It is royal race day at Ascot, 1923. Lady Dorothea Dorchester, Dodo, has been invited by her childhood friend, Charlie, to an exclusive party in a private box with the added incentive of meeting the King and Queen. Charlie appears to be interested in something more than friendship when a murder interferes with his plans. The victim is one of the guests from the box and Dodo cannot resist poking around. When Chief Inspector Blood of Scotland Yard is assigned to the case, sparks fly between them again. The chief inspector and Dodo have worked together on a case before and he welcomes her assistance with the prickly upper-class suspects. But where does this leave poor Charlie? Dodo eagerly works on solving the murder which may have its roots in the distant past. Can she find the killer before they strike again?
I read these books because I hope Lady Dorchester is going to be a strong independent women who stands on her own two feet. The problem is the author seems to believe she isn’t complete without a man and she has to be actively looking for romance. During the first chapter Dodo meets up with her friend Charlie and the first thought that comes into her head is; ”Am I ready for another relationship? Perhaps.” Unfortunately what follows isn’t so much a murder investigation, but a series of observations about how different men were reacting to her and whether they were ’hot’ or not. Even though I thought Dodo was interesting in the previous two books, it has become clear I am not the target audience for this book and yet another historical mystery series bites the dust.
I like cozies. I read, on the average, one a day. They're easy to read---until I hit a mis-spelled word, a missing word, usually 'the', or an obvious typo. It's a common fault with much of the indie writers out there. We're concerned with costs, cover, advertising, and editing.
It's easy to go cheap on editing. Professional editing is expensive. I understand that, I'm an indie writer, too. But, having your sister's boyfriend be your editor or proofreader does work. Don't hire Aunt Emmy and claim she's a professional. I might give you some slack if Aunt Emmy taught English and grammar for forty years. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't.
There are 'tricks', item to look for, in a ms. Professional editors know them. They're not taught in your college creative writing class. They're learned from experience.
I use editing software (PWA) and a two-pass copy editor, and a proofreader. And, I still find errors---but fewer than I would have had.
So, I'm giving this story 4-stars, solely on the plot and characterization. It could have been 5-stars if the author had used a better editor.
I found the series disappointing. It had a promising beginning in the first two books. I was able to overlook problems of Americanisms and historically inaccurate word choices, because I thought the relationship between Lady Dorothea and Inspector Blood (a ridiculous name, in my opinion) had a lot of potential depth and added interesting possibilities to the plot. Robbed of that romantic and class tension, the rest of the books became nothing but run-of-the-mill cozy mysteries without anything particularly significant to add to the genre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Royal race day, a ceremonial meeting with the King and Queen, an invitation to sit in a VIP box, a handsome escort, what's not to like? A fabulous day at the races turns deadly. Dodo and her beau Charles are witnesses to the crime. Inspector Blood of Scotland Yard investigates. Dodo assists him and old feelings surface. But what about nice guy Charlie? I really like Charlie! What's a girl to do? Oh and the mystery is also very interesting.
Thankfully Sutton has not included any further characters from other authors creations in this.
It did take them rather a long time to come up with the answer when it was rather staring them in the face but nonetheless it stands on its own two feet. Not great literature but a readable tale with a solution that didn't require assistance from a Belgian gentleman or an elderly spinster from St Mary Mead..
Book #3 is the decider for any of series to stop or continue is a question As such… this story sees the lead reassessing her supporting cast (I am cheering) which changes the series perspective, so we are spoiler, I found this spoiler, then he spoiler, I was absolutely delighted, there is nothing more irksome when spoiler. On to book #4, thank you for your words Ann Sutton, very much appreciated. :-)
Having retired recently I've found so much time to read and I read will kinda of books. I find that Ann Sutton books are perfect for relaxing and reading what was once called a dipping good yarn. I love the 20s, a good murder mystery and a forbidden love interest. What more could you ask for?
For someone who claims to be from the UK they have clearly forgotten that their is more than just England in the Uk as usual Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are forgotten by both parliament and aristocracy. But must remember it’s Americanised
Book one was quite good. Book 2 was…amateurish? Less than well -crafted. This third book is exceptional, giving real life and breadth to the key characters. And the plot du quite cleverly crafted. I look forward to book number 4 in the series.
Love everything about Dodo, especially her observations about people, and her tender heart towards them. I can’t wait to see what happens next! Keep writing Ann!
Dodo, the inspector and Charlie make a great crime fighting team. It took me almost to the end to figure out who the bad guy was and then I wasn’t quite right. I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed this book. Dodo is a fun and clever sleuth. This 3rd book in the series is my favorite by far. I loved how Sutton out the clues together.
Another superb mystery. Once you start you don't want to put it down. Amazing story, various twists and turns with the characters. Maybe a romance, beginning.