To Davy Jones Below

March 5, 2001

In the eighth in a charming series of mysteries set in 1920s England, newlyweds Daisy Dalrymple and Scotland Yard detective Alec Fletcher, headed for America aboard the Talavera, find their honeymoon disrupted by mysterious accidents and murder. Besides a nice period feel, Dunn (Rattle His Bones) provides the usual likable cast, which here includes American millionaire Caleb P. Arbuckle, his daughter Gloria and son-in-law Phillip, as well as Arbuckle's friend, wealthy Yorkshire businessman Jethro Gotobed and his flashy new wife, Wanda Fairchild, a former chorus girl. The ship has not been long underway when a man falls overboard, and a distraught young woman claims he was thrown. Though the man is rescued, the captain wants to know what happened, so Alec finds himself dragooned into service, despite his seasickness. When Gotobed witnesses a second man falling overboard, the Yorkshireman claims the victim was shot, and this time there is no rescue. Daisy and Alec have to wonder who among their acquaintances on the Talavera
is a murderer and what is his or her true motive, but they're not even certain who the intended victim was. While the plot tends to be predictable, Dunn manages some good twists to keep her detecting duo proving their mettle. Fans of light historical whodunits should be well pleased.

March 1, 2001
Honeymooners Daisy Dalrymple and Scotland Yard inspector Alex Fletcher are sailing to the U.S. aboard the " SS Talavera." The trip quickly becomes a busman's honeymoon when one man is pushed overboard and another is shot. Many of the passengers make good suspects, including the wealthy Jethro Gotobed and the rude young gambler Chester Riddman. As Alec battles seasickness, Daisy investigates the case, writes about the voyage for a magazine article, and guiltily tries to avoid the obnoxious Wanda Gotobed. The 1920s setting gives Dunn lots of opportunity to pepper the story with details of the times, and if she is a bit heavy-handed in the way she incorporates historical fact into her narrative, the period ambience is, on the whole, more entertaining than distracting. This is a routinely enjoyable entry in a lightweight but pleasant-enough historical series. If only Dunn could avoid giving her characters such silly names (Gotobed?).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)