Damsel in Distress

A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, Book 5

By: Carola Dunn

Narrated by: Mia Chiaromonte

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

In spring a young man’s fancy will turn to love, and the Honorable Phillip Petrie is no exception. Daisy’s chum is totally smitten with Miss Gloria Arbuckle, daughter of a millionaire Yank. But before the enthusiastic suitor can pop the question, his beloved is abducted. As a distraught Mr. Arbuckle begins assembling the ransom, Phillip enlists Daisy to help him recover his missing sweetheart.

Strictly forbidden to contact Scotland Yard, Daisy must resist the temptation to bring dashing Detective Inspector Alec Fletcher on to the case. But as she closes in on the abductors’ rural hideaway, she begins to suspect that Gloria isn’t the only fair damsel whose life hangs in the balance.

The fifth whodunit in Carola Dunn’s stylish cozy mystery series set in 1923 England once again features British heiress and Town and County writer Daisy Dalrymple.

©2011 Carola Dunn (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

The new narrator is just fine! Good story.

Quality of the series continues to rise with each book. This was a good one. Many comments about the new narrator. Well....let's face it, changes occur in a long series. The narration is different, yes, but it is not deficient or poorly done. I sort of want to say - get over it. New narrator did give the Northern Americans a mildly Southern Accent which was amusing, but how badly do American narrators mangle British English?
Moving on from how it was read, the STORY is the thing, not the way it is read. This is another good entry in the series. Moves things along nicely. Complex and well organized plot. Did not drag.
We don't get to tell the writer how to tell their story.
We don't get to select who reads it to us.
The story is why you listen. The narrator may or may not please you but if they can manage to speak clearly with some level of apparent interest, and without a singsong pattern, I'm good.

Best one in the series

I love good interesting mysteries that I can enjoy without wincing at the language. It takes real talent like Carola Dunn’s to write such a interesting and entertaining mysteries.
I’m also very impressed with her characters like Daisy and Alec!!
Can’t wait to listen to the next one!!!

A new favorite

If you like Christie, March Sayers and M C Beaton give Carols Dunn a try. More enjoyable than Agatha Raisin series

Narration Speed adjustments

Anytime, I start a book where I don’t care for the narrator, I either slow down the speed, a notch or two, or increase it a notch or two, and have found it makes a dramatic difference in how the narrator sounds, as well as intonation and exclamations. I haven’t found a single narrator that wasn’t improved by adjusting to the appropriate speed for that recorded book.

light, delightful, uncomplicated

while at times too easy to see what's coming, i find i enjoy the descriptions of the people and countryside so much that I can excuse the simplicity. The reader is clear and easy to understand , which can sometimes be an issue on these recordings.

Fun story, narration issues

I really enjoy these stories and yes, it’s included but not my favorite narrator. There’s an overall lack of distinction from one character to the next and the tendency to make all Americans sound southern is just grating.

I miss the first narrator but the story is great

The story kept me guessing and I love that the writer keeps it fresh for each book so far.

Somebody for everybody

I don't know who's worse, American's attempting English accents or English attempting American accents . . . it's a toss up!!

Brilliant!!

As a fan of Christie, Doyle and Bowen I was hard pressed to find period English mysteries until now.
The characters are lovable without being too cookie cutter...the narrator is perfect and the stories are great. I love that I hear familiar names of posh families and famous places.

Totally enjoyed this Daisy addition

Phillip has long pursued Daisy, partly because they were chums as children, but now he has met Miss Gloria Arbuckle, a beautiful American heiress, and is head over heels. He asks Daisy to help him smooth the way with his family, but before his plans can go any further, Gloria is kidnapped. Phillip is kidnapped along with her, but the leader of the gang, whom the English minions call "The Yank" orders them to dispose of Phillip -- permanently. Luckily, the minions don't hold with hanging offenses, so they dump him in the woods, where he's soon found and rescued by -- of all people -- the relative who took over the Dalrymple entailed estate. Phillip begs Daisy to come and help because Gloria's father will not permit contacting the police. Daisy finds herself a guest at her old home, running a house party of friends who are secretly searching the surrounding area for Gloria.
It's an entertaining solid entry in the series.