Trees House nearby, Daisy visits Willi, along with Isabel and Vera, three “spinsters” in their late 20s called “superfluous women” because with so many men killed in World War I, women suddenly outnumbered men by more than a million people who had no one to marry. When Daisy’s husband, Alec, a chief detective inspector from Scotland Yard, visits for the weekend, the young women, who have lived at Cherry Trees House for only two weeks, mention that they can’t get into the locked cellar. So Alec picks the lock for the women and unleashes the most foul odor as he finds a body that has lain in the cellar between two and four weeks.

Fortunately, Alec gets along well with the local detective inspector Underwood, who requests the Yard to allow Alec to become unofficially his assistant. Alec thus sends for Ernie Piper, and running into a newly retired Tom Tring at the Yard, finds that Tom has devised a scheme to vacation in Beckensfield with his wife and keep his ears to the ground. Daisy gets especially involved with this case, finding lots of information to pass on to the cops.

Superfluous Women is one of the strongest Daisy Dalrymple books, with the plot fascinating and the characters creative. It seems so strange to hear 20- something single women called spinsters and treated as if something is wrong with them. However, we know that it is not their fault that they don’t have men to marry. Vera talks about how she had a fiance killed in the war, demonstrating that her single status is not for lack of liking men. We also see how careers began to open up for women who had expected to spend their lives as wives and mothers. Without that opportunity, women had to get jobs to support themselves.

The plot follows really interesting patterns, especially in the way that Daisy does plenty of detection herself. Unlike in most cozy mysteries, Daisy takes all her findings to the police, and for once she gets some positive feedback instead of getting criticized for meddling as usually happens.

The characters are all fun to read. We meet a delightful chamber maid at the hotel, and we find ourselves cheering on her and Ernie Piper when they develop a romance. The trio of “superfluous” or “surplus women” have strong characters, with each having her own strengths. And as always, Daisy is fun to meet once again.

Lucy Rayner performs the audio edition of this book. As always, she does a lot to bring Daisy to life, using strong inflections, voices, and timing. She serves as a strong narrator for this series.

I really enjoyed listening to Superfluous Women. I have appreciated all the Daisy Dalrymple books, but this is a special one. I didn’t want to put the book down as I was listening to it and was disappointed when it ended. I give this book five stars.

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

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