| I enjoy Daisy Dalrymple books. This one has Daisy staying in New York, working on a series of articles about America for an American magazine. While there (here's a shocker!) she's a witness to a murder. OK, no problem. This now gives Dunn a reason to talk about America in the 1920's. She throws in Tammany Hall, J. Edgar Hoover, Prohibition, racial discrimination, the plight of the immigrant, etc, etc. I could put up with that, mostly, if there was a great plot. But there's not. The plot is rather thin. And the American dialect and jargon she throws in is so distracting that I kept losing sight of the story. I was really disappointed in this one. Please, Dunn, keep Daisy in England where she belongs! |
| Fans who have enjoyed this series so far will be disappointed by this disjointed jumble of mystery, travelog, and fanciful biography. All begins well as Daisy witnesses the murder of an unpleasant muckracking reporter. The reporter's faithless wife and her beau make an appearance. Unnameed powerful political enemies and a mysterious cousin are suggested as suspects, but never become part of the real story. No new clues are introduced and a lot of time is spent on impugning the competence of the FBI and the honesty of New York City police. Alex finally returns from Washington after an extended stay with J.Edgar Hoover,(interesting choice of partner for his honeymoon!) Daisy thinks she glimpses a man wearing a hat similar to someone she saw in the hallway during the murder. (I'm not making this up.) Based on this brainwave Daisy, Alex, and the FBI agent begin a transcontinental chase that begins in a taxi cab and then languishes in a bi-plane for several chapters. Bessie Coleman becomes a pinch-hitting pilot for them and we are treated to Carloa Dunn's idea of African American dialect as Bessie shares the story of her life. (These are interesting facts that have absolutely no bearing on the slowly lumbering plot.) Meanwhile criminal has been thoughtful enough to hijack several mail planes while he is on the lam. This is very useful since there is no evidence to connect him to the murder and the world's flimsiest is cranked out in the last pages. Eventually we are told the murderer was arrested. (Daisy chose to hide behind the plane while this was going on, so the readers have to use their own imaginations for the climax of the story. While they're at it the readers may as well imagine the whole thing and save themselves the price of this hodge podge. |
Doesn't deliver the goods
Very Disappointing
![A New Day Has Come [Bonus DVD]](http://shop0nline.com/image/B00006RIOC.S.jpg)
