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Dandy Gilver #7
Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses
Before she was a detective, before she was a reluctant wife and distracted mother, before she was even a débutante, Dandy Gilver spent one perfect summer with the Lipscotts of Pereford. The golden memories of it have sustained her through many a cold snap in Perthshire.
So when two of the Lipscott sisters beg her to help the third, she can hardly refuse. Sweet, pretty Fleur Lipscott: where is she now? The astonishing answer to this is that Fleur - still Miss Lipscott, indeed more Miss Lipscott than ever - is buried alive in the tiny seaside village of Portpatrick, working as a schoolmistress at St Columba's College for Young Ladies.
But she is one of the few remaining, for St Columba's has been shedding mistresses as a snake its skins and the exodus is far from over.
With mistresses vanishing and corpses mounting up, can Mrs Gilver, detective, pass herself off as Miss Gilver, English mistress, to solve the one and stop the other?
So when two of the Lipscott sisters beg her to help the third, she can hardly refuse. Sweet, pretty Fleur Lipscott: where is she now? The astonishing answer to this is that Fleur - still Miss Lipscott, indeed more Miss Lipscott than ever - is buried alive in the tiny seaside village of Portpatrick, working as a schoolmistress at St Columba's College for Young Ladies.
But she is one of the few remaining, for St Columba's has been shedding mistresses as a snake its skins and the exodus is far from over.
With mistresses vanishing and corpses mounting up, can Mrs Gilver, detective, pass herself off as Miss Gilver, English mistress, to solve the one and stop the other?
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 2012
17 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
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 67 reviews
March 29, 2016
What, I wondered, was wrong with me this morning? I had gone after the poisonous widow like a Jack Russell terrier and now here I was antagonising the police sergeant too.
This series is all over the map. All over the map. After the dismal previous entry which was Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder, we have this absolute gem by Catriona McPherson. I can't keep this straight. She sometimes writes wonderful novels in this series (such as this one, The Winter Ground, and Bury Her Deep) and other times it is as if she completely loses the thread.
This is the 7th Dandy Gilver novel. Dandy is a wife, mother of two, and rich. She lives in Scotland in the 1920s and took up private detecting a few years ago. Blissfully free to roam about the country and basically do what she likes, due to a.) her children being in boarding school, b.) her being rich, and c.) her husband being rather... dull and pompous.
Dandy has a "Watson," one Alec Osborne, who I personally cannot stand. Condescending, sneering and smirking, I loathe him. But she seems to like him, perhaps because he is very handsome and also because he treats her better than her husband does!
Number of times I told Alec to 'go fuck himself' in this novel: 2. Wow, this is a very low number. He must have been on his good behavior in this book.
...
In this novel, Dandy deals with a childhood friend, Fleur, who is a completely changed woman - not the fun-loving, exciting, imaginative girl she knew - but now a stern, austere woman who lives simply and seems consumed by grief. When Fleur goes missing, Dandy must find out what happened to her. Has she been murdered? Or is she a murderess herself?
Dandy goes undercover as a schoolteacher in this book, with very entertaining results. We also are introduced to a flirtatious Italian, a boarding school which is very shady and suspicious, and a widow with a poisonous tongue who is trying to slander Dandy.
World War II is looming over everything, adding a threatening and foreboding feeling to the book's witty atmosphere. We know it's coming - even if the characters don't. I wonder how McPherson is going to handle the war when it finally comes - especially since Dandy has two sons and the oldest is 18.
...
I can't stand Dandy's husband - a bore and a pompous snob. He also has the flaw of not discussing anything with Dandy, only discussing things with men, and hiding stuff from her. He condescends to her and it's obviously not a very happy marriage.
...
Another male who was annoying me beyond belief was the new character of Constable Reid, who just doesn't treat his adoring, enamored girlfriend very well. Let me tell you, if I were in this novel I would give him a piece of my mind!
...
Anyway. This was a great book. The writing was beautiful and witty.
Dandy talking to a student: "Thank you, peculiar child," I said. "And run along." This made me laugh.
And when trying to grasp an idea, tantalizingly out of reach:
Something - some idea, vague and shapeless - shifted deep inside me like a shipwreck dragging across the ocean floor when a current catches it broadside."
...
Tl;dr - A great book. The twists are twisty, the surprises are surprising. The mystery as a whole makes sense (this is an important point, since some of McPherson's plotlines have been farfetched). I liked the whole thing. I still don't think it was as good as The Winter Ground, which so far is my absolute favorite Dandy Gilver mystery; or Bury Her Deep, which is my second favorite). But it's very satisfying and a good mystery.
...
P.S. Again, the cover is wonderful. A schoolmarm holding an apple with one hand behind her back. When you flip the book over, you see she is hiding a pencil dripping with blood. Great concept.
P.P.S. This is my thousandth review on GR. <3
This series is all over the map. All over the map. After the dismal previous entry which was Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder, we have this absolute gem by Catriona McPherson. I can't keep this straight. She sometimes writes wonderful novels in this series (such as this one, The Winter Ground, and Bury Her Deep) and other times it is as if she completely loses the thread.
This is the 7th Dandy Gilver novel. Dandy is a wife, mother of two, and rich. She lives in Scotland in the 1920s and took up private detecting a few years ago. Blissfully free to roam about the country and basically do what she likes, due to a.) her children being in boarding school, b.) her being rich, and c.) her husband being rather... dull and pompous.
Dandy has a "Watson," one Alec Osborne, who I personally cannot stand. Condescending, sneering and smirking, I loathe him. But she seems to like him, perhaps because he is very handsome and also because he treats her better than her husband does!
Number of times I told Alec to 'go fuck himself' in this novel: 2. Wow, this is a very low number. He must have been on his good behavior in this book.
...
In this novel, Dandy deals with a childhood friend, Fleur, who is a completely changed woman - not the fun-loving, exciting, imaginative girl she knew - but now a stern, austere woman who lives simply and seems consumed by grief. When Fleur goes missing, Dandy must find out what happened to her. Has she been murdered? Or is she a murderess herself?
Dandy goes undercover as a schoolteacher in this book, with very entertaining results. We also are introduced to a flirtatious Italian, a boarding school which is very shady and suspicious, and a widow with a poisonous tongue who is trying to slander Dandy.
World War II is looming over everything, adding a threatening and foreboding feeling to the book's witty atmosphere. We know it's coming - even if the characters don't. I wonder how McPherson is going to handle the war when it finally comes - especially since Dandy has two sons and the oldest is 18.
...
I can't stand Dandy's husband - a bore and a pompous snob. He also has the flaw of not discussing anything with Dandy, only discussing things with men, and hiding stuff from her. He condescends to her and it's obviously not a very happy marriage.
...
Another male who was annoying me beyond belief was the new character of Constable Reid, who just doesn't treat his adoring, enamored girlfriend very well. Let me tell you, if I were in this novel I would give him a piece of my mind!
...
Anyway. This was a great book. The writing was beautiful and witty.
Dandy talking to a student: "Thank you, peculiar child," I said. "And run along." This made me laugh.
And when trying to grasp an idea, tantalizingly out of reach:
Something - some idea, vague and shapeless - shifted deep inside me like a shipwreck dragging across the ocean floor when a current catches it broadside."
...
Tl;dr - A great book. The twists are twisty, the surprises are surprising. The mystery as a whole makes sense (this is an important point, since some of McPherson's plotlines have been farfetched). I liked the whole thing. I still don't think it was as good as The Winter Ground, which so far is my absolute favorite Dandy Gilver mystery; or Bury Her Deep, which is my second favorite). But it's very satisfying and a good mystery.
...
P.S. Again, the cover is wonderful. A schoolmarm holding an apple with one hand behind her back. When you flip the book over, you see she is hiding a pencil dripping with blood. Great concept.
P.P.S. This is my thousandth review on GR. <3
February 24, 2014
Published in 2012, this is the best of the Dandy Gilver murder mysteries so far as far as this reader is concerned. A superb mix of murder, mayhem, blackmail, childhood reminiscence and growing up pains, “A Bothersome Number of Corpses” presents the reader with so much more than just sparkling wit, excellent characterisation and a plot that leaves us guessing as to the murderer’s identity right to the very end. With this book we see a side to amateur sleuth Dandy Gilver we has hitherto only suspected but rarely seen.
Catriona McPherson’s books have gone from strength to strength with each one she has published and even though she gives credit for “almost co-authorship” to her editor Suzie Dooré on this one, the lightness of touch, the incredibly witty turn of phrase are unmistakably Ms McPherson’s and hers alone.
Plot:
The sister of an old childhood friend calls Dandy Gilver for help. Youngest sister Fleur Lipscott is in trouble – how could anyone get into trouble working as an English mistress in an out-of-the-way public school for girls in Scotland, you might ask, where Fleur has been living a nun-like existence for some 8 years?
With Dandy’s usual talent for creating comic mix-ups, she lands herself a job as replacement French tutor at St Columba’s College for Ladies, where an astonishing number of tutors have vanished without a trace. Before long, the first corpse floats onto the beach, but when Dandy accompanies her friend Fleur to view the body, in case is turns out to be the missing French tutor, Fleur claims that she has murdered five people and that this latest corpse is yet another victim of hers.
Could this possibly be the same fluffy Fleur, the flower child Dandy used to know when she was 18 and stayed at Pereford, Fleur’s dreamy childhood home in Dorset? How on earth did she turn into a cold-blooded murderess?
Dandy is determined to prove Fleur’s innocence, even if she herself doesn’t quite believe in it. With the help of her trusted companion Alec and their newly acquired friend, Constable Reid, Dandy sets out to find all the missing tutors – and prove that Fleur isn’t mad or a murderer and that there’s more to St Columba than meets the eye. A wild goose chase across most of Britain and several dead but finally identified bodies later, Dandy is still wondering, did Fleur murder any of them or is it all in the former English mistress’ head? In the process, however, Dandy uncovers blackmail and beastly extortion, while Alec discovers his capacity for eating good food is matched by his ability to charm the birds from the trees.
This is a wonderfully crafted book that dips into childhood holiday remembrances without the slightest touch of sentimentality. Just like the gently lapping waves at the beach reveal a glimpse of shingle now and then, we see a different Dandy emerging, the one she could have been, if hard-nosed Nanny Palmer and unloving husband Hugh Gilver hadn’t crushed love and life out of Dandy in the intervening years. We see what Dandy might have been had she been loved because Fleur is held up like a mirror.
We tend to see episodes from our youth and childhood through rose-tinted glasses, when we have experienced bliss and happiness. Having never had a loving family home, neither as a child nor as a grown woman married to the incredibly stuffy and dull Hugh Gilver, Dandy remembers her holidays at Pereford in Dorset with aching clarity and feels the slow tearing apart of all she held dear for so very long rather deeply.
Alec is unsympathetic and doesn’t understand her misgivings when it comes to badgering the Lipscott family, the first time we see him in a lesser role in McPherson’s books. For this is essentially a book about women, little girls and grown-up ones and everything in between, but it is also a book about her detective Dandy and how she came to be the person we see.
A highly recommended read; laugh-out loud funny in places, thought-provoking throughout. If you love women in all their permutations – this is your book.
Catriona McPherson’s books have gone from strength to strength with each one she has published and even though she gives credit for “almost co-authorship” to her editor Suzie Dooré on this one, the lightness of touch, the incredibly witty turn of phrase are unmistakably Ms McPherson’s and hers alone.
Plot:
The sister of an old childhood friend calls Dandy Gilver for help. Youngest sister Fleur Lipscott is in trouble – how could anyone get into trouble working as an English mistress in an out-of-the-way public school for girls in Scotland, you might ask, where Fleur has been living a nun-like existence for some 8 years?
With Dandy’s usual talent for creating comic mix-ups, she lands herself a job as replacement French tutor at St Columba’s College for Ladies, where an astonishing number of tutors have vanished without a trace. Before long, the first corpse floats onto the beach, but when Dandy accompanies her friend Fleur to view the body, in case is turns out to be the missing French tutor, Fleur claims that she has murdered five people and that this latest corpse is yet another victim of hers.
Could this possibly be the same fluffy Fleur, the flower child Dandy used to know when she was 18 and stayed at Pereford, Fleur’s dreamy childhood home in Dorset? How on earth did she turn into a cold-blooded murderess?
Dandy is determined to prove Fleur’s innocence, even if she herself doesn’t quite believe in it. With the help of her trusted companion Alec and their newly acquired friend, Constable Reid, Dandy sets out to find all the missing tutors – and prove that Fleur isn’t mad or a murderer and that there’s more to St Columba than meets the eye. A wild goose chase across most of Britain and several dead but finally identified bodies later, Dandy is still wondering, did Fleur murder any of them or is it all in the former English mistress’ head? In the process, however, Dandy uncovers blackmail and beastly extortion, while Alec discovers his capacity for eating good food is matched by his ability to charm the birds from the trees.
This is a wonderfully crafted book that dips into childhood holiday remembrances without the slightest touch of sentimentality. Just like the gently lapping waves at the beach reveal a glimpse of shingle now and then, we see a different Dandy emerging, the one she could have been, if hard-nosed Nanny Palmer and unloving husband Hugh Gilver hadn’t crushed love and life out of Dandy in the intervening years. We see what Dandy might have been had she been loved because Fleur is held up like a mirror.
We tend to see episodes from our youth and childhood through rose-tinted glasses, when we have experienced bliss and happiness. Having never had a loving family home, neither as a child nor as a grown woman married to the incredibly stuffy and dull Hugh Gilver, Dandy remembers her holidays at Pereford in Dorset with aching clarity and feels the slow tearing apart of all she held dear for so very long rather deeply.
Alec is unsympathetic and doesn’t understand her misgivings when it comes to badgering the Lipscott family, the first time we see him in a lesser role in McPherson’s books. For this is essentially a book about women, little girls and grown-up ones and everything in between, but it is also a book about her detective Dandy and how she came to be the person we see.
A highly recommended read; laugh-out loud funny in places, thought-provoking throughout. If you love women in all their permutations – this is your book.
October 6, 2013
The only thing I don't like about this series is that Catriona McPherson can't possibly write them fast enough for my tastes. They're so charming and witty. If you like historical mysteries, try these. I would start with the first one, After the Armistice Ball, but you could probably start anywhere if you're not as OCD as I am.
June 26, 2012
Time Taken To Read - 5 days
Blurb From Goodreads
Before she was a detective, before she was a reluctant wife and distracted mother, before she was even a débutante, Dandy Gilver spent one perfect summer with the Lipscotts of Pereford. The golden memories of it have sustained her through many a cold snap in Perthshire.
So when two of the Lipscott sisters beg her to help the third, she can hardly refuse. Sweet, pretty Fleur Lipscott: where is she now? The astonishing answer to this is that Fleur - still Miss Lipscott, indeed more Miss Lipscott than ever - is buried alive in the tiny seaside village of Portpatrick, working as a schoolmistress at St Columba's College for Young Ladies.
But she is one of the few remaining, for St Columba's has been shedding mistresses as a snake its skins and the exodus is far from over.
With mistresses vanishing and corpses mounting up, can Mrs Gilver, detective, pass herself off as Miss Gilver, English mistress, to solve the one and stop the other?
My Review
This is Catriona McPhersons 5th book but my first time reading her work and being introduced to Dandy Gilver. Dandy is a female detective who works along side with her male partner (and it isn't her husband!). She is asked for help from her old friends to find their sister who is in a small village working as a teacher. What follows is murder, lies deceit and a who done it with Dandy leading the way.
When I started this I didn't think I was going to like it, it is set in the late 1920s or early 1930s and phrases like "One has to think what one has to say" and I am really not into that kind of pompous narrative. However it fits with the time period and I soon got used to it, also Dandy is quite amusing in some of her antics and what she says that you warm up to the story and the character(s) fairly quickly.
It is a slow paced story with lots of little things happening but no big thrills or murders throughout for the most part. For me it reminded me of murder she wrote, lots of investigating into little things and pretense by the main character to get her answers. Whilst it went along slowly there was something about this wee story that I didn't want to put it down and when all is revealed I was surprised by the who done it which is always a good thing I feel. 3/5 for me this time. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for introducing me to this author and giving me the chance to review this book. You can get your own copy from July 5th 2012 in hardback and ebook at any good retailer. Also for the Glasgow/Edinburgh followers you can meet the author who is touring, please see below for details. (go to www.alwaysreading.com for full details)
Blurb From Goodreads
Before she was a detective, before she was a reluctant wife and distracted mother, before she was even a débutante, Dandy Gilver spent one perfect summer with the Lipscotts of Pereford. The golden memories of it have sustained her through many a cold snap in Perthshire.
So when two of the Lipscott sisters beg her to help the third, she can hardly refuse. Sweet, pretty Fleur Lipscott: where is she now? The astonishing answer to this is that Fleur - still Miss Lipscott, indeed more Miss Lipscott than ever - is buried alive in the tiny seaside village of Portpatrick, working as a schoolmistress at St Columba's College for Young Ladies.
But she is one of the few remaining, for St Columba's has been shedding mistresses as a snake its skins and the exodus is far from over.
With mistresses vanishing and corpses mounting up, can Mrs Gilver, detective, pass herself off as Miss Gilver, English mistress, to solve the one and stop the other?
My Review
This is Catriona McPhersons 5th book but my first time reading her work and being introduced to Dandy Gilver. Dandy is a female detective who works along side with her male partner (and it isn't her husband!). She is asked for help from her old friends to find their sister who is in a small village working as a teacher. What follows is murder, lies deceit and a who done it with Dandy leading the way.
When I started this I didn't think I was going to like it, it is set in the late 1920s or early 1930s and phrases like "One has to think what one has to say" and I am really not into that kind of pompous narrative. However it fits with the time period and I soon got used to it, also Dandy is quite amusing in some of her antics and what she says that you warm up to the story and the character(s) fairly quickly.
It is a slow paced story with lots of little things happening but no big thrills or murders throughout for the most part. For me it reminded me of murder she wrote, lots of investigating into little things and pretense by the main character to get her answers. Whilst it went along slowly there was something about this wee story that I didn't want to put it down and when all is revealed I was surprised by the who done it which is always a good thing I feel. 3/5 for me this time. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for introducing me to this author and giving me the chance to review this book. You can get your own copy from July 5th 2012 in hardback and ebook at any good retailer. Also for the Glasgow/Edinburgh followers you can meet the author who is touring, please see below for details. (go to www.alwaysreading.com for full details)
March 27, 2014
The seventh Dandy Gilver story, though the first one I have read. I am sorry to say I wasn’t impressed. It came recommended by my mystery book group, which is currently looking at crime stories involving schools / colleges (which is why we looked at the 7th book, instead of starting at the first). I found myself uninvolved with the story and the characters. And I'm still looking for the "bothesome number of corpses". There really was only one....
The story involves Dandy Gilver and her partner-in-detection (Alec Osborne) looking into two problems, and uncovering others. They are initially asked to look into why an old childhood friend, Fleur Lipscott, has walled herself away in an obscure private school for girls in Portpatrick, near Stranraer, Scotland. It turns out that several teachers have disappeared from the school for unclear reasons, which piques their curiosity. Keeping up with the theme, Alec gets involved in a case of a disappearing wife in the same town. Dandy gets herself hired as a teacher at the school; not difficult due to the vacancies caused by the disappearing teachers. Then, shortly after Dandy arrives, a dead body is washed up on the beach, apparently unidentifiable.
So we have several mysteries to solve, and the actual reasons behind the various crimes and histories are interesting and plausible. It is the method of getting there that I found quite uninteresting. The book spends most of its time on the disappearing characters, and very little on the dead person. I also found the actual sleuths superficial and annoying. So not really my cup of tea.
The story involves Dandy Gilver and her partner-in-detection (Alec Osborne) looking into two problems, and uncovering others. They are initially asked to look into why an old childhood friend, Fleur Lipscott, has walled herself away in an obscure private school for girls in Portpatrick, near Stranraer, Scotland. It turns out that several teachers have disappeared from the school for unclear reasons, which piques their curiosity. Keeping up with the theme, Alec gets involved in a case of a disappearing wife in the same town. Dandy gets herself hired as a teacher at the school; not difficult due to the vacancies caused by the disappearing teachers. Then, shortly after Dandy arrives, a dead body is washed up on the beach, apparently unidentifiable.
So we have several mysteries to solve, and the actual reasons behind the various crimes and histories are interesting and plausible. It is the method of getting there that I found quite uninteresting. The book spends most of its time on the disappearing characters, and very little on the dead person. I also found the actual sleuths superficial and annoying. So not really my cup of tea.
November 7, 2013
What a confusing web McPherson does weave... Still not entirely sure how I feel about this one; the ending was satisfying, and tied up the mystifying threads pretty neatly. But I spent roughly %75 of the book completely confused -- and not just because this is a mystery. No, I was confused by the seemingly random and utterly INSANE characters, the preponderance of red herrings, and the saccharine dialogue of half the cast. Dandy's a capable narrator/protagonist, but not entirely likeable or relateable. I guess I'm just spoiled by the charming sleuths of my fave series and can't appreciate this thorn for the roses. McPherson does have a very vivid way of developing characters and painting scenes, though, and as -- previously mentioned -- the ending was at least satisfying and had its thrilling moments.
April 23, 2014
Ok, I admit it: I got sucked into this book based 80% on the title (and the rest on the setting). It was worth it, though. I really like Dandy as a character, the mystery was interesting (and kind of convoluted, but at least I didn't see most things coming) and the setting was appealing.
I realized after I got a ways into it that this is book 7 (I originally thought it was book 3, due to the publisher only listing others that THEY had published, with matching covers, etc.) but it really didn't matter. I want to go back and start at book 1.
I'm looking forward to a BBC adaptation, as the rights have been optioned. Considering how many mystery series the BBC produces, and the Downton-inspired rage for the 1920s, I would think it would do very well.
I realized after I got a ways into it that this is book 7 (I originally thought it was book 3, due to the publisher only listing others that THEY had published, with matching covers, etc.) but it really didn't matter. I want to go back and start at book 1.
I'm looking forward to a BBC adaptation, as the rights have been optioned. Considering how many mystery series the BBC produces, and the Downton-inspired rage for the 1920s, I would think it would do very well.
Want to read
March 13, 2013First of all, I don't like this new system of a pop-up review screen. But I digress.
I gave this book a try, and I think I'd actually enjoy it at the right time, but it just couldn't keep my interest.
I gave this book a try, and I think I'd actually enjoy it at the right time, but it just couldn't keep my interest.
December 7, 2014
Took awhile to get in to this one; the last half was better than the first. Still, a very enjoyable way to while away an afternoon or two!
May 25, 2017
It was definitely interesting! There were a lot of twists and turns, as befits something people claim is similar to Agatha Christie. It was certainly in the style of it, and I enjoyed it a lot. When I first started reading, I didn't realize it was in the middle of the series, so I was confused at first about the character relationships. However, it was good enough that I'm going to pick up book 1 and see what I missed!
And yes, I did pick the book to read because I loved the title.
And yes, I did pick the book to read because I loved the title.
September 25, 2024
Back in business! This book was more like the rest in the series. I find it so amusing when Dandy goes undercover or disguises herself. This time she’s a teacher at a girl’s school. And the remembrance of halcyon girlhood days with the three sisters and their mother were a glimpse at a different, softer side of Dandy. But this is now the second book where she and Alec have been “fired” so I’m not sure how she’s making money at this PI gig.
March 4, 2017
I'm coming to this series late as this is the seventh in the series, but I am thrilled to have found this series. This adventure is set in 1920's Scotland and I was in Edinburgh much later, so I have a feel for the city and its eccentricity. The school described in the novel is the height of eccentricity. It is set on a hill in the small seaside town of Portpatrick. There have been teachers disappearing and the detective agency of Gilver and Osbourne have been asked to investigate. The pair travel to the all-girls school to look in on the client's youngest sister who has been teaching at the school. Being an English teacher myself, I could relate to the description of the various classes and the material they choose to teach. When they arrive at the school, Dandy is mistaken for a schoolmistress and so she goes with the flow and pretends to be an English teacher after she though she would be required to teach French. The descriptions of the classrooms, the girls who wear yellow outfits and their morning rituals. The classes start at 9:30 which is terribly late for most schools. Dandy struggles to blend in and set a curriculum and decide what books to read. The former teacher had decided on Shakespeare, but she chooses something American. She has been asked to look in on a friend's daughter attending the school and when she gets to talk with her she finds that five teachers have gone missing. Fleur fills her in on the various teachers and how the school is run. Dandy is devious and sneaks around to discover what is happening. Her partner has taken a flat in town so he is able to help discover the truth about the five missing teachers.
This novel is one of the most enjoying ones I have read. It is funny, quirky, and full of interesting details. Of course, they solve the problem with trickery and deviousness. I absolutely loved this novel and will be sure to read the previous editions.
This novel is one of the most enjoying ones I have read. It is funny, quirky, and full of interesting details. Of course, they solve the problem with trickery and deviousness. I absolutely loved this novel and will be sure to read the previous editions.
December 27, 2016
Detective Dandy Gilver and her associate Alex, intending to look into the mystery of an old friend's odd actions and beliefs end up revealing a murder and a prep school ripoff combined with blackmail. One the best mysteries I have read recently.
Read
July 19, 2018I was expecting more corpses. For the majority of the book, there was only the one. And, like, I'm not saying I'm not bothered by one corpse, but the title had me assuming that there'd be more, and that we'd be tripping over them much sooner. That disconnect was probably the major influence in my finding the book slow, and the fault was probably all on me.
So, investigating some strangeness surrounding a much-changed childhood friend, Dandy goes undercover as a teacher (!! Dandy!! a teacher!!) at a girls school. St. Columba's is possibly the only place that could rival Hogwarts in the Scottish boarding school league tables for mysterious disappearances, unqualified teachers, and no one learning anything useful ever.
McPherson writes such tangled and interesting plots, and she's great at intriguing scenes where you know there's this huge clue lurking between the lines but you can't quite put your finger on it. She has a ridiculously, jealousy-inducingly witty voice, and I like Dandy and her investigative skills a lot. The other recurring characters I like less, and I wish for a little less sexism or for more of it to get called out, but for the most part, I continue to really enjoy this series.
So, investigating some strangeness surrounding a much-changed childhood friend, Dandy goes undercover as a teacher (!! Dandy!! a teacher!!) at a girls school. St. Columba's is possibly the only place that could rival Hogwarts in the Scottish boarding school league tables for mysterious disappearances, unqualified teachers, and no one learning anything useful ever.
McPherson writes such tangled and interesting plots, and she's great at intriguing scenes where you know there's this huge clue lurking between the lines but you can't quite put your finger on it. She has a ridiculously, jealousy-inducingly witty voice, and I like Dandy and her investigative skills a lot. The other recurring characters I like less, and I wish for a little less sexism or for more of it to get called out, but for the most part, I continue to really enjoy this series.
February 9, 2014
A perky read, the latest in a series of books about a detective pair operating in 1920s Scotland. Dandy (short for Dandelion) mixes business with a personal connection from her past, when the sisters of a childhood friend are worried about the friend, now teaching English at St. Columba's girls' school. Dandy poses as a teacher herself, with business associate Gilver to back her up in the field, and she discovers that a number of teachers at this school seem to have gone missing. They do solve the mystery, after a number of interesting plot turns.
Since I haven't read the other books in the series, I don't know whether Dandy always does the narrating, or whether she seems to be more active as a detective than her colleague. Will I go back and read the earlier books? If they float across my field of vision (i.e., show up on a library bookshelf), yes. Otherwise, probably not. Too many books, not enough time...;)
Since I haven't read the other books in the series, I don't know whether Dandy always does the narrating, or whether she seems to be more active as a detective than her colleague. Will I go back and read the earlier books? If they float across my field of vision (i.e., show up on a library bookshelf), yes. Otherwise, probably not. Too many books, not enough time...;)
April 27, 2014
It isnt the number of corpses in this historical mystery that is bothersome, it's the number of characters, most of them flitting in to the story and then out again without leaving much impression at all...there are corpses certainly, from dandy's past, from the present, corpses mistakenly identified, corpses resulting from murders, suicides and natural causes....and then there are the living characters, those from several villages past and present, teachers and school administers past and present and currently running away, old friends and the sisters and mothers and fathers and boyfriends of old friends, students, some servants, and each one seems to have secrets and a past that involves yet more characters mentioned basically in passing......there is a plot but it is dependent on and eventually buried by way too many characters
April 3, 2015
[from the publisher...]
"Agatha Christie meets Upstairs Downstairs . . . [For] fans of Phryne Fisher and Maisie Dobbs." —Publishers Weekly
A mystery writer perfect for fans of Upstairs Downstairs, Downton Abbey, and Gosford Park, Catriona McPherson has charmed readers everywhere with her fun and clever series set in 1920s Scotland. In this new adventure, witty, aristocratic sleuth Dandy Gilver travels to an all-girls school in the small seaside town of Portpatrick to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend who taught there. Soon, Dandy discovers that her missing chum is not the only thing that's off in Portpatrick. Other teachers have been disappearing at an alarming rate. The BBC has optioned the Dandy Gilver series for television, and mystery fans will love Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses, the newest excursion with Scotland's most charming sleuth.
"Agatha Christie meets Upstairs Downstairs . . . [For] fans of Phryne Fisher and Maisie Dobbs." —Publishers Weekly
A mystery writer perfect for fans of Upstairs Downstairs, Downton Abbey, and Gosford Park, Catriona McPherson has charmed readers everywhere with her fun and clever series set in 1920s Scotland. In this new adventure, witty, aristocratic sleuth Dandy Gilver travels to an all-girls school in the small seaside town of Portpatrick to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend who taught there. Soon, Dandy discovers that her missing chum is not the only thing that's off in Portpatrick. Other teachers have been disappearing at an alarming rate. The BBC has optioned the Dandy Gilver series for television, and mystery fans will love Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses, the newest excursion with Scotland's most charming sleuth.
November 27, 2013
Dandy and Alec are hired to find an old friend from her childhood, but Fleur has changed drastically. The wealthy, carefree girl is now a teacher who leads a quiet, almost nunlike, life in one of the strangest girls' schools Dandy has ever seen. Dandy manages to get a job as a schoolmistress, although she's totally unqualified for the job, and Alec is asked to look for a missing local woman whose daughter goes to the school. Dandy's sense of upper-class entitlement is less grating in this than in some of the earlier books, but a reader new to the series would have trouble figuring out just what is the relationship between her and Alec.
March 12, 2014
Dandy and her assistant Alec, are called to St. Columbia's School for Young Ladies to search for Dandy's childhood friend Fleur. When she arrives, she finds that Fleur has disappeared and that there have been vast disappearances of teachers from the school. A woman's body washes up on the beach and Dandy rushes to see if the body is that of Fleur. She is relieved to find that it isn't but the wife of the local fish shop owner is missing also. Dandy gets hired as a French tutor and then, when the English teacher disappears, his moved to English. This is a fun book with a lot of twists and turns but Dandy sorts it out in her own quirky way.
May 31, 2014
Set in Scotland in the early 1930's between world wars, Dandy Gilver and her partner have formed a detective agency, much to her long suffering husband's dismay. When old childhood friends appeal to her to find their younger sister and prevent her going off the deep end and running away from the school where she is an English mistress. When Dandy and Dennis arrive on the scene they discover much more then a charming girls school and are soon chasing fraud, blackmailers and murderers. Good plot and a quaint look at the upper class English gentry with a shadow of another world war in the offing.
November 27, 2014
I'm getting these from the library and have given up on getting the right ones at the right time so to speak - but as it happens this is the book after the last Dandy I read (which still leaves me with a big old gap earlier on in the series!) so this was a little bit of good luck.
I enjoyed Dandy's latest mystery - she's looking into the disappearances of school mistresses from a boarding school where one of her childhood friends has been working. I found the twists and turns in this quite ingenious and I still love Dandy and Alec's sparky relationship. A nice fun (!) murder mystery.
I enjoyed Dandy's latest mystery - she's looking into the disappearances of school mistresses from a boarding school where one of her childhood friends has been working. I found the twists and turns in this quite ingenious and I still love Dandy and Alec's sparky relationship. A nice fun (!) murder mystery.
July 22, 2014
If you like the time between the two world wars - especially in Scotland - a sleuthing duo, wit mixed with murder, then you'll adore this award-winning book. The series has garnered lots of attention and this book and author have earned their recognition and awards. Smart, humorous, details true to the time and place, a plot and crowd of nicely shaped characters: the reader is kept mystified and entertained all along the way.
March 10, 2015
I want to like these books. I keep going back to the series, hoping I'll pick up the thread that makes the connection to Phryne Fisher and Maisse Dobbs. But I just don't see it. I don't like the way Dandy pushes her business partner around and I don't like the half-finished routes through the culverts and crossings of a good mystery. I think I can now resist temptation to pick up the next in the series. Bah humbug.
March 3, 2014
Totally forgot i had read any of this series before when i picked it up. I found it less engaging than the previous book and just sorta gradually stopped reading it. Not horrible or anything, just didn't have a character or developing plot that really pulled me in -- instead there was a lot of mind-boggling ditziness that pushed me away rather than amusing me.
March 22, 2013
I love this series and thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mystery was a good one, and I simply adore Dandy. We get to know her better with every novel. I love her wit, her pragmatism and I'm very touched each time we get a deeper glimpse into her life and thoughts.
September 24, 2014
I enjoyed this in the same way that I enjoy all of the Dandy Gilver books I've read so far. Not a scary mystery but not one that I could figure out on my own either with all the twists and turns. Easy reading that made me want to get back to it.
April 1, 2014
Ms McPherson is back on form with this Dandy Gilver mystery. Good plot, great setting, and a wonderful sense of humour made this work for me. The author's evocation of Scotland between the two world wars feels spot on. A lot of fun.
April 10, 2015
A good mystery that kept you guessing! Also, funny incidents which the last few books have been lacking. Dandy goes undercover for a brief time at a girls school.
Fans of Maisie Dobbs would probably like this series. Less cerebral but but the same sense of competence and independence.
Fans of Maisie Dobbs would probably like this series. Less cerebral but but the same sense of competence and independence.
June 5, 2015
I had never come across the author before but liked the title when I saw this in the library. It's a comfortable lighthearted read set in the late 1920s featuring a female private detective in Scotland. Dandy is short for Dandelion! I will look for the other books in this series.
January 1, 2014
These books are a treat. I really enjoy the seemingly artless dialogue and observations planted amidst a nicely done mystery in a great historical setting.
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