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    Review of DIE LAUGHING by Carola Dunn (see her website)

    St. Martin's Minotaur, October 2003

    Daisy Fletcher dreads seeing her dentist and has put off the appointment as long as her aching tooth allows. But when she arrives at the office, the dentist seems to be missing--missing until the ever-curious Daisy insists on looking in his office and discovering his body. Apparently the good dentist had a habit of abusing nitrous oxide and has poisoned himself. But Daisy sees evidence that it isn't just an accident--that it just might be murder. Could it have been the unfaithful wife? The wife's lover? Or possibly the dentist's lover or her husband? Daisy isn't sure, but she isn't going to rest until she's found out more--and shared the information with her husband, a Scotland Yard detective chief inspector.

    Set in 1920s England, DIE LAUGHING investigates the habits of a society where people discuss 'people one knows,' complain about the problems finding servants but keep several on staff, and still defer irrationally to the smallest hint of aristocracy. Although this was a different world, the motives for murder remained the same. And someone who has murdered once just may do so again.

    Author Carola Dunn writes with a light touch that kept me smiling. Daisy can't stop her curiosity even though she knows that it drives her husband crazy (fortunately for both of them, it is her curiosity that brings out most of the evidence). The relationship between these characters stands in contrast to that of the victims and suspects, most of whom seemed to be involved in illicit relationships with one another.

    I found the beginning of DIE LAUGHING a bit slow and bogged down with social references but Dunn soon picked up the pace and delivered a charming story. Readers will enjoy spotting the killer and then watching Daisy and her husband work their way to the truth.

    Three Stars

    Reviewed 1/14/04

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