By  Victoria Tait (Author) 

    After Dotty Sayers’ Christmas decor accomplishment and murder-solving adventure in Yorkshire, her “friend” Zach invites her to Northumberland to help him continue his family treasure hunt. Dotty has nothing better to do and is still not sure she wants to return to her home in the Cotswold yet, so she says “yes.”

Author Victoria Tait beautifully describes the Northumberland setting, with its castles and wonderful spring flowers, especially the fields of yellow daffodils. She also provides some history of the families in the area. The scenes along the wind-swept coast are enticing.

When Dotty arrives (with Earl Gray, her cat), she moves into a guest room in the cottage Zach rents and quickly meets the family in the front house. Hazel, Nigel, and Tim are involved in the antique business, so they hit it off. Soon, Dotty is caught up with Hazel in a redecorating project in the nearby castle. She and Zach explore along the coast for his family treasure hunt, and Dottie’s parents visit from Ireland.

It’s nearly a third of the way through the book when Hazel mysteriously disappears. It’s a weekend, and everyone is busy, but suddenly, they notice she’s gone.  Dottie and some of Hazel’s friends try to track her down without success.

It takes Dotty a while to get involved in the mystery, mostly because of the pompous Police Inspector who has no regard for women. She follows a few leads and is frustrated to see the investigation go south.  We meet Dotty’s brother and Hazel’s estranged children. But who could have or wanted to do away with her?

Despite opposition, Dotty “gets her man” as she always does. She even earns some respect from the men in town.  She also has a new plan for her future that looks very promising.

The mystery, while slow in starting, is a real twister. I could not figure out why Hazel had to die or who could have done it. Thank goodness for Dotty’s quick brain and eagle eyes! DAFFODILS AND DEADLY DEEDS is a fun book to take its place in the series.

Four Stars