Cozy Case Files Volume 7 (By: Donna Andrews,Diane Kelly,Ellen Crosby,Ellie Alexander,Vivien Chien,Ashley Weaver,Mindy Quigley)

Unfortunately Lucy's Aunt Eva has a nasty penchant for keeping journals' of the family's peccadilloes and keeping the knowledge to herself, until such time as she wishes to impose her will (control) upon one of her unsuspecting family members.She’s thriving on it. She’s really found her feet and her niche. And of course Mother says such behaviour is beneath the Viscountess Dalrymple.” Unfortunately, there are so many characters in this book, even with the handy-dandy "who descended from whom" chart in the beginning, it's still almost impossible to tell them all apart. Which is such a shame, because Daisy's former roommate, Lucy, is featured in this book -- it's supposed to be Lucy's wedding at her grandfather's grand estate. Except that her aunt (Lady Eva) who's known for collecting every possible rumor about her family and recording them is hideously strangled the day before the wedding. And not long afterwards, Lady Eva's botanical brother (next in line for the earldom) is also found dead - by Binkie, Lucy's fiancee. And then Binkie is subjected to an almost terminal concussion!

Prior to writing, Ms. Dunn’s various jobs included market research, child-care, construction--from foundation trenches to roofing--and writing definitions for a dictionary of science and technology. She wrote her first novel in 1979, a Regency which she sold to Warner Books. In the tangle of people, alibis, motives, and general family quarrels, Daisy finally comes upon a thought that might just help them solve the murder: what if Lady Eva wasn't the intended victim? The following day during tea-time, Gerald happens upon Lucy's Uncle, the heir apparent, in his conservatory, dead from the oleander leaves mixed in with his tea. Gerald administers CPR to no avail....

The door to the boudoir opened again, to admit the butler with a tray of coffee and biscuits. As he arranged it on a low table beside the chaise longue, Daisy looked round the room. Lucy had had the downstairs rooms of the Georgian town house done over in the latest Art Deco style, but here, in her private room, mellow antiquity reigned. It contrasted also with her strictly utilitarian studio and darkroom in the basement.