The Winter Garden Mystery: A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, by Carola Dunn.Though the first Daisy Dalrymple mystery failed to really impress me, I thought I'd try another one, in case I found the series improved after the first installment. And did I? Somewhat, but not tremendously.
This is another case of a book that's by no means awful, but not dazzling in the least. The setting interests me, but the mysteries themselves are bland and rather predictable-- and though I don't dislike the recurring characters, they are not so engaging as to entice me to read a series of dull mysteries just for their sakes. I suspect that a lot of the "cozy mystery" genre (these days, at least) is of similar quality. (Indeed, the high ratings this novel has on Amazon leads me to wonder how much worse many other "cozies" must be.) This type of book is acceptable if there were nothing better to read... but surely there is something better!
So, I think this will be the last Dalrymple mystery I try for a while; though I might possibly read/listen to others, it's not something I'm anticipating with particular excitement. Actually, the only reason I made it through the first two was that I listened to (library copy) audiobook versions, so I could be doing something else (knitting, crocheting) at the same time. Otherwise, I doubt I'd have finished them. I do like audiobooks while knitting/crocheting, but in future, I'd like to find stories that are slightly more entertaining.
SPOILERY BITS
-- The true nature of the relationship between Ben and Sebastian was painfully obvious, right away. I can understand how a young woman of that time might not have realized what was going on-- but if she was that innocent, I doubt she would've been so instantly sympathetic and unperturbed by it when she did get the idea. But whatever. Clearly, we're more concerned with being PC than with being realistic, even in reference to the past.
-- So the bad guy decides to just blurt out a confession for no reason whatsoever? Very convenient!
