Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder

Dandy Gilver #6

by Catriona McPherson

Friday 3rd June, 1927

Dear Alec,
Careful what you wish for, lest it come true' is my new motto, and here is why. I was summoned to Dunfermline, that old grey town, in the matter of a missing heiress.

She had flounced off in a sulk over forbidden love and I, suspecting elopement, was loath to take the job of scouring guesthouses to find the little madam and her paramour.

Before I could wriggle out of it, though, there was a murder in the mix - or was it suicide? I had hardly begun to decide when it happened again. Then I was sacked. Actually sacked! By two separate people, and both dismissals in writing. And that's not even the worst of it, darling: matters here are careering downwards much in the style of a runaway train.

Please hurry - or who knows where it might end,

Dandy xx

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, Cozy Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

Catriona 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.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Aitken looked to me like a woman who had all her marbles organised in order of size and weight, cross-referenced for colour, and spinning in time as she juggled them one-handed and kept the other hand free.

This series is just going down the tubes.

Dandy Gilver is a rich wife and mother of two, who is a private detective in 1920s Scotland. She has a "Watson" named Alec Osborne. He annoys me because he is a condescending, arrogant, smirking jerk. However, I can't wholeheartedly hate him, since he does rush to Dandy's defense multiple times in this book.

Number of times I told Alec to 'fuck off' in this book: 7.

Two warring merchant families are against their children getting married (Romeo and Juliet, anyone?). The "Juliet" of the book kills herself by shooting herself in the head. Did she really kill herself, agonized by being separated from her one true love? Or was she murdered, and why?

Anyway, this is the sixth book in the series and I have to say it is not very impressive.

There is SO MUCH incest and SO MANY illegitimate children in this book that I was very lost. Everyone has similar names. Everyone is married to their relatives and cheating on them with other relatives... everyone has illegitimate children with their lovers as well as their spouses... It's a whole big confusing mess. I couldn't keep anyone (besides our series regulars: Dandy, Alec, Hugh) straight. Very confusing. Did not like.

What else? I didn't guess who did it, mainly because I didn't know one person from the other.

There are some good spots: a glimpse into Dandy's family (as in, childhood family - not married family), and the scene we are shown of spending time with her father was heartbreaking and touching.

Also, she makes great observations sometimes:

I have often noticed how gentlemen who sense no danger of their own sex being overindulged by the existence of many exclusive spike bars, pavilions and clubhouses in the sporting world, supper and pudding clubs at our universities and billiards rooms, libraries, gun rooms, estate offices and smoking rooms in our very HOUSES, for goodness' sake, can suddenly get that lemon-sucking look if they ever encounter a ladies' carriage on a train or, as here, a few square yards of scarves and bracelets undiluted by cufflinks for a change.

But overall I would say this is a dud. Even though McPherson is a good writer (witty dialogue, astute observations, total immersion in the 1920s), the fact that I can't keep these characters and their messed up incestuous marriages/affairs/children/illegitimate-children straight in my mind is just a headache.

Tl;dr - I can't in good conscience recommend this book to anyone.

P.S. The cover is wonderful, a woman with pins in her dress and a tape measure around her neck... if you flip the book over to the back, you can see that she is hiding a gun behind her back. Very cool.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains this book, but I had to trouble with this one. Part of it was all the family members with similar names (three generation of widows of the same family); a device which worked admirably to muddy the waters for the detective but also left me quite confused throughout the book. The device of two rival families, rather a Capulet/Montague feud, also was classic but good set-up, but similarly,despite a geneology at the beginning, left me constantly confused about relationships, etc. which rather took the edge off my interest in the book, being in a state of perpetual confusion.

[Sandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is shortly after WWI in the UK and with narrowing monetary differences between the social classes, the last resort of family pride and position in society remains first and foremost in the minds of many, including certain members of the Aitken clan.

Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for Murder finds Dandy called upon to locate a missing heiress named Mirren Aitken who some believe has run off with the offspring of a competing business family. It appears that the Aitken and Hepburn families have been rivals in both business ventures and life in general for years and the flames of this rivalry are currently being fanned by a forbidden love between Mirren Aitken and Dugald Hepburn. While the initial reason behind this duel of the clans appears to be the situation between Mirren and Dugald , Dandy (Dandelion) and her partner Alec soon discover that this doomed romance is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the long and scandalous history of these two families and proceed with an investigation that uncovers the true reason for their animosity that has literally been hidden away for years.

Now, I love a good puzzle as much as the next person, however from page one Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for Murder seems to go out of its way to confuse and confound the reader. While the solution to the mystery is somewhat convoluted it does, at least, offer the reader and opportunity to put on their thinking caps while following the slowly unwinding threads of the tale to its unusual conclusion. My problem lies in the author's decision to present a cast of characters possessing virtually identical names (or one character addressed by several different names) thereby making it extremely difficult to keep track of who's who. (Without the convenient "family trees" at the front of the book, it would be almost impossible to keep track of the characters in the story and their relationship to each other). Why oh why make the reader's life so difficult.

Note to the author: Reading is supposed to be an ENJOYABLE experience not one in which your brain literally explodes! The next time, please be kinder to your readers when selecting names for your characters.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder through Goodreads, and I am so glad that I did because it introduced me to a charming new mystery series that I found hard to put down. This book was the first one that I have read by McPherson, and I have to say that she delivered a story full of many different twists and turns. I really enjoyed McPherson's 1920's and the characters that inhabited her world. She did an amazing job with her world building so that I was really able to picture Dunfermline, its homes, and especially the two department stores that served as characters themselves. Dandy was a great leading character and a detective that never gave up. Alec and Bunty were great partners, and the two families added some great secondary chracters that made the story even more interesting. My only disappointment was the lack of Hugh, but I am assuming that Dandy's husband plays a bigger role in a previous book that I will need to check out. Overall this was a great read that I would recommend if you like drama, humor, and just plain fun with your historical mystery.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was tough to get through. I really had to force myself to finish it. I had figured out who had done it fairly early on. That was not too difficult since that character was so different from the rest of the suspects. Part of the reason why I had a hard time getting through the book was the writing style. They book takes place in the 1920's and rightly so the characters way of talking and interacting reflect that. But for me, I had a hard time with it. There was also a lot of fluff in the story that just did not need to be there. A lot of useless conversations between Gilver and Alec. They seemed to need to tell each other everything they think they know over and over again, when really they know nothing at all. The "facts" and "evidence" that they kept finding was all circumstantial and ended up having little to know impact in the final reveal. And finally Gilver was pretty dense at times then very ditsy at others when it came to figuring things out, remembering things she learned, and interviewing the suspects and bystanders. It was all rather annoying.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very confusing plot involving two retailer families in a Scottish town. The convoluted interrelationships that precipitated the deaths at the outset and determined the eventual (protracted) outcome were so confusing that I gave up trying to understand how it worked. A very talky book, with little action. A disappointment after "Bloodstains," as far as I was concerned.

[Gwen Mayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catriona McPherson's Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder is everything I look for in a Dandy Gilver novel, but with a little more maturity. In Unsuitable Day, she and her partner in crime-solving, Alec, are off detecting in Dunfermline, Scotland. The situation in Scotland is right out of Romeo and Juliet. Two of the town's most prominent merchants are determined to keep their children from getting married. To outsiders, the engagement is a perfect solution to the rivalry between the town's largest department stores. Both sets of parents are horrified at the prospect. Well-meaning family members plot an elopement for the children, which is discovered and stopped. Dandy is called in to find a runaway heiress.

Dandy leaves husband Hugh at home to manage the estate while the intrepid detectives attempt to untangle a web of lies that goes back for decades. Both children end up dead in what appears to be suicide. Not everything is what it appears, though, and Dandy isn't the type to let questions go unanswered.

In Unsuitable Day, the questions about the deaths are difficult to are difficult to ask. Every answer leads to new deceptions. Dandy won't rest until she solves the case, no matter how many times she is asked to walk away. At times she is unsure of herself and questions her reasons for remaining on a case where her help isn't wanted. She even struggles to decide if the heiress and/or her lover committed suicide. The animosity between the families and a number of long held secrets keep Dandy bogged down in a morass of sin, shame, and guilt. If it was murder, nobody on either side of the feud wants the truth to come out.

Anyone who enjoys historical mystery will find Unsuitable Day a compelling read. The mystery holds together well and keeps the reader guessing. It is a little darker than some of the other books in the series. There isn't as much of a focus on life in upper class society in the 1920's as there was in previous novels. Dandy is becoming more professional in her detective work and better at sifting through evidence. Thankfully, she has not lost her zest for life or adventurous spirit. I look forward to seeing where her adventures take her next in the series.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel follows Dandy Gilver, an amateur private investigator hired by the Aitkens family in 1927 to find what's happened to the missing heir of Aitkens Emporium, a clothing boutique in Dunfermline. The story has a Romeo and Juliet feel to it as the author describes two warring families, the Aitkens and the Hepburns, both of whom owns clothing stores. The missing Aitkens heir is supposedly in love with the Hepburns heir, yet the union is not blessed by either families. Then, during a celebratory bash hosted by the Aitkens, a shot is heard and their heir has a bullet hole through her temple, the mystery really begins!


What I Liked: The idea and overall mystery feel of the story was well done. You are given clues but don't know how the clues are put together.

What I Didn't Like: At times I became really bored because there were so many things I didn't understand. Why did this character do this? Why did so-and-so say that? The mystery aspect is a doubled edged sword in my opinion because too much of it can really frustrate the reader since there are too many puzzle pieces lying on the table unaswered.

This book was actually a great Agatha Christi type mystery novel. It's just that the story progressed so slowly that my attention would wane and I kind of became fed up with how close lipped and confusing some situations turned out to be. But I think that is a staple of this type of mystery novel.

I received this book from Goodreads.com Early Reviewer Giveaway.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so irritating I couldn't finish it. I enjoy mysteries with some degree of "wackiness" but this just was too much. Dandy Gilver is called to help a family locate a young girl who is missing. She finds her dead of a probable suicide. She is told to send her bill and finish with the case but she shows up wherever she wants. She goes to the funeral, to the reception for the employees only of store that belongs to the family, she goes to the home and nobody says get out. It is completely a waste of time.

[Kyla Zerbes · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was not a mystery! It was a genealogic wtf. I was so confused thru most of this book, it wasn't funny. Good desc of department stores in the time period -- kinda like reading about Selfridge's but I nearly gave up on it.

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is meant to appeal to fans of Dorothy L. Sayers. It did not appeal to this one. I must give the author credit for a few good lines, however.


Back to Sue Grafton for now.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

Our intrepid heroine and private investigator Dandy Gilver is summoned to Dunfermline to investigate the disappearance of Mirren Atkins, granddaughter of Dandy's client who owns Atkins Emporium store. But what she walks into is a multi-generational hotbed of lies and secrets with Mirren and her beau, Dugald Hepburn, grandson of the founder of House of Hepburn, hate rivals of Atkins Emporium. a real Romeo and Juliet romance, which sadly is fated to end just as badly.

I struggled to get into this book, heck I started it two months ago and only read about two and a half chapters before putting it down, the cloying relationships, especially since there appeared to be three Mrs Atkins and one Miss Atkins to keep straight, all variously called by their own names or by their husband's names.

Anyway, I picked it up again last night and got gripped by the death of poor Mirren on the day of Atkin Emporium's Anniversary when the great and the good had come to the store to celebrate. The only reason I gave this three and a half stars rather than four was because I had read something very similar to this plot (being deliberately vague) many years ago. It was either one of those family sagas that were so popular back in the 1970s like Catherine Cookson or Susan Howatch, or I recall one about several generations in New Orleans where one of the lovers drowned when the levee burst (I am going to have find out what that book was now). Anyway, that was a longwinded way of saying I suspected quite early what was going on.

However, Hugh! OMG. Melted.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is #5 in the series. I previously read #9. Once again it was a slow starter until some real “investigating” began then you really wanted to find out who dunnit. There was a family tree for each of the two rival department store families but there were so many complicated and secret relationships that it was hard to keep it all straight. I pity anyone doing an audio version

[Nofar Spalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy mystery with a Greek tragedy of a plot, excellent setting and characterization, and well written. The big store setting is a lot of fun, though not as impactful as the "downstairs" setting of the previous Gilver mystery. There's a bit too many familial crossovers to make things entirely believable, or even easy to follow, but all in all a pleasant and entertaining light read.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dandy Gilver has been compared to Maisie Dobbs. Both series are set in the 1920s and really I see that as the only real similarity. While Maisie Dobbs is a young woman who uses "intuition" to "feel" answers, Dandy Gilver is a middle aged married woman who uses social skills and logic to sort out family and personal drama in situations where crime has occurred. There are not many books featuring married women with children that do not make domestic relationships and drama the focus of at least the side plots, but Dandy Gilver gives her "domestic" life scant attention while she focuses on the case at hand. In this volume of the series, Dandy and her partner, Eric, must unravel whether what appears to be a real life Romeo and Juliet situation is really suicide or might be murder. I could read through this whole series in a few weeks, but I'm spacing them out to savor.

[Jenn Ravey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star-crossed lovers. Mirren Aitken and Dugald Hepburn are destined to be opponents, but they love one another. Their families are adamantly against the match because the two families are business competitors – each owns a department store across the street from the other.

When Mirren goes missing, Mrs. Ninian Aitken, businesswoman and matriarch of the family, sends for Dandy Gilver. Dandy senses there is something more going on between these two families, and her suspicions are confirmed when Mirren is found shot in the head. Is it suicide? Murder? But another death confirms to Dandy that something is rotten, especially after both families tell her in no uncertain terms that the investigation is over.

Along with Alec and Bunty, her aging Dalmatian, Dandy uncovers family secret after family secret and wonders if these two young people will receive any sort of justice.

This particular installment of Dandy Gilver’s adventures was as fun as ever; however, with so many Aitkens who are often called, alternatively, Mary Aitken or Mrs. Ninian Aitken, Bella or Mrs. John Aitken, and Abigail or Mrs. Jack Aitken, I was very often confused as to whom was being discussed. Plus, when some of the family secrets come out, the confusion only got worse. As a frequent reader of mysteries, I pride myself in following along and even determining part of the mystery myself. Though I must say Dandy was just as confused as I was, it was still too much at times. In fact, I passed this one on to my mom, and she texted me several times: Who is this character? What happened? I giggled because I totally did the same thing. There is a family tree in the front of the book; however, I don’t like having to flip back and forth so often.

In the end, Catriona McPherson’s An Unsuitable Day for a Murder is a fast, fun read, and though the path to resolution is a bit circuitous, it’s also very well thought out.

[Moon Shine Art Spot ~ Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often enjoy a story with an accent. This attractive little hardback copy was received free from Goodreads first reads via mail. The story takes place in Scotland and has a very Scottish and proper way of talking from days gone by when ladies were concerned with hats, gloves and such.

The action begins immediately with Ms. Dandy and her associate (private detectives) being hired to find a missing girl of a well to do family who has a 100 year old, successful, family owned, multi story shopping establishment. We immediately find the girl killed ( murdered or suicide) upstairs during the 100 year celebration.

The discovery of a long standing business rival quickly comes into play, as well as a Romeo and Juliet type love story. Ms. Dandy even finds herself being accused because of all of the confusion. There are many surprises as Ms. Dandy and her associate snoop their through the clues and the various family members and the rival family members to find quite a few hidden agendas and old family secrets that many, if not all of the family members want to keep buried. Then a 2nd death!

The story is a good old fashioned who done it with an old timely flair and a Scottish accent. This book is well worth the read!

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads First Reads, and I was pretty excited about it. I LOVE the Maisie Dobbs books, so I was hoping for something just as good. Wrong. Maybe it's the fact that I haven't read this series from the beginning, but it took me a long time to get into this book. There were loads of characters that I had trouble keeping up with, and Dandy just plain got on my nerves. She's pretty dense for a detective. Several characters had to spell out something that she should have deduced herself, had she been any good at what she does! And those darn "niggling" thoughts! Those drove me mad! The plot was thin and was kept going merely because there was a book to finish. I was really hoping for a great new mystery series to work through this summer, but sadly, this one won't be it.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK installment in the Dandy Gilver series (#6, I believe). I have not read #'s 1-5, so it was a bit hard for me to work out who all the characters were (even the fact that she was married and who she was married to and why). The author clearly assumes you will read 1-5 before 6. The mystery was interesting but so complicated that I got bored with all the "and then THIS was revealed" developments, but that is probably more a function of my impatience than a true flaw with the book. In this novel, Dandy is asked to find a missing heiress to a women's clothing store, who is supposed to have run off with the heir of the rival clothing empire down the block. The main character and her friend Alec are enjoyable to read about and seem internally coherent...I'm not as positive about the lesser characters. Mildly entertaining.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so rare that I get to read a mystery book where I don't know what's going on long before the end of the book so when that happens, when the murderer is a surprise and the author's slight of hand (Look over here, Nope it happened over there) works - really works - well you KNOW I have to read the next one.

I loved the feel of the book, the time period really seeps through in everything from language to clothing to the fabulous old timey department stores. And the psychological mystery was a nice change from the stereotypical chasing of a murderer out from under the bushes. In fact, I almost forgot we were even looking for a murderer.

If clever historical mystery is your thing, then you should be picking up some Dandy Gilver books.

[Indie Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is SOOO reminiscent of the author Agatha Christie! I have to give props to Catriona McPherson for being such an intelligent writer. The story was good, and the writing was good. I was so into this book, trying to figure out "who done it". The only reason I did not give the book a 5 star rating is because there were a few parts that were very difficult for me to read and understand. Other than that, BEAUTIFUL. I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone, and especially to those that are big fans of Agatha Christie.

I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.

[Megan]

A clever mystery--I definitely OMG-ed out loud when I realized what seemingly trivial details were actually clues--even if some of the trappings were obvious. I continue to like this series for its stylized prose, the interesting historical details (the lifts! I'm a little nervous about even modern-day elevators, and this book didn't help), and Dandy herself. I like how McPherson avoided the easier routes of making Dandy either bluestocking-esque or an utter ditz: she's on the denser side and she both hews to and defies some class distinctions, but that means her investigating style is an interesting mix of the haphazard and the very deliberate.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.

Dandy Gilver may not be a seasoned detective but she sure is able to piece together a ruined families secrets with a little help from her fellow detective and an unlikely and at first unknown helper. The book is interesting and intriguing. The two families at the center of the novel are disturbing in many ways and it is interesting to see how she pieces together the depths of their treachery.

I enjoyed this book and although it wasn't one of those books you just can't put down it was fun to read. I would definitely recommend.

[Erin Farwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've met Catriona McPherson and enjoyed her personality immensely. I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. I liked it, enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Part of the problem is that I needed to refer to the family tree charts on more than one occasion to keep track of the players and to understand the who, what, and why. This effort repeatedly pulled me out of the story. I did enjoy meeting Dandy Gilver and her side kick and her husband (two separate men). I will give Dandy another chance and hope that the story will keep me as engaged as she did.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A semi random pick from 'New Arrivals' at my library, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. With the title starting with 'Dandy Gilver', I was expecting it might have gay themes (but Dandy is a woman). A detective novel (not one of my preferred genres) in a historic context (a genre I am more likely to enjoy), I found it a light but riveting read. I didn't need to have read any of the earlier books. The plot, as in many detective novels, leans too heavily on an unlikely series of events (that's why I'm not fond of detective novels), but overall a good read.

[Elmira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very grateful to have received this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program!

I am a lover of traditional British mysteries and this exactly fits the bill! The characters are well developed, there is plenty of tea served, and a plethora of red herrings! I found myself smiling often at the comfy, cozy atmosphere that Catriona McPherson surrounded me with. This book is a fabulous read for a cold rainy day in your favorite chair with some tea and shortbread nearby!

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but I had to read a portion of the solution a couple of times to get it straight in my head. Mind you I had had a couple of glasses of wine by that point, so my brain may not have been functioning at its best! Still I like Dandy - but as I've only read the first one and this one (the sixth) I feel like there may be some finer points of plot and relationship development that I may have missed. I'll be looking out for more in the series.

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfect example of what I like best about the Dandy Gilver series. The mystery unravels as a twist within a twist within a twist. The highly detailed descriptive passages might not appeal to everyone but I enjoy them. Dandy Gilver is imperfect enough to be interesting and the other characters are so very fascinating in their complexity. I also enjoyed the increased presence of Bunty in this one. ;)

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Catriona McPherson's writing. Her standalone mysteries are dark and odd, and the books in the Dandy Gilver series, like this one, are fun and witty. An Unsuitable Day for a Murder is no exception. It is a little difficult to follow, and you do need to keep an eye on the two family trees included in the back of the book. Or as I did, you can get the gist and just enjoy the book for its sprightliness. I am reading my way happily through the entire Dandy Gilver series.

[Nell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Dandy Gilver is more like Her Royal Spyness than like Maisie Dobbs. The tone is somewhere between the two. Dandy is a bit less hapless than Georgianna but much more haphazard than Maisie. We see more of the grim reality of life between the wars in Maisie's world, though when you peel back the layers in this series there's some real ugliness.