Customer Reviews

Bury Her Deep (A Dandy Gilver Mystery)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Dandy Gilver, a bored mother and wife of Hugh Gilver, a wealthy farmer, is now a self proclaimed detective having successfully solved one case..and been paid for doing so..is now prepared to accept the offer of a minister of the church in Fife , to solve the mystery of the "Dark Stranger". Ladies of the newly formed Women's Rural Institute in a small village, have been attacked when on their way home from meetings by a stranger dressed in dark clothes, who pulls out strands of their hair. Dandy stays at the manse with the minister and his daughter, but doesn't get far with her questioning of the victims, all of whom seem strangely reticent about details of their attacker. The villagers are a strange lot, clinging determinedly to the past, unwilling to accept new ideas and intermarrying for generations. When some of the locals raise the subject of witchcraft, Dandy dismisses the idea as superstitious nonsense as it's 1924, but later has to question her own thoughts on the matter. It's a strange book with some very likeable characters and quite a few kinky ones which is often the case in tales of the inhabitants of small villages.

I love this series. Dandy Gilver is a wonderful character, very believable, charming and someone I would love to have as a friend, if she existed in real life.

I read a great many mysteries, mostly cozies and I have become more particular in recent years as I have narrowed my definition of what I consider a cozy.

Things that irritate me in some so-called cozies are episodes of behavior that would never be tolerated in the era in which the story is placed, gratuitous and graphic sexual conduct, especially when it does not advance the story line, and the use of language that was not common to the era or the area.

I was charmed by the first book in the series (After the Armistice Ball) and immediately looked for other books by this author, Catriona McPherson.
In my opinion this author is very talented and has the genre of the cozy mystery well in hand and writes about the post WWI period as if she had been there.

I have read all the books except for The Winter Ground, which I have ordered but the first was lost in the mail so I have had to reorder from another vendor.

For anyone who loves cozies and loves to read about Scotland in the early part of the twentieth century, you can't go wrong with this series.

I can't say enough about the Dandy Gilver series. I read quite a few other mystery series, and end up getting disillusioned with the mediocre writing and lackluster plots. No so for this series - it feels so true to the times, and the writing is impeccable. I love the way the series is unpredictable -- it's not just a typical mystery formula. Some are quite dark, and the characters always surprise. I also love the true to life portrayal of Dandy's homelife, and how chilly her marriage is. It makes her feel like a real woman of her times, and not a set character. I just ordered the newest installment and can't wait to dive in. Keep going Catriona!!!