Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Carroll & Graf (2006), Hardcover, 336 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:The second classic whodunnit starring Dandy Gilver. Summer 1923, and as the village of Queensferry prepares for the annual Ferry Fair and the walk of the Burry Man, feelings are running high. With his pagan greenery, his lucky pennies and the nips of whisky he is treated to wherever he goes, the Burry Man has much to offend stricter souls like the minister or temperance pamphleteer. And then at the Fair, in full view of everyone -- including Dandy Gilver, invited to hand out the prizes -- he falls down dead. If he has been poisoned then the list of suspects includes anyone with a bottle of whisky in the house, and, here at Queensferry, that means just about everyone.
User reviews
LibraryThing member GeraniumCat
I settled down to the second Dandy Gilver mystery full of eager anticipation, and I wasn't disappointed - I love the setting, Scotland in the 1920s, and Dandy's mix of aristocratic arrogance, sound common sense and a sense of humour, much as if Nancy Mitford had taken to detective stories. This
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series is great fun and the research is excellent. Show Less
LibraryThing member aesop
I grew up in the small town where this was set, that being my primary reason for reading it. It was better than expected and deserves slightly more serious consideration than its cover might suggest.
Whilst being a pretty run of the mill detective story (which is all it purports to be really), it
Whilst being a pretty run of the mill detective story (which is all it purports to be really), it
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has several nice touches of characterisation and wit. (Though the author is overfond of 'owlish' as an adjective.) A likably snobbish central character and a reasonably amusing plot contribute to a decent read. However, I feel like there is more in the author to give: some of the texture of dialect and location seems to be 'drawn away' from, as if to keep the book light and readable: here this is a mistake, as the texture of Gilver's character and those round about her is the real reason for reading. McPherson's plots and pacing, though serviceable, aren't as interesting as her voice and characters, and subtracting from the latter in favour of the former is, here, a mistake. McPherson is not a Wodehousian 'performing flea': the gymnastics of this book aren't quite up to that. But she has other things to offer. Perhaps McPherson should dare to write something a little more serious: though without abandoning the wit which renders this current piece charming and inoffensive. There's more in here than meets the eye though. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
I had to look it up, the Burry Man is a real thing, a real thing that still happens. I had a vague memory of seeing something about it on TV once but a quick google told me everything. Coincidentally when I picked this one randomly from the shelf I had no idea where or what it was about, but just
Anyway, this is a tale about one of the Burry Men, who dies after the event, of an apparent heart attack. Dandy Gilver's host, an old friend not long moved to the place, asks her to look into it, it all sounds strange and unusual and as she digs she finds a lot of stress and pressure in the village and a lot of things going on under the surface that are a bit of a mess.
Interesting but I didn't feel like it flowed quite right. Still curious about what happens next with Dandy.
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before going to bed a documentary was on TV about the Forth road bridge, which I had seen earlier that week and I thought nothing of it, until I started to read and realised that this was about the place that was changed utterly by that bridge, Queensferry. Life can be a bit strange sometimes.Anyway, this is a tale about one of the Burry Men, who dies after the event, of an apparent heart attack. Dandy Gilver's host, an old friend not long moved to the place, asks her to look into it, it all sounds strange and unusual and as she digs she finds a lot of stress and pressure in the village and a lot of things going on under the surface that are a bit of a mess.
Interesting but I didn't feel like it flowed quite right. Still curious about what happens next with Dandy.
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LibraryThing member ashleytylerjohn
Quite good, and getting stronger as it went on--more touching than expected, given the author's light touch.
(Note: 5 stars = rare and amazing, 4 = quite good book, 3 = a decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. There are a lot of 4s and 3s in the world!)
(Note: 5 stars = rare and amazing, 4 = quite good book, 3 = a decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. There are a lot of 4s and 3s in the world!)
LibraryThing member liz.mabry
I read the first book in the series, and wasn't terribly thrilled - but I really liked the premise, so I figured I'd give it another go with the second. Unfortunately, the second wasn't any better. Dandy is just too twee for my taste, and the story is too twining and incoherent. I'll have to pass
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on the rest of the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
The quirky from book 1 doesn't hold so much in book 2, but boy howdy is the dark still there. I'm not going to lie, while I was intrigued by the Burryman Festival, the description of the Burryman's ... costume? creeped me right out. McPherson's detailed description made me feel claustrophobic and I
Dandy continues her unorthodox (for the times) partnership and I'm curious how the author is going to shape this investigative duo in future books. I nailed the whodunnit part, but the ending... ugh, I did not see the ending coming and I was more than a little surprised and impressed that McPherson went there in what is ostensibly a cozy historical.
Will definitely read more of the series - and not just because I have the books. ;)
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could totally understand why children would cry upon seeing him. Dandy continues her unorthodox (for the times) partnership and I'm curious how the author is going to shape this investigative duo in future books. I nailed the whodunnit part, but the ending... ugh, I did not see the ending coming and I was more than a little surprised and impressed that McPherson went there in what is ostensibly a cozy historical.
Will definitely read more of the series - and not just because I have the books. ;)
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Subjects
Original publication date
2006-08-17
Physical description
336 p.
ISBN
0786717408 / 9780786717408