It's the 1920s, and the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple works for her living in London, writing magazine articles while she anticipates her marriage to Scotland Yard inspector Alec Fletcher. This time, she's writing about the Museum of Natural History, and of course, someone gets murdered and a significant theft is discovered. Guess who's on the scene first both times? At least this time she has a solid reason to be at the scene of the crime as she works on her article and interviews the museum staff; she can't help it if they're eager to discuss the crime, can she? Alec just rolls his eyes and uses her information, and hopes someday soon he can get at least three minutes off to marry her.This is a fun series, and this one was especially interesting with the museum background--I just wish the museum map had been in the front of the ebook rather than the back, because the plot relied greatly on who could see what from where, and I couldn't picture all those halls and corridors just from the text. I also think the murder was never really explained, even if the murderer was unmasked--I still don't know how s/he did it, or really why. But otherwise, an enjoyable, fluffy read.
Some people say it’s the worst in the series, while others consider it one of the best. Personally, I liked this book. I think it’s a fair representative of the series.The plot centers around a murder in the London Natural History Museum, although Daisy, for once, is on the periphery of the investigation. Consequently, her character might not be as fleshed out in this novel as it is in some other novels of the series, so this is probably not the best book to start the series. But the author introduces many other fascinating characters, like the various curators of the museum, each with his own quirks, and the dispossessed Grand Duke of Transcarpathia, who dreams of restoring his rule in his non-existing little duchy.Add to them the characters we know and love from the previous books – Daisy’s fiancé Alec, a Detective Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, and his cohorts, Tom Tring and Ernie Piper – plus a whole lot of dinosaurs and a famous gem – the Ruby of Transcarpathia – and you have a delectable brew of a book.
What do You think about Rattle His Bones (2003)?
I normally enjoy the antics of Daisy Dalrymple and her books, but this one is a little tedious to get through. She has become engaged to Police Inspector Fletcher and is writing an article at the Natural History. There she meets a wild variety of people including a dispossessed Grand Duke of Transcarpathia. When the curator of mineralogy is murdered, Daisy is right there and finds the body. She assists the police in looking into the murder and looking for some valuable jewels that have also disappeared. This series is very good but this one has a lot of scientific information along with the story. It is good but not the best of the series. I would rate this one just OK
—Ann
Let's start by pointing out that the blurb on the back of the UK version is inaccurate. This is another Daisy D romp, this one set in the Natural History Museum, involving jewel theft and murder and a rather indistinguishable cast of academics, all obsessed by their particular branch of study, plus a disinherited cartoon grand duke. The plan of the layout of the Museum might help you work out who might have gone where but I never quite managed it. I found the whole story rather muddled, but hey oh, it was a quick light read for a journey.
—Hilary Tesh
The eighth murder Daisy has been involved in and while the 1920s lingo doesn't get old, Daisy's ability to stumble over a body did get a little bit dull at times in this book. I still enjoyed it but I found I wasn't as drawn into the story as I normally am. However, I will continue with the series - especially as from here on Daisy and Alex will be married and I look forward to seeing how Dunn will develop their relationship. If you want a murder that doesn't baffle the brain too much, I would recommend this one.
—Adele
