• The Winter Garden Mystery

  • A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery
  • By: Carola Dunn
  • Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
  • Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,701 ratings)

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The Winter Garden Mystery

By: Carola Dunn
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
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Publisher's summary

In this second installment of Carola Dunn's cozy mystery series set in 1923 England, plucky Daisy Dalrymple embarks on another assignment for Town and Country magazine and discovers that daffodil bulbs aren't all that's buried in a country estate's flower bed.

Feisty flapper Dalrymple is a breath of fresh air to the occupants of gloomy Occles Hall in Cheshire, among them her former school chum, wallflower Bobbie Parslow, and the thorny mistress of the manor, Lady Valeria. While photographing the barren ground behind the house, Daisy suspects someone has been digging amidst the soil's first green shoots, and promptly unearths the corpse of Grace Moss, the missing parlor maid. So begins a harrowing romp as the dead woman's shocking secret is revealed.

©1995 Carola Dunn (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Set in a British manor house in 1923, this traditional charmer will please most everyone." (Library Journal)
"Manners (P.G. Wodehouse-style) and mystery get equal time in a low-keyed story with considerable charm." (Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about The Winter Garden Mystery

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,670
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    724
  • 3 Stars
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Performance
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

A Frustrating Experience

Daisy Darymple is an annoyingly demure and helpless protagonist - this will not please fans of Phryne Fisher or Amelia Peabody. Further, the narration is by an American who has much trouble with British accents ('noos-paper' and 'Se-BAR-stian' were two recurring travesties!) I was glad when this was over.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Can't wait for more

This is a surprisingly substantial slice of life in the 20's. I enjoy all the characters, especially Daisy. Yes, it's a dumb name for a well drawn character. Daisy is everything a heroine should be.
The narration is excellent as well!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Cozy 1920s English Mystery

This is one of my favorite mystery series. As someone who thoroughly enjoys Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Connan Doyle, and Rex Stout, I was pleased to find another writer who appreciates period-based stories. Although I do agree with other reviewers that the writer embellished the characters' speech with lots of "spiffing" and "biffing," the book has a nice flow and rhythm. The characters are fun and interesting and I look forward to following their adventures for many books to come.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Why, oh WHY this narrator?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

There are SO many wonderful English narrators out there - why choose to ruin an Audible book by using an American narrator who is unable to produce even a reasonable facsimile of an English accent? Bernadette Dunne might be a wonderful narrator in her own native accent but not for this series. She lapses at times into Southern USA inflection. It is distracting in the extreme and basically ruined the story for me.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Imagine a 20-something Miss Marple! Fun & Light

The Daisy Dalrymple books are great fun and take readers into the world of a uniquely independent 25(?)-year-old aristocratic lady of the roaring-20s.Daisy's family is horrified that she is independent and chooses to work and support herself rather than marry a "suitable" gentleman -- ideally one who is both titled and wealthy.

In her work as a writer for Town and Country magazine, Daisy comes into contact with the rich and powerful of the era, repeatedly finding herself drawn into their lives and those of their families, friends, and servants. She is definitely a busy-body, but one with great compassion, warmth, and humor. As a result, her character is endearing rather than annoying and is great fun to follow.

As horrified as her family is that she works, they would likely be even more horrified if they realized that she also repeatedly manages to become embroiled in murder cases while on the job. (What would the neighbors think?!) As it happens, her insight, memory for detail, and personable nature serve to help the detectives from Scotland Yard as they seek out the culprit(s) responsible for the crimes in each book in the series.

The entire series is great fun -- light, laced with humor, fast-paced. While these are generally murder mysteries, there is nothing gory or offensive.



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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Roaring 20's Disappointment

Performance was excellent. But this #2 in the series was a disappointment. #1 was so fun and enjoyable---so, good in fact, that I will still try Book #3.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

More!

I started with this secornd book and are now getting the first (which I really should have started with had I only known!) and the 2 later ones. What a character Daisy is - a shroud seluth in a time where women were mostly just for show - or were supposed to be in the upper circles!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

She actually gets how cozy a cozy should be!

What made the experience of listening to The Winter Garden Mystery the most enjoyable?

No excessive gore, no creepy thoughts from the murderer, characters aren't so multi-dimensional you feel like you're in the real world. I was in the mood for brain candy. This was it!

What did you like best about this story?

Like I said: pure escapism! Dialogue and characterization are all there. The unlikeable characters might have been a little too unlikeable, but it was perfect otherwise.

Have you listened to any of Bernadette Dunne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. People seem to react negatively to her on other reviews, but it wasn't distracting. I've heard worse on audible.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I relaxed!!! That was priceless. Thank you!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

THE START OF EVEN MORE FUN AND ROMANCE.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

YES, I'VE READ THE ENTIRE SERIES AND DECIDED TO START MY AUDIOBOOK USE WITH A FAMILIAR FRIEND. ALTHOUGH THIS IS THE SECOND IN THE SERIES, IT PROVIDES JUST ENOUGH 'HISTORY' TO PUT YOU AT A VERY GOOD JUNCTURE. I ENJOY MYSTERIES, SERIES, NICELY WRITTEN AND RELAXING TALES = READ CAROLA DUNN AND HER DAISY DALRYMPLE SERIES.

What did you like best about this story?

IT'S RELAXING AND MOVES ALONG WITH ENOUGH 'MYSTERY' TO KEEP YOU INTERESTED.

Have you listened to any of Bernadette Dunne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I HAVEN'T HEARD MS. DUNNE PREVIOUSLY, I AM NEW TO AUDIOBOOKS, BUT I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO READ ANOTHER BOOK SHE NARRATES, NICELY DONE AND SHE UNDERSTOOD THE STORY AND THE CHARACTERS.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

IT KEPT MY INTEREST, EVEN THOUGH I'D READ IT A WHILE AGO, AND I ENJOYED IT FROM BEGINNING TO END.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it! Enjoyable from Beginning to End

I'm delighted with Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. This is the second one, and I loved it. For one reason, because I did not guess whodunit, although I did guess a few other wrinkles along the way. I was charmed with the notion of a winter garden - I'd never heard of such a thing. Daisy is an appealing character -- smart, ladylike, empathetic... I like the relationship with the Constable...
In Book 2, Daisy is working on another magazine article -- this one about the home of a school chum, Bobbie Parslow. Bobbie is a great sports enthusiast. Daisy is stunned when she meets Bobbie's brother, who is by all standards gorgeous. Bobbie's mother, however, Lady Valeria Parslow, is a real dragon lady who was unaware Daisy was invited and not pleased about it. In viewing the winter garden, Daisy notices a dead spot in the garden and when the gardeners dig out the dead flowers they find a body, a missing housemaid everyone thought ran off. Lady Parslow blames Daisy, especially when she calls in her Constable friend. I guessed a few wrinkles but not the big reveal. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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3 people found this helpful