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Dandy Gilver #3
Bury Her Deep
Dear Alec,
Remember my engagement yesterday? The annual duty luncheon for the Reverend Mr Tait from which and whom I expected only boredom? I could hardly have been more wrong, Alec dear, and I am this minute packing to follow the Reverend home to his manse in Fife, there to attend a meeting of the Rural Womens' Institute. Hardly a house party at which one would usually leap, I grant you, but not only is the man himself a perfect darling - imagine Father Christmas shaved clean and draped in tweed - but his parish, it seems, heaves with more violent passions than a Buenos Aires bordello. A stranger, you see, is roaming the night and pouncing on the ladies of the Rural. At least that's the tale they're telling and the one that Mr Tait told me, but since half the village think he's a figment and he only ever strikes at the full moon, I cannot help but wonder if there's something even odder going on . . .
Much love and remember me fondly if the dark stranger gets me,
Dandy xx
Catriona McPherson's latest novel in the series, Dandy Gilver and a Spot of Toil and Trouble is now available for pre-order.
Remember my engagement yesterday? The annual duty luncheon for the Reverend Mr Tait from which and whom I expected only boredom? I could hardly have been more wrong, Alec dear, and I am this minute packing to follow the Reverend home to his manse in Fife, there to attend a meeting of the Rural Womens' Institute. Hardly a house party at which one would usually leap, I grant you, but not only is the man himself a perfect darling - imagine Father Christmas shaved clean and draped in tweed - but his parish, it seems, heaves with more violent passions than a Buenos Aires bordello. A stranger, you see, is roaming the night and pouncing on the ladies of the Rural. At least that's the tale they're telling and the one that Mr Tait told me, but since half the village think he's a figment and he only ever strikes at the full moon, I cannot help but wonder if there's something even odder going on . . .
Much love and remember me fondly if the dark stranger gets me,
Dandy xx
Catriona McPherson's latest novel in the series, Dandy Gilver and a Spot of Toil and Trouble is now available for pre-order.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2007
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About the author
Catriona McPherson
52 books526 followersCatriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the US in 2010. She writes: preposterous 1930s private-detective stories about a toff; realistic 1940s amateur-sleuth stories about an oik; and contemporary psychothriller standalones. These are all set in Scotland with a lot of Scottish weather. She also writes modern comedies about a Scot-out-of-water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California.
She has won multiple Anthonys, Agathas, Leftys and Macavitys for her work and been shortlisted for an Edgar, three Mary Higgins Clark awards and a UK dagger
Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.
She has won multiple Anthonys, Agathas, Leftys and Macavitys for her work and been shortlisted for an Edgar, three Mary Higgins Clark awards and a UK dagger
Catriona is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 29, 2016
The look had me puzzled at first, I must own, but recently I have come to understand it. My life, quite simply, has changed. I have looked upon evil and battled it for one thing but, more to the point, I have sat at cottagers' doors and shared cool drinks of water with them; I have watched a wise woman at her herbs; I have clambered out of a shale mine in the dead of night and walked into a public bar in the light of day; I have interviewed laundry maids, kitchen maids, barmaids and coalmen and run about woods, along beaches and through empty houses as I have never run in my life since I was a girl. Why, only the day before this breakfast, I had raced up a drive and beaten a farmer's wife to the dairy.
Scotland: 1924: Dandy (Dandelion) Gilver is very much enjoying her newfound profession of private detective. She is (was) a rich, bored, mother-of-two. Now instead of sitting around gossiping about tea parties, she goes out to solve mysteries. Her husband is looking at her strangely, because to him, she's gone through an unexpected and radical change. He's in the dark about her 'job'...
Book 1: After the Armistice Ball
Book 2: The Burry Man's Day
This third installment is the best yet. McPherson seems to be slowly improving with each book. In this novel, Dandy is invited by a minister - Mr. Tait - to solve a mystery in his parish. A man, clad all in black, is attacking women at night. Only on the night of the full moon - the night on which the Rural is also held. The Rural is a women's meeting. The women aren't being raped by this 'dark stranger,' instead they are pinned down by the attacker, groped, pinched and getting their hair torn out.
Who could be doing such a thing? An angry husband, convinced that the women's meeting is a breeding ground for suffragettes? A maniac with a fetish? Some village folk posit it is a ghost - or the devil himself. Dandy, who doesn't believe in the supernatural, is determined to get to the bottom of it.
PROS:
1.) McPherson is funny and has a good sense of humor.
2.) The 1920s Scotland is perfect and you are completely enmeshed in this setting.
3.) Great vocabulary.
4.) There was an actually pretty decent mystery this time. Not as ludicrous as the first two books.
...
CONS:
1.) Dandy is not the brightest bulb in the box. She's a terrible detective, which has the reader often shaking the book in frustration, imploring her to ask certain questions or follow up certain leads which she appears oblivious to.
2.) Alec, that condescending asshole. He's Dandy's "assistant" in detecting. I told him to 'fuck off' ten times in this book. TEN. That's a new record for me. We're supposed to believe Alec is great - because he's miles ahead of other men at this time - but he still sneers and condescends to Dandy. Also, Dandy has a sort of crush on him. She's a married woman with two children. I'm upset. Sure, her husband Hugh is a bore, a snob, and a stick-in-the-mud, but he's not evil. I'm anti-cheating. She's NOT cheating... but she's having feelings for Alec, lying to her husband to see Alec constantly (for detecting, of course, not sex), and doing a secret activity with Alec (detecting.) This is wrong. Bad. Wrong.
3.) McPherson seems to have this problem... Well, two problems. First off, she skirts around saying things directly. You, the reader, have to try and intuit and parse out what exactly the characters are talking about. They talk around subjects. This is partly due to 1920s propriety and sensibilities, but partly because it seems that McPherson enjoys driving her readers nuts. It's VERY FRUSTRATING. I hate it. I've gotten more used to it now that I'm on Book 3, but it's still annoying.
4.) Secondly, her other problem is that she tends to fade-to-black during important scenes. Like showdowns between Dandy and the Bad Guy. She has done this before, she does this here. The result is that the reader doesn't actually get to witness the final confrontation/a conflict/an important and tense conversation, etc., and is instead just told it "second-hand" later on in the last chapter(s). This is very frustrating. She builds up all this suspense and then we don't get to witness the end results. It makes me angry.
...
Tl;dr - Overall this was an enjoyable book. McPherson has really improved - her mystery actually is engaging and makes sense this time, and she's funny. Her insights into life and people are enjoyable and amusing. She can't do any better at plunging the reader into 1920s Scotland. That being said, the book still had noticeable weaknesses. This is the best in the series so far, and hopefully she will continue to improve with each book.
ETA: For those sensitive to animal cruelty (like me), I want you to know that there is animal cruelty to a kitten in this book. Done by the villain. McPherson keeps it pretty non-descriptive and mostly off-screen, but it's sickening. Just a head's up. It's brief - very brief - but it's there.
Scotland: 1924: Dandy (Dandelion) Gilver is very much enjoying her newfound profession of private detective. She is (was) a rich, bored, mother-of-two. Now instead of sitting around gossiping about tea parties, she goes out to solve mysteries. Her husband is looking at her strangely, because to him, she's gone through an unexpected and radical change. He's in the dark about her 'job'...
Book 1: After the Armistice Ball
Book 2: The Burry Man's Day
This third installment is the best yet. McPherson seems to be slowly improving with each book. In this novel, Dandy is invited by a minister - Mr. Tait - to solve a mystery in his parish. A man, clad all in black, is attacking women at night. Only on the night of the full moon - the night on which the Rural is also held. The Rural is a women's meeting. The women aren't being raped by this 'dark stranger,' instead they are pinned down by the attacker, groped, pinched and getting their hair torn out.
Who could be doing such a thing? An angry husband, convinced that the women's meeting is a breeding ground for suffragettes? A maniac with a fetish? Some village folk posit it is a ghost - or the devil himself. Dandy, who doesn't believe in the supernatural, is determined to get to the bottom of it.
PROS:
1.) McPherson is funny and has a good sense of humor.
2.) The 1920s Scotland is perfect and you are completely enmeshed in this setting.
3.) Great vocabulary.
4.) There was an actually pretty decent mystery this time. Not as ludicrous as the first two books.
...
CONS:
1.) Dandy is not the brightest bulb in the box. She's a terrible detective, which has the reader often shaking the book in frustration, imploring her to ask certain questions or follow up certain leads which she appears oblivious to.
2.) Alec, that condescending asshole. He's Dandy's "assistant" in detecting. I told him to 'fuck off' ten times in this book. TEN. That's a new record for me. We're supposed to believe Alec is great - because he's miles ahead of other men at this time - but he still sneers and condescends to Dandy. Also, Dandy has a sort of crush on him. She's a married woman with two children. I'm upset. Sure, her husband Hugh is a bore, a snob, and a stick-in-the-mud, but he's not evil. I'm anti-cheating. She's NOT cheating... but she's having feelings for Alec, lying to her husband to see Alec constantly (for detecting, of course, not sex), and doing a secret activity with Alec (detecting.) This is wrong. Bad. Wrong.
3.) McPherson seems to have this problem... Well, two problems. First off, she skirts around saying things directly. You, the reader, have to try and intuit and parse out what exactly the characters are talking about. They talk around subjects. This is partly due to 1920s propriety and sensibilities, but partly because it seems that McPherson enjoys driving her readers nuts. It's VERY FRUSTRATING. I hate it. I've gotten more used to it now that I'm on Book 3, but it's still annoying.
4.) Secondly, her other problem is that she tends to fade-to-black during important scenes. Like showdowns between Dandy and the Bad Guy. She has done this before, she does this here. The result is that the reader doesn't actually get to witness the final confrontation/a conflict/an important and tense conversation, etc., and is instead just told it "second-hand" later on in the last chapter(s). This is very frustrating. She builds up all this suspense and then we don't get to witness the end results. It makes me angry.
...
Tl;dr - Overall this was an enjoyable book. McPherson has really improved - her mystery actually is engaging and makes sense this time, and she's funny. Her insights into life and people are enjoyable and amusing. She can't do any better at plunging the reader into 1920s Scotland. That being said, the book still had noticeable weaknesses. This is the best in the series so far, and hopefully she will continue to improve with each book.
ETA: For those sensitive to animal cruelty (like me), I want you to know that there is animal cruelty to a kitten in this book. Done by the villain. McPherson keeps it pretty non-descriptive and mostly off-screen, but it's sickening. Just a head's up. It's brief - very brief - but it's there.
July 17, 2011
The third in the Dandy Gilver series, this takes a turn for the dark, weird, and, in places, decidedly nasty (a warning for the squeamish: something unpleasant and quite, quite unnecessary happens to a cat toward the end). It's also, to be brutally honest, a bit of a mess the plot never quite hangs together, the characters behave in the most erratic and irrational manners imaginable, and the ending is decidedly unsatisfactory. (There is also a very notable problem with a point of view shift, again toward the end of the book. As these stories are first-person narrated, it presents a bit of a problem when the narrator's rendered unconscious & ) A disappointment.
January 27, 2017
The chief reason for the 4 stars is that it is not a murder mystery, just a mystery, but scary if you've ever lived where there aren't street lights at night. Another reason is the explanation of the movable date of the SRWI meetings as being held on the night of the full moon so as to facilitate the ladies' return home. Just two days earlier I read a description of the Lunar Society, a dinner and discussion group that usually met at the home of Mr. Boulton in Birmingham on the full moon night for the same reason. The Rural ladies didn't have the world famous scientists of the Lunar Society as members but the same logic applied. I can't help wondering how often the moon was actually available as an aid to either group, though.
The members are being worried by a "dark stranger" who has assaulted a number of them on their way home from the meetings; they've been knocked down, pinched, hats pulled askew, and hair yanked, but no damage. Nevertheless, it is worrying and Dandy is asked by the local minister to look into it as he is concerned that the assaults may become worse. Dandy, under the guise of researching for a presentation she is to make the next month to the Rural, visits the village and makes the acquaintance of a number of the members. It just becomes murkier than ever. All sorts of suggestions are made between the Rev. Mr. Tait and Dandy but nothing seems to fit. The mystery, as it rolls out, is certainly intriguing and the lack of a real body is not missed.
Some little quibbles I have. Priest and white prayer book go together. Minister and kirk go together, but all four words come up speaking about the same people and congregation. Coming from a mostly Presbyterian background I am startled to find a prayer book of any colour in a Presbyterian manse and no non-episcopalian clergyman of my acquaintance would appreciate being referred to as a priest. Now, Dandy was raised south of the Wall so perhaps she allows nomenclature to wander a bit, but that won't get her around that prayer book. MSMcPherson even draws attention to the difference by having the Morton sisters traveling on three buses to attend Episcopalian services. I wouldn't have mentioned it but I've come across this sloppy usage a few times and wondered about it. Enjoyed the book though.
The members are being worried by a "dark stranger" who has assaulted a number of them on their way home from the meetings; they've been knocked down, pinched, hats pulled askew, and hair yanked, but no damage. Nevertheless, it is worrying and Dandy is asked by the local minister to look into it as he is concerned that the assaults may become worse. Dandy, under the guise of researching for a presentation she is to make the next month to the Rural, visits the village and makes the acquaintance of a number of the members. It just becomes murkier than ever. All sorts of suggestions are made between the Rev. Mr. Tait and Dandy but nothing seems to fit. The mystery, as it rolls out, is certainly intriguing and the lack of a real body is not missed.
Some little quibbles I have. Priest and white prayer book go together. Minister and kirk go together, but all four words come up speaking about the same people and congregation. Coming from a mostly Presbyterian background I am startled to find a prayer book of any colour in a Presbyterian manse and no non-episcopalian clergyman of my acquaintance would appreciate being referred to as a priest. Now, Dandy was raised south of the Wall so perhaps she allows nomenclature to wander a bit, but that won't get her around that prayer book. MSMcPherson even draws attention to the difference by having the Morton sisters traveling on three buses to attend Episcopalian services. I wouldn't have mentioned it but I've come across this sloppy usage a few times and wondered about it. Enjoyed the book though.
July 27, 2008
(I picked this up because of the 20s style drawing on the cover, and thought the concept (upper class female detective in the 20s) might be a disappointment after reading several novels in that vein. Bury Her Deep was actually great - Dandy Gilver, the main character, living a staid middle class life in the country, is asked to visit the small town of Luckenlaw to investigate a mysterious dark stranger who accosts the women of the town as they're walking home at night. The characters are fantastic, as is the insular atmosphere of the town - while there are some creepy moments, it's mostly a light hearted and funny mystery, particularly with Dandy's sarcastic asides to the reader - I really enjoyed it.
December 28, 2020
Our intrepid private detective Mrs Dandy Gilver is invited by one of her husband's friends the Reverend Mr Tait to his small hamlet near Fife to investigate a series of attacks on women as they leave the monthly Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI or the Rural) meetings. The local police have dismissed the claims as hysteria, others claim the attacker is a spirit in thrall to the Devil, others claim it is a newcomer to the area, Jockie Christie, some wonder if it is a local man trying to prevent the Rural from meeting.
Dandy enters a region of superstition and secrets, but there doesn't seem to be any pattern to the attacks, although there seems to be a tenuous connection to the excavation of a local ancient burial chamber and the discovery of a skeleton of a young girl lying on the floor of the chamber. Half the villagers want to give her a christian burial in the churchyard, the other half fear she was a witch or other criminal and don't want her on sacred ground.
As her trusty side-kick Alec masquerades as an artist drawn to the local scenery things build to a crescendo.
I liked this least of the four books I have read in this series. I found it difficult to distinguish one farmer's wife from another and the premise was a bit fanciful, or perhaps I should say there were two plots each of which was a bit fanciful, put the two together and I was left a little underwhelmed. However, I loved the insights into the reason for a morning room (makes so much sense) and I was amused that neither Dandy nor Alec had ever made coffee in their lives!
On to the next one.
Dandy enters a region of superstition and secrets, but there doesn't seem to be any pattern to the attacks, although there seems to be a tenuous connection to the excavation of a local ancient burial chamber and the discovery of a skeleton of a young girl lying on the floor of the chamber. Half the villagers want to give her a christian burial in the churchyard, the other half fear she was a witch or other criminal and don't want her on sacred ground.
As her trusty side-kick Alec masquerades as an artist drawn to the local scenery things build to a crescendo.
I liked this least of the four books I have read in this series. I found it difficult to distinguish one farmer's wife from another and the premise was a bit fanciful, or perhaps I should say there were two plots each of which was a bit fanciful, put the two together and I was left a little underwhelmed. However, I loved the insights into the reason for a morning room (makes so much sense) and I was amused that neither Dandy nor Alec had ever made coffee in their lives!
On to the next one.
July 4, 2011
I like the Dandy Gilver series a lot, and loved portions of this book. I laughed out loud several times. Occassionally, I thought it dragged (a problem with the previous novels, too). The book is also flawed by the number of times Dandy's lady's maid, Grant, is simply dropped and forgotten about. Nonetheless, the characters and relationships hold my interest and I will continue reading the series.
March 6, 2014
I'm liking this series more as I warm to the characters. I find the plots pretty involved and did not quite understand the remark at the very end, but wasn't interested enough to go back and try to figure it out. Glad to know I'm not the only one. But as I read more for character and setting, it didn't detract much from my enjoyment of the story.
January 8, 2013
Two stars may be a little harsh. Maybe more like 2.5. I felt like this lacked a sense of fun that was present in earlier books in the series, though. And certain things that were set up and hinted at in earlier books were resolved, but in a rather anti-climactic way.
July 2, 2014
Having just read two of this series in a row, I'm feeling rather ambivalent about them. I've now read 4 (maybe 5?) of these, but this one was both overly confusing and obtuse. The ending was extremely opaque - Mr Tait = female perhaps??
June 8, 2013
More creepy and fantastical than the other Dandy books, with dark superstition and the Women's Institute all mixed up together. I am really adoring this series.
April 27, 2021
She's great. Every one of her books (so far) has felt quite different in milieu, and they're always fun, but (just to be clear) not in an overly-cosy, punny, pink cover with cat and food kind of way. I'm not a huge fan of dark/morbid/gory/mean-spirited etc. (I once picked up a James Patterson on the assumption that the Woman's Murder Club would be fun, and it began with someone shooting a mother and her baby in a car park, so I threw that away).
There's nothing truly horrible here, and in fact the main mystery isn't that of a murder at all, it's a series of ... can't even call them assaults ... a series of "accosts," let's say. And all the clues are there, and she has a real go at detecting (I'm losing patience with mysteries where the protagonists don't detect, they're just there).
But start with the first if you can (no reason not to), and if you can't, it's not like (so far) these are terribly dependent on order. She's already met her Watson by now and established a bit of a reputation for solving crimes, but otherwise there are no massive differences.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
There's nothing truly horrible here, and in fact the main mystery isn't that of a murder at all, it's a series of ... can't even call them assaults ... a series of "accosts," let's say. And all the clues are there, and she has a real go at detecting (I'm losing patience with mysteries where the protagonists don't detect, they're just there).
But start with the first if you can (no reason not to), and if you can't, it's not like (so far) these are terribly dependent on order. She's already met her Watson by now and established a bit of a reputation for solving crimes, but otherwise there are no massive differences.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
June 15, 2019
I like the main character in this mystery series, a plucky married woman who refuses to let her rather stodgy husband confine her to 'ladies charity work' and similar activities deemed appropriate to women of their class, circa 1920s. Rather, Dandy Gilver solves mysteries, using her quick wit and natural inquisitiveness. This third book in the series finds her staying at the home of a respected clergyman while trying to help him determine the identity of a furtive stranger who has been attacking women at night.
April 19, 2020
Borrowed this from my mom's library book pile, and I'm glad a did. I will make it a *3.5 because I was impressed by the non-murder premise. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable cozy, with just a few too many characters to keep track of to make it a 4 star read.
September 17, 2024
This would be a good one to read at Halloween. Witches and dark things in the night…farms and harvests. Hugh finds out what Dandy has been up to. But there are loads more books in the series, so he must not stop her investigating.
July 13, 2016
I can't finish this. I've been picking it up and putting it down for about three weeks, which is an indication that it just isn't holding my attention. Everytime I pick it back up I have to think, "Wait--what?" Which is pretty much my reaction to the whole book. We know what's going on (I think)--someone is waylaying women and either sexually assaulting or just manhandling them, depending on the woman. Like the legendary Springheeled Jack, the assaulter is faster than lightning, able to leap drystone walls in a single bound, and "snaky" (sinuous) in movement.
Which all sounds intriguing, and it was--for a while. But then Alec showed up, and ruined everything. Whenever "Dandy" gets with her platonic lover (c'mon girls, that's what he is), conversation and "detecting" degenerates into significant looks, that dee-amndable raised eyebrow (Roger Moore, much?) and pauses. It gets coy, and I hate coy. Even Miss Marple knew when to call a spade a spade, not a blue-pencil shovel. I no longer even care who the baddy is, though I think I might know. Answers on a plain postcard.
I read in other reviews that apparently there's some gratuitous cruelty to a kitten to round things off, so yeah--I'm done here. I'm also given to understand that Vol 4 is better. I know that popular mystery writers can be pretty uneven, especially when it comes to rushing the latest to press in time for the Christmas market, or whatever, so I won't give up just yet. But I'm done with this one, and I'm nowhere near the end of the pages.
Which all sounds intriguing, and it was--for a while. But then Alec showed up, and ruined everything. Whenever "Dandy" gets with her platonic lover (c'mon girls, that's what he is), conversation and "detecting" degenerates into significant looks, that dee-amndable raised eyebrow (Roger Moore, much?) and pauses. It gets coy, and I hate coy. Even Miss Marple knew when to call a spade a spade, not a blue-pencil shovel. I no longer even care who the baddy is, though I think I might know. Answers on a plain postcard.
I read in other reviews that apparently there's some gratuitous cruelty to a kitten to round things off, so yeah--I'm done here. I'm also given to understand that Vol 4 is better. I know that popular mystery writers can be pretty uneven, especially when it comes to rushing the latest to press in time for the Christmas market, or whatever, so I won't give up just yet. But I'm done with this one, and I'm nowhere near the end of the pages.
August 6, 2016
The last person Dandy Gilver expected to hire her as investigator was her husband's old friend, the Reverend Mr. Tait, a clergyman in Fife. After all, even her husband doesn't know what she's doing to get all the money that's supplementing her household budget. But the ladies in Mr. Tait's parish are keeping all kinds of secrets, many of them about a dark stranger who attacks women after the monthly meeting of the new Rural Women's Institute. Dandy finds herself booked to speak to the women on household economy, and also dealing with a handsome young artist who's moved into a rented cottage. This is an older book by McPherson which I apparently missed when it first came out--I'm glad I've caught up to it now.
March 1, 2011
The title is appropriate, since this book is full of lady hate. Every page has some catty remark one woman is making about another. I had higher hopes for a novel about a female detective in the 1920's. You'd think the author would be a bit more supportive of her female characters, but I guess women being nasty to each other is her reality. Too bad because the concept of this series is pretty cool.
November 14, 2008
I found this tale much more absorbing and less easy to guess the ending than the previous Dandy Gilver mystery. (A shame the titles are so similar with Bury and Burry...) As always Dandy gets sucked into bumbling her way through a mystery while aptly dealing with local Scottish folk. It's a great slice of culture without being too overwhelming because Dandy herself is partly an outsider.
April 24, 2015
I had a difficult time deciding between three and four stars on this one. This book is darker than the first two and it drags a bit in places. I did enjoy reading it and feel it is important in the progression of the series. You might not fully understand a couple of things in the next installment if you haven't read this one.
September 12, 2009
Mystery set in Scotland in the 20s. Not a culture I am as familiar with. I found it confusing trying to follow some of the quaint names and descriptions. A map or diagram would have been extremely helpful.
March 2, 2013
I was enjoying this book, wallowing a bit through the thick Scottish accents, until I got to the end and then---I was very lost! This author (my third book in her series) tends to be hard to follow. This time I did ok until the conclusion!
March 3, 2015
I'd have liked it better if I knew it was third in a series and had started at the beginning - but it's a good read, surprising twist at the end, interesting folklore tucked in here and there I will probably go look for the first two and read them now.
September 9, 2008
Love it. It's even better than After the Armistice Ball, the first Dandy Gilver mystery.
September 20, 2011
I like this series a lot, but I didn't think this was her strongest effort. Worth reading, though, if you like the time period and the character.
April 12, 2012
It was ok. I liked that it was in Scotland. I think I need to read another one in the series before I pronounce judgement.
August 5, 2013
Good book, love Dandy, the main character. The big reveal at the end did get a little hard to follow but still enjoyed it very much. Will read more of these books.
January 12, 2014
Didn't quite enjoy as much as the others but it was ok.
Read
July 18, 2014This was a good book, the characters were funny and interesting, and it was nice to watch them all grow, and find out more about the main character.
July 5, 2016
I enjoy Dandy and the way the narration makes me think of Diary of a Provincial Lady with flashes of Wodehouse. Not sure about the grand (or petit) guignol plot elements.
August 31, 2016
Rather less taxing crimes here, yet a rather nasty gruesome bit of needless animal cruelty towards the end.
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