Phillip Petrie, the amiable younger son of a lord who has set his sights on becoming a common auto mechanic, never expects to fall for the daughter of a visiting American millionaire. No more does he expect her to be kidnapped, and himself with her. They don't want him, though, and he finds himself bound and dumped in a hedge at Fairacres, the ancestral home of the Dalrymples. Wasting no time after his rescue by the butterfly-obsessed current Lord Dalrymple, Phillip calls in his childhood friend Daisy Dalrymple, who has solved many mysteries in her time. Forbidden by the millionaire to contact the police, Daisy assembles a group of friends to impose on her cousin (the lord) and search for Gloria before the ransom is paid. Naturally she gets herself in trouble, and naturally her love interest, the handsome Scotland Yard chief inspector Alec Fletcher, shows up early and is roped into helping out.This really wasn't a mystery so much as suspense/adventure, which is why I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the others in the series. I just don't like kidnapping stories, and listening to it as an audiobook, I just found it agonizing when the passages went on and on with things we already knew while Gloria was always in danger. Still, I enjoyed the parts about the relationships between the characters, especially Daisy and Alec, and the descriptions of the countryside and the period details are well done and evocative. With the audiobook, though, I found the narrator awkward--she didn't seem comfortable with either an American or British accent, so the stereotypical 1920s American slang sounded completely fake (and why do Brits still think every American talks like a Texan?). She also mispronounced at least a dozen reasonably common words, like stripling and cadge. So...just not my favorite of the series.
Ok, I will admit--this wasn't really my "fav" of the Daisy Dalrymple books. Mainly because I figured out "who done it" within 3 sentences of their being introduced. But the story was amusing and it was fun to see Philip in a role as something other than Daisy's brother's idiot friend. Ok, idiot might be a little strong, but he definately isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer--not even the sharpest BUTTER knife in the drawer. In this story, he finally got to show to a little better effect than as this kind of nebish who disapproves of everything that Daisy does and that she puts up with mainly because she views him as kind of an idiot brother. You finally get to see a little bit of WHY Daisy is fond of him, since he does something more than just disapprove of her getting involved with a crime. He turns out to be brave, caring and even, in a limited way, resourceful.
What do You think about Damsel In Distress (2002)?
I read these (this is the fifth in the series and I am reading them in order)when I want an undemanding and 'spiffing' (Daisy's word) read after a really heavy day's writing or having read a really challenging book. Not lit fic, fluffy but fun. Some characters so stereotypical they are funny but Daisy and her policeman beau are refreshingly against type. Sort of Midsomer Murders in the 1920s. I really enjoy them, although this one is a bit Famous Five!
—Suzie Grogan
Another fun Daisy Dalrymple mystery! In this one, Philip Petrie is in love - with an American auto heiress. But said heiress is kidnapped in the country around Philip's and Daisy's homes. Initially, Philip is taken, too, since he's at the kidnapping site and saw the kidnappers. But when he tries to help them escape, Philip finds himself battered, with a concussion, looking up at Daisy's cousin, who is now the Viscount. He's on Daisy's home site!Philip contacts his beloved's father, a Mr. Arbuckle, who insists that no police be brought in. The ransom note he received was very specific: no coppers or the girl is dead. But Philip knows that Daisy is as good as the police, and she's more than happy to help when she gets his urgent telegram. The problem is, how can Daisy round up some helpful friends to scour the countryside and keep her cousin, his sharp wife, her mother, and Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher from knowing what's going on? Alec is expected that weekend to meet Daisy's mother.When Daisy goes missing, too, there's no holding Alec back...-------------As I said, a fun read - a good read. The kidnapper's identity isn't difficult to ascertain, but I did expect another twist to the story -- one I'm glad didn't occur.At the end of this tale, both Daisy and Philip are engaged. Not to one another: Philip to his American auto heiress, and Daisy to Alec. It looks as if Philip will become a technical adviser to Mr. Arbuckle, so he'll have work that suits him. Which likely means that we'll see less of Philip in upcoming stories.But oh, what might we see of Daisy and Alec?
—Lori McD
The easy going Philip Petrie falls in love with an American daughter of a millionaire; so wseeing his beloved Gloria and her father stranded in a breakdown on the side of the road, he stops to fix the vehicle. However, he is hit over the head and both Petrie and Gloria are kidnapped. When Petrie hears that the abductors might kill him, he attacks them and is left bound on the Dalyrmple family estate and calls in Daisy to help. When Alec's visit to her mother coincides with Daisy's activities, he too is drawn into the intrigue of trying to save Gloria and capture the perpetrator before it is too late. A fun addition to this delightful serious.
—Donna Church
