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Dandy Gilver #15
The Mirror Dance
'The ever-witty McPherson has outdone herself' Scottish Field'All the wit and clever plotting fans of Christie could want' My Weekly Special*Winner of Left Coast Crime's Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel*Something sinister is afoot in the streets of Dundee, when a puppeteer is found murdered behind his striped Punch and Judy stand, as children sit cross-legged drinking ginger beer. At once, Dandy Gilver's seemingly-innocuous investigation into plagiarism takes a darker turn. The gruesome death seems to be inextricably bound to the gloomy offices of Doig's Publishers, its secrets hidden in the real stories behind their girls' magazines The Rosie Cheek and The Freckle. On meeting a mysterious professor from St Andrews, Dandy and her faithful colleague Alex Osbourne are flung into the worlds of academia, the theatre and publishing. Nothing is quite as it seems, and behind the cheerful facades of puppets and comic books, is a troubled history has begun to repeat itself.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2021
25 people are currently reading
213 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 44 reviews
March 6, 2021
Set in Scotland this is my first instalment in Catriona McPherson's series featuring Dandy Gilver. In this novel, it's early August in the holiday season and kites are being flown, children are playing hopscotch and a group of Dundee townsfolk is gathering for the Punch and Judy show. Dandy Gilver has been alerted to a possible case of plagiarism and is watching the proceedings and drinking tea. In the intermission, Dandy goes to speak to the puppeteer but finds a body seeping blood, his neck slashed.
Catriona McPherson's writing is wonderfully evocative of a bygone era and totally drew me in. Grandmother and sleuth Dandy Gilver lives on a country estate in Scotland. She and her male, loyal friend and neighbour, Alec Osborne have had success in solving mysteries with some assistance from her busy husband Hugh and her maid, Grant. I took great enjoyment from spending a few hours in the pockets of Dandy, trying to look for and decipher clues, amongst the red herrings and misdirections. Full of dry wit, although The Mirror Dance is book fifteen in the series, I found it a great read as a stand-alone. I loved Bunty, Dandy's dalmatian, too!
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
Catriona McPherson's writing is wonderfully evocative of a bygone era and totally drew me in. Grandmother and sleuth Dandy Gilver lives on a country estate in Scotland. She and her male, loyal friend and neighbour, Alec Osborne have had success in solving mysteries with some assistance from her busy husband Hugh and her maid, Grant. I took great enjoyment from spending a few hours in the pockets of Dandy, trying to look for and decipher clues, amongst the red herrings and misdirections. Full of dry wit, although The Mirror Dance is book fifteen in the series, I found it a great read as a stand-alone. I loved Bunty, Dandy's dalmatian, too!
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
November 25, 2021
4.5 stars rounded up! This book is phenomenal! It is intriguing, gripping, full of twists and turns, engaging, witty, and so much more! Whenever I picked up "The Mirror Dance", I was whisked back in time to the late 1930s in Scotland, put on my sleuthing hat, and went on quite the detective investigation with this story.
This is the 15th book in Catriona Mcpherson's "Dandy Gilver" mystery series, but the first I have read. I think the book can work as as stand-alone novel. However, there were a few moments where I feel like past books in the series were referenced that I didn't quite understand, and there were times when I wasn't entirely sure who some characters were. However, the author does a great job of quickly filling the reader in, and, after a quick google search of the main characters in the series, my questions were completely answered! Even with all of this said, none of it took away from how gripped I was by the book. Ms. McPherson's writing style is incredibly visceral, and every moment throughout her story jumps right off of the page. She brilliantly weaves a mystery (or mysteries!) that keep the reader on the edge of their seat from the first page to the last. I felt that each piece of the puzzle fell into place in exactly the moment it needed to be revealed, and I so look forward to going back and reading the previous books in the series too!
Dandy, a private investigator, is asked to attend a puppet show and ask that copyrighted characters stop being used. She is soon shocked to see that the man whom she is supposed to speak to has been murdered during the show, and no one saw the killer. As she and her fellow private detective Alec begin to investigate further, more and more clues begin to spring up and further complicate the case. As they are led to publishers, a college, theatres, and much more, nothing seems to make sense, and clue upon clue seems to point to a coincidence, or more than one possibility as to whodunit. Are the various mysteries connected in any way? And if so, how? Is there more going on than meets the eye? You will just have to read to find out!
If you enjoy historical mysteries, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages chapter after chapter to see what would happen next, and I could not put it down! There were quite a few times I thought I had the mystery figured out...and I most certainly did not! My mouth dropped quite a few times...and I was SHOCKED!
Thank you so much to Mobius Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, and to Mobius Books for sending me a beautiful finished copy! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This is the 15th book in Catriona Mcpherson's "Dandy Gilver" mystery series, but the first I have read. I think the book can work as as stand-alone novel. However, there were a few moments where I feel like past books in the series were referenced that I didn't quite understand, and there were times when I wasn't entirely sure who some characters were. However, the author does a great job of quickly filling the reader in, and, after a quick google search of the main characters in the series, my questions were completely answered! Even with all of this said, none of it took away from how gripped I was by the book. Ms. McPherson's writing style is incredibly visceral, and every moment throughout her story jumps right off of the page. She brilliantly weaves a mystery (or mysteries!) that keep the reader on the edge of their seat from the first page to the last. I felt that each piece of the puzzle fell into place in exactly the moment it needed to be revealed, and I so look forward to going back and reading the previous books in the series too!
Dandy, a private investigator, is asked to attend a puppet show and ask that copyrighted characters stop being used. She is soon shocked to see that the man whom she is supposed to speak to has been murdered during the show, and no one saw the killer. As she and her fellow private detective Alec begin to investigate further, more and more clues begin to spring up and further complicate the case. As they are led to publishers, a college, theatres, and much more, nothing seems to make sense, and clue upon clue seems to point to a coincidence, or more than one possibility as to whodunit. Are the various mysteries connected in any way? And if so, how? Is there more going on than meets the eye? You will just have to read to find out!
If you enjoy historical mysteries, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages chapter after chapter to see what would happen next, and I could not put it down! There were quite a few times I thought I had the mystery figured out...and I most certainly did not! My mouth dropped quite a few times...and I was SHOCKED!
Thank you so much to Mobius Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, and to Mobius Books for sending me a beautiful finished copy! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
March 19, 2021
Such a delight to be back in the world of discreet sleuth, Dandy Gilver, and her trusted colleague, Alec Osborne. It is the summer of 1937 when Dandy receives an urgent call from a Dundee publisher pressing upon Dandy to get an itinerant puppeteer to cease and desist the use of proprietary characters in his Punch and Judy presentation. So Dandy treats her female staff to an outing in the park to see the show while she assesses the situation. Oddly, the characters in question never make an appearance in the performance. And sadly, the curtain came down and there was no second act. Something nefarious is certainly afoot and Dandy with her partner Alec, are on the case.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series since day one and the latest installment is as witty and entertaining as all the rest. This story is based on solid historical research which is worked into a spectacularly spun tale. If creatively conceived, well written historical mysteries are your cup of tea, then settle in and pour yourself a cuppa.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series since day one and the latest installment is as witty and entertaining as all the rest. This story is based on solid historical research which is worked into a spectacularly spun tale. If creatively conceived, well written historical mysteries are your cup of tea, then settle in and pour yourself a cuppa.
January 21, 2021
2020 has been the year that resurrected my love of the historical mystery aka the cosy mystery. In my teens and 20s I devoured some of the greats: Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, Dorothy L Sayers etc. If there was a member of the British aristocracy solving a crime then I loved it. Time passed, my tastes changed, and TBH they all started to feel a bit same-same. Then 2020 happened and suddenly all I wanted to read (apparently) were historical detective stories. Ashley Weaver, Allison Montclair and Anna Lee Huber appeared on my radar. I think the stylistic covers drew me in to start with. Anyhoo, a long-winded way of explaining why I requested an ARC of this book, despite it being the 15th book in the series!
Dandy Gilver lives on a country estate in Scotland. A 50-something year old woman with a husband and adult children, in fact a grandmother. She and a (younger) male neighbour called Alec have had some success in solving mysteries with, I gather, some assistance from her husband Hugh and her lady's maid Grant. One sleepy Sunday afternoon Dandy receives a call from a magazine owner in Dundee asking her to intervene with a Punch and Judy show which is using copyrighted images of their cartoon characters in its act.
A rainy Bank Holiday Monday excursion with her female employees to Dundee to see the Punch and Judy show ends in tragedy when Dandy discovers his body, foully murdered (as they say). An impossible murder, with an invisible murderer in front of an observant audience, a plethora of red herrings and impossibilities, a link to a similar murder 50 years earlier and a behind-the-scenes look at the art of the theatre.
I came to this book fresh and, although it is the 15th book in a series, I found it easy to read as a stand-alone. I love the harking back to a different era, with different moral values, different standards and yet still an era in a state of change.
On to the mystery, I was on the right lines, I caught some of the clues, and yet I didn't guess the murderer. Satisfying, plausible, clever and ultimately satisfying. I will definitely read more of this series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Dandy Gilver lives on a country estate in Scotland. A 50-something year old woman with a husband and adult children, in fact a grandmother. She and a (younger) male neighbour called Alec have had some success in solving mysteries with, I gather, some assistance from her husband Hugh and her lady's maid Grant. One sleepy Sunday afternoon Dandy receives a call from a magazine owner in Dundee asking her to intervene with a Punch and Judy show which is using copyrighted images of their cartoon characters in its act.
A rainy Bank Holiday Monday excursion with her female employees to Dundee to see the Punch and Judy show ends in tragedy when Dandy discovers his body, foully murdered (as they say). An impossible murder, with an invisible murderer in front of an observant audience, a plethora of red herrings and impossibilities, a link to a similar murder 50 years earlier and a behind-the-scenes look at the art of the theatre.
I came to this book fresh and, although it is the 15th book in a series, I found it easy to read as a stand-alone. I love the harking back to a different era, with different moral values, different standards and yet still an era in a state of change.
On to the mystery, I was on the right lines, I caught some of the clues, and yet I didn't guess the murderer. Satisfying, plausible, clever and ultimately satisfying. I will definitely read more of this series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
April 14, 2021
I’ve read some of the Dandy Gilver mysteries by Catriona McPherson, set in the 1920s and 1930s Scotland. The Mirror Dance is the 15th book. The last one I read was the 6th, a few years ago now, so when I saw it on NetGalley I requested it. I was pleased to find, that although I’d missed so many of the books in the series, it’s easy to read as a standalone.
It begins on an August Bank Holiday weekend in 1937, when Dandy (short for Dandelion Dahlia!), a private detective, receives a phone call from Miss Sandy Bissett, a magazine publisher in Dundee. She asks Dandy to go to Dudhope Park to warn the Punch and Judy man there that he is infringing copyrighted property as he is using two of the magazine’s cartoon characters, Rosie Cheeke and Freckles in his show. So, the next day, Bank Holiday Monday, together with her female staff, Grant, her lady’s maid, Becky her housemaid and Mrs Tilling, her cook, Dandy goes to Dundee to see the puppet show, looking out for the appearance of the magazine characters.
But during the show, the puppet Scaramouche extended his neck upwards, unfolding from pleats like an accordion and then stayed still like a tableau. The children lost interest and the adults were grumbling. When Dandy and Grant went to the back of the Punch and Judy tent they found the puppeteer slumped dead behind the scene, with his throat cut. The police are called but Dandy and her partner, Alec take it upon themselves to investigate the murder, an apparently impossible murder, with no signs of the murderer, and no one knew the puppeteer’s name.
I liked the setting. There is a good sense of location in Dundee in the 1930s, when the effects of the First World War were still lingering and the threat of another war was on the horizon. This is a convoluted murder mystery, where there is more than meets the eye. There is a lot of detail about the publishing industry and the theatrical world of the time which was interesting, but overall the amount of detail of everyday life, with all its sights and smells, slowed the book down too much for me.
There are several complications, red herrings and apparent impossibilities and I was puzzled about the relevance of a murder 50 years earlier in the same park, of an earlier Punch and Judy man. I became a bit lost in the detail about the number of women suspects Dandy and Alec consider – there were two, and then perhaps there were three. Who were they and what was the motive for the murder? Gradually that became clear, but I got exasperated at the number of times Dandy and the others went over and over what was happening, working out how it could have happened and why. Although some of it is confusing and I hadn’t worked out the identity of the murderer some of it seemed so obvious to me that I couldn’t see why it took them so long to work it out. So, although I enjoyed the actual murder mystery and the mirror dance aspect, where everything is turned on its head, I did not enjoy how it was told.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for my review copy.
It begins on an August Bank Holiday weekend in 1937, when Dandy (short for Dandelion Dahlia!), a private detective, receives a phone call from Miss Sandy Bissett, a magazine publisher in Dundee. She asks Dandy to go to Dudhope Park to warn the Punch and Judy man there that he is infringing copyrighted property as he is using two of the magazine’s cartoon characters, Rosie Cheeke and Freckles in his show. So, the next day, Bank Holiday Monday, together with her female staff, Grant, her lady’s maid, Becky her housemaid and Mrs Tilling, her cook, Dandy goes to Dundee to see the puppet show, looking out for the appearance of the magazine characters.
But during the show, the puppet Scaramouche extended his neck upwards, unfolding from pleats like an accordion and then stayed still like a tableau. The children lost interest and the adults were grumbling. When Dandy and Grant went to the back of the Punch and Judy tent they found the puppeteer slumped dead behind the scene, with his throat cut. The police are called but Dandy and her partner, Alec take it upon themselves to investigate the murder, an apparently impossible murder, with no signs of the murderer, and no one knew the puppeteer’s name.
I liked the setting. There is a good sense of location in Dundee in the 1930s, when the effects of the First World War were still lingering and the threat of another war was on the horizon. This is a convoluted murder mystery, where there is more than meets the eye. There is a lot of detail about the publishing industry and the theatrical world of the time which was interesting, but overall the amount of detail of everyday life, with all its sights and smells, slowed the book down too much for me.
There are several complications, red herrings and apparent impossibilities and I was puzzled about the relevance of a murder 50 years earlier in the same park, of an earlier Punch and Judy man. I became a bit lost in the detail about the number of women suspects Dandy and Alec consider – there were two, and then perhaps there were three. Who were they and what was the motive for the murder? Gradually that became clear, but I got exasperated at the number of times Dandy and the others went over and over what was happening, working out how it could have happened and why. Although some of it is confusing and I hadn’t worked out the identity of the murderer some of it seemed so obvious to me that I couldn’t see why it took them so long to work it out. So, although I enjoyed the actual murder mystery and the mirror dance aspect, where everything is turned on its head, I did not enjoy how it was told.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for my review copy.
February 7, 2021
This is the second book I read in this series and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's a complex, humorous, engrossing and highly entertaining mystery that kept me hooked.
The plot is tightly knitted, fast paced and very complex with plenty of red herring, twists and turns.
I was happy to catch up with the characters and I found them fleshed out and likable.
The historical background is vivid and the solid mystery kept me guessing and I was surprised the the solution.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's a complex, humorous, engrossing and highly entertaining mystery that kept me hooked.
The plot is tightly knitted, fast paced and very complex with plenty of red herring, twists and turns.
I was happy to catch up with the characters and I found them fleshed out and likable.
The historical background is vivid and the solid mystery kept me guessing and I was surprised the the solution.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
June 24, 2022
Dandy Gilver, and her newly engaged business partner Alec, find themselves involved in the worlds of popular magazines and street performers when Dandy is asked to end a copyright violation and finds a corpse. What's more, there seems to be an invisible murderer, an almost motiveless murder which occurred exactly fifty years after an identical murder of a man with the same name! The victim's brother, a professor at St. Andrew's, is griefstricken but offers his help, as does Dandy's lady's maid Grant, who has connections in the theatrical world. Delightful, as always, but I can't believe that our detectives overlooked the clues the way they did.
February 11, 2022
This is an English mystery set in the 1930’s in Scotland and deals with
Puppets, publishing houses, actors, magic, changes, and fooling people,
As well as perceptions. Dandy Gilver and her colleague Alec Osborne
Work together to solve this case of who killed the puppet master. There
Are many twists and turns and clues and red herrings and misdirections
In this book. It was well written if you enjoy past era charm. This was the
first book I’ve read by this author and has the dry wit and humor of the
English. All came clear at the end. It was a different sort of read for me.
Puppets, publishing houses, actors, magic, changes, and fooling people,
As well as perceptions. Dandy Gilver and her colleague Alec Osborne
Work together to solve this case of who killed the puppet master. There
Are many twists and turns and clues and red herrings and misdirections
In this book. It was well written if you enjoy past era charm. This was the
first book I’ve read by this author and has the dry wit and humor of the
English. All came clear at the end. It was a different sort of read for me.
July 19, 2021
I'm a huge fan of the Dandy Gilver series and always seize on the latest as soon as it arrives. This latest instalment is set mostly in Dundee and involves a Punch and Judy show and a publishing house.
As with Amy Stewart's Kopp sisters series, also period crime, I find myself unbothered about historical accuracy. If the characters I've become so attached to continue to be their adorable selves and the mystery is reasonably engaging, plus ideally there's a colourful setting, that will do nicely.
In the case of Dandy Gilver, it's the dour Scottish settings and the dry humour with which Dandy comments on her adopted home country that I love. I also relish her commentary on the absurdities of early 20th-century etiquette from the perspective of a highly intelligent married woman whose freedom to act on her intelligence is severely constrained by the aristocratic world she was born and married into. But most of all I love Dandy herself, her dogs, her irritable husband Hugh and most of all her joyously unconventional friendship with Alec, a man ten years her junior and a delightfully intelligent, kind and funny friend and detective partner, in a time when friendships across genders were rare, and presumably detective partnerships even more so.
Because of this wonderfully unusual friendship (I'm unconvinced that Dandy could really get away with travelling around the country unchaperoned with Alec, despite her married state), I live in dread of the day when Alec marries, and being rich and eligible, as well as young and handsome, he is bound to. Dandy dreads it too and there are ominous loomings of a young woman named Poppy in The Mirror Dances which worry us both. In the meantime though, there's a murder mystery to be solved and the usual entertaining gallery of characters, along with a spate of clues, some missed by Dandy and offered to the reader to collect ahead of her in traditional crime novel fashion.
It all makes for an entertaining puzzle and I can't wait for the next, even though we continue to feel the ominous approach of the Second World War. I do feel the author may have missed a trick in hastening us so rapidly along the historical timeline. The first novel, After The Armistice Ball, was obviously set in 1919 and Dandy's children were under ten, but after only two or three sequels, the sons were suddenly at university and since this point we have been edging reluctantly towards WW2. Progress has been slow but we will get there eventually and in hindsight, a few extra adventures in the early days of the Twenties might have been more fun.
Overall this is an entertaining entry in a delightful series. Period crime series are everywhere now but I do think this one is particularly high quality and I hope Dandy's adventures continue well past WW2 and into the comparative safety of the Fifties. I'm sure Dandy will have lots of drily apt things to say about rationing, for a start.
As with Amy Stewart's Kopp sisters series, also period crime, I find myself unbothered about historical accuracy. If the characters I've become so attached to continue to be their adorable selves and the mystery is reasonably engaging, plus ideally there's a colourful setting, that will do nicely.
In the case of Dandy Gilver, it's the dour Scottish settings and the dry humour with which Dandy comments on her adopted home country that I love. I also relish her commentary on the absurdities of early 20th-century etiquette from the perspective of a highly intelligent married woman whose freedom to act on her intelligence is severely constrained by the aristocratic world she was born and married into. But most of all I love Dandy herself, her dogs, her irritable husband Hugh and most of all her joyously unconventional friendship with Alec, a man ten years her junior and a delightfully intelligent, kind and funny friend and detective partner, in a time when friendships across genders were rare, and presumably detective partnerships even more so.
Because of this wonderfully unusual friendship (I'm unconvinced that Dandy could really get away with travelling around the country unchaperoned with Alec, despite her married state), I live in dread of the day when Alec marries, and being rich and eligible, as well as young and handsome, he is bound to. Dandy dreads it too and there are ominous loomings of a young woman named Poppy in The Mirror Dances which worry us both. In the meantime though, there's a murder mystery to be solved and the usual entertaining gallery of characters, along with a spate of clues, some missed by Dandy and offered to the reader to collect ahead of her in traditional crime novel fashion.
It all makes for an entertaining puzzle and I can't wait for the next, even though we continue to feel the ominous approach of the Second World War. I do feel the author may have missed a trick in hastening us so rapidly along the historical timeline. The first novel, After The Armistice Ball, was obviously set in 1919 and Dandy's children were under ten, but after only two or three sequels, the sons were suddenly at university and since this point we have been edging reluctantly towards WW2. Progress has been slow but we will get there eventually and in hindsight, a few extra adventures in the early days of the Twenties might have been more fun.
Overall this is an entertaining entry in a delightful series. Period crime series are everywhere now but I do think this one is particularly high quality and I hope Dandy's adventures continue well past WW2 and into the comparative safety of the Fifties. I'm sure Dandy will have lots of drily apt things to say about rationing, for a start.
December 22, 2021
A nice mystery and great historical background….
I had read several early titles in Catriona McPherson’s Dandy Gilver series back in “real paperback book” days, and remember them fondly. However during my transition to reading e-books almost exclusively, I had somehow kind of lost track of this series. So I was happy to be offered a review copy of the newest book in the series, The Mirror Dance. And I liked it a lot.
McPherson does a really nice job of mingling an intriguing mystery (who killed the Punch and Judy man in the park, and how, and why) with some fascinating period descriptions about the publishing industry and theatre performers in the days between the wars. Miss Sandy Bissett is an unusual client for Dandy and her investigative partner, Alec Osborne. She runs Doig’s, a small publisher with a line of girls’ comics about a character named Rosie Cheeke. Someone has reported that the Punch and Judy man in the local park is violating Doig’s copyright by using characters from the comic in his show, and since Doig’s can’t afford a lawyer, Miss Bissett hopes to get Dandy to talk to him instead, so he’ll desist. This isn’t the kind of thing Dandy usually does, but she agrees to give it a try. Things get complicated though when the Punch and Judy man is murdered before Dandy can speak with him - in the middle of his show, apparently without anyone approaching his cart. Then strange things start happening at Doig’s, and at a larger publisher, DCT, and Dandy, Alec, Grant and the rest of the crew have to figure out what is really going on.
McPherson has a really nice touch with the characters and the plot, and doesn’t bore with the background. I ended up reading this in only a couple of sittings and found myself hoping for more. Now I’m going to go back and read the books I had skipped. Please keep in mind that I try to fight star-flation a bit, and so I don’t give a lot of 5-star reviews. So 4-stars is a really solid recommendation to read The Mirror Dance. And my thanks go to Mobius Books and NetGalley for the review copy.
I had read several early titles in Catriona McPherson’s Dandy Gilver series back in “real paperback book” days, and remember them fondly. However during my transition to reading e-books almost exclusively, I had somehow kind of lost track of this series. So I was happy to be offered a review copy of the newest book in the series, The Mirror Dance. And I liked it a lot.
McPherson does a really nice job of mingling an intriguing mystery (who killed the Punch and Judy man in the park, and how, and why) with some fascinating period descriptions about the publishing industry and theatre performers in the days between the wars. Miss Sandy Bissett is an unusual client for Dandy and her investigative partner, Alec Osborne. She runs Doig’s, a small publisher with a line of girls’ comics about a character named Rosie Cheeke. Someone has reported that the Punch and Judy man in the local park is violating Doig’s copyright by using characters from the comic in his show, and since Doig’s can’t afford a lawyer, Miss Bissett hopes to get Dandy to talk to him instead, so he’ll desist. This isn’t the kind of thing Dandy usually does, but she agrees to give it a try. Things get complicated though when the Punch and Judy man is murdered before Dandy can speak with him - in the middle of his show, apparently without anyone approaching his cart. Then strange things start happening at Doig’s, and at a larger publisher, DCT, and Dandy, Alec, Grant and the rest of the crew have to figure out what is really going on.
McPherson has a really nice touch with the characters and the plot, and doesn’t bore with the background. I ended up reading this in only a couple of sittings and found myself hoping for more. Now I’m going to go back and read the books I had skipped. Please keep in mind that I try to fight star-flation a bit, and so I don’t give a lot of 5-star reviews. So 4-stars is a really solid recommendation to read The Mirror Dance. And my thanks go to Mobius Books and NetGalley for the review copy.
April 13, 2023
The Mirror Dance has Dandy, Alec, and readers questioning everything they see. This is the fifteenth novel in the series, and when not scratching your head trying to identify the killer, you’ll be laughing at author Catriona McPherson’s incredible whit. It’s a terrific historical mystery series, especially for those who like to keep one foot above and one below stairs!
Dandy Gilver sets out to confront a traveling Punch and Judy man about a simple, straightforward case of plagiarism. Her client was direct; Dandy had to talk to the man and ensure he stopped infringing on the rights of the local family-run publisher, Doig’s.
In the summertime shade of Dundee city park, Dandy finds happy children enjoying the show but fails to see evidence that the performer uses puppets that don’t belong to him. At intermission, she goes to the man’s tent to deliver her client’s message. Unfortunately, someone got there first—with a fatal message.
Dandy summons her faithful colleague Alec Osborne, and the two private detectives set out to determine how the puppeteer died. No one had the opportunity to slip into his tent during the show, but they did: the knife wound is irrefutable evidence.
With scant help from the police, Dandy and Alec immerse themselves in the publishing business: the gloomy offices, hallways, and oppressively noisy presses of Doig’s. They discover that the publication’s cheerful, entertaining stories in The Rosie Cheek and The Freckle series might hide a dark tale.
Dandy’s and Alec’s case becomes further jumbled by the appearance of the victim’s bereaved brother and, shortly afterward, the dead man’s mysterious girlfriend. Soon, Dandy and Alec are racing from the printing press to the world of academia to dressing rooms of local theaters, searching for their killer. But when the missing Rosie and Freckle puppets turn up in a staff room at Doig’s, Dandy and Alec fear someone has changed the script.
Dandy Gilver sets out to confront a traveling Punch and Judy man about a simple, straightforward case of plagiarism. Her client was direct; Dandy had to talk to the man and ensure he stopped infringing on the rights of the local family-run publisher, Doig’s.
In the summertime shade of Dundee city park, Dandy finds happy children enjoying the show but fails to see evidence that the performer uses puppets that don’t belong to him. At intermission, she goes to the man’s tent to deliver her client’s message. Unfortunately, someone got there first—with a fatal message.
Dandy summons her faithful colleague Alec Osborne, and the two private detectives set out to determine how the puppeteer died. No one had the opportunity to slip into his tent during the show, but they did: the knife wound is irrefutable evidence.
With scant help from the police, Dandy and Alec immerse themselves in the publishing business: the gloomy offices, hallways, and oppressively noisy presses of Doig’s. They discover that the publication’s cheerful, entertaining stories in The Rosie Cheek and The Freckle series might hide a dark tale.
Dandy’s and Alec’s case becomes further jumbled by the appearance of the victim’s bereaved brother and, shortly afterward, the dead man’s mysterious girlfriend. Soon, Dandy and Alec are racing from the printing press to the world of academia to dressing rooms of local theaters, searching for their killer. But when the missing Rosie and Freckle puppets turn up in a staff room at Doig’s, Dandy and Alec fear someone has changed the script.
October 28, 2021
I read the first five books in this series and then just lost track of them. It was interesting to pick up this 15th book in the series and find that I still remembered all the principal characters. This one takes place in 1937, the Bank Holiday in August. I am glad to see that Catriona McPherson has kept the series feeling fresh and relevant to the characters. Scotland is well represented without having pages and pages of landscape or city streets described for the reader. Dandy Gilver is feeling a bit bored so she agrees to take on something very different from her usual detecting antics when she receives a phone call from a woman she has never met. Dandy loads the motorcar with her cook, the housemaid and her personal maid, Grant, and goes in search of a specific Punch and Judy show. From that humble beginning the past comes roaring back, changing the lives of a great many people.
This was a good reading experience, just as those first books in the series were. The crime is interestingly laid out for readers and piqued my interest quickly. Plot lines and explanations did seem to get tangled up pretty thoroughly and made me have to wait for the solution when the author chose to reveal it. There is talk of the possibility of war in Europe in the near future so the author has a wide range of problems and locations to pick from when coming up with the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mobius Books for an e-galley of this novel.
This was a good reading experience, just as those first books in the series were. The crime is interestingly laid out for readers and piqued my interest quickly. Plot lines and explanations did seem to get tangled up pretty thoroughly and made me have to wait for the solution when the author chose to reveal it. There is talk of the possibility of war in Europe in the near future so the author has a wide range of problems and locations to pick from when coming up with the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mobius Books for an e-galley of this novel.
November 22, 2021
Long ago I read the first books in this series but then somehow lost track of the next entries. When I saw The Mirror Dance available for request I recalled having enjoyed those early titles. This was an entertaining read and now I want to go back and catch up.
Set in Dundee and involving the publishing business and a Punch and Judy copyright dispute it was an entertaining and very well written mystery. Going back to an earlier more carefree time, Dandy is a middle-aged woman, married with grown children and twin grandchildren. She also undertakes investigations with her partner, Alec Osborne. Deciding to take the case she makes an outing of it with her household staff and it's the August Bank Holiday and they had been promised a half day off. Little did they foresee that a murder would occur. The Punch and Judy puppeteer - a nasty piece of work by all accounts - has his throat slit while the audience sits out front. Dandy is the one who discovers the body and the simple cease and desist case heats up.
The mystery kept me engaged to the last page with enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep me guessing wrong many times. Dandy, her husband Hugh, her maid Grant, the butler Pallister and Alec plus assorted other characters all came across as well developed people. After enjoying this entry so much I'm looking forward to reading the books I missed.
My thanks to the publisher, Mobius Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Set in Dundee and involving the publishing business and a Punch and Judy copyright dispute it was an entertaining and very well written mystery. Going back to an earlier more carefree time, Dandy is a middle-aged woman, married with grown children and twin grandchildren. She also undertakes investigations with her partner, Alec Osborne. Deciding to take the case she makes an outing of it with her household staff and it's the August Bank Holiday and they had been promised a half day off. Little did they foresee that a murder would occur. The Punch and Judy puppeteer - a nasty piece of work by all accounts - has his throat slit while the audience sits out front. Dandy is the one who discovers the body and the simple cease and desist case heats up.
The mystery kept me engaged to the last page with enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep me guessing wrong many times. Dandy, her husband Hugh, her maid Grant, the butler Pallister and Alec plus assorted other characters all came across as well developed people. After enjoying this entry so much I'm looking forward to reading the books I missed.
My thanks to the publisher, Mobius Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
February 8, 2021
This book was my introduction to this series, but I was able to get stuck in straight away. There is no doubt an added richness from following the series from its start, but the degree of enjoyment is not affected in the slightest. This is a charming and clever book.
I like how it’s a mix of factual setting in the publishing industry in Dundee, and fiction. And there’s another element too. Stories set in this era always have an added poignancy. People are so optimistic after pulling their lives and society back together after the first world war. The reader knows that everything is about to come tumbling down again. The genteel ways of the upper middle class and above, with their households of servants and gardeners, are about to end forever. This is the atmosphere that emerges in this beautiful book.
Dandy is a likeable, energetic heroine, ably assisted by Alex with whom she has a slightly nuanced rapport, and her indomitable maid Grant. Together they wade into this particular mystery with enthusiasm and persistence.
The plot is original and clever, and the story is absorbing and immensely enjoyable.
I like how it’s a mix of factual setting in the publishing industry in Dundee, and fiction. And there’s another element too. Stories set in this era always have an added poignancy. People are so optimistic after pulling their lives and society back together after the first world war. The reader knows that everything is about to come tumbling down again. The genteel ways of the upper middle class and above, with their households of servants and gardeners, are about to end forever. This is the atmosphere that emerges in this beautiful book.
Dandy is a likeable, energetic heroine, ably assisted by Alex with whom she has a slightly nuanced rapport, and her indomitable maid Grant. Together they wade into this particular mystery with enthusiasm and persistence.
The plot is original and clever, and the story is absorbing and immensely enjoyable.
July 17, 2021
Dandy Gilver is back for her fifteenth outting and we are off the exotic Dundee. Dandy is sent to warn off a Punch and Judy man who is using puppets that look like characters in a Dundee comic strip. Taking her ladies (her maid, the cook and her dresser) for a day out Dandy thinks she can get this simple job done without her boy Friday Alec who is busy a wooing an English rose but when it turns into a murder investigation things get serious and the pair set out to solve the case.
This is classic Dandy fare we get a tour of 1930’s Dundee and St Andrews and a potted history of D C Thomson as well as a look at Punch and Judy shows and the demise of variety theatre. It’s McPherson’s writing that brings me back. Dandy is very likeable but she’s not insipid she can be sharp and biting and some of my favourite moments are Dandy in the domestic setting especially Dandy and Hugh getting a bit torrid and then avoiding each other for the next week. Totally relatable.
As for the mystery itself, well it was a bit convoluted and quite obvious in parts but the characters are strong enough to carry it. It also lead to a nice moral dilemma at the end. I do love a moral dilemma.
This is classic Dandy fare we get a tour of 1930’s Dundee and St Andrews and a potted history of D C Thomson as well as a look at Punch and Judy shows and the demise of variety theatre. It’s McPherson’s writing that brings me back. Dandy is very likeable but she’s not insipid she can be sharp and biting and some of my favourite moments are Dandy in the domestic setting especially Dandy and Hugh getting a bit torrid and then avoiding each other for the next week. Totally relatable.
As for the mystery itself, well it was a bit convoluted and quite obvious in parts but the characters are strong enough to carry it. It also lead to a nice moral dilemma at the end. I do love a moral dilemma.
June 15, 2022
This Dandy Gilver mystery is charming, as always. Dandy and Alec are winning and Grant, Dandy's lady's maid, plays a large and welcome role. We are immersed in the magazine publishing business, the grubby side of second rate theaters (in which Grant lends her expertise), and itinerant puppet show men. Two small quibbles: the mystery was a bit scattershot and I'm not convinced that everything hangs together in a cohesive way. and Bunty remains offscreen for 95% of the book. Ms. McPherson does, however, set up some pressing questions in what we can hope is the next series of Gilver stories. Will Alec marry Poppy? Will Dandy's sons serve in, and survive WWII? Will Hugh get his finances together? And, possibly most important, what role will Dandy and Alec play in Britain's upcoming war with Germany and the Axis powers? A strong recommend.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2021
Dandy Gilver is back for her fifteenth outting and we are off the exotic Dundee. Dandy is sent to warn off a Punch and Judy man who is using puppets that look like characters in a Dundee comic strip. Taking her ladies (her maid, the cook and her dresser) for a day out Dandy thinks she can get this simple job done without her boy Friday Alec who is busy a wooing an English rose but when it turns into a murder investigation things get serious and the pair set out to solve the case.
This is classic Dandy fare we get a tour of 1930’s Dundee and St Andrews and a potted history of D C Thomson as well as a look at Punch and Judy shows and the demise of variety theatre. It’s McPherson’s writing that brings me back. Dandy is very likeable but she’s not insipid she can be sharp and biting and some of my favourite moments are Dandy in the domestic setting especially Dandy and Hugh getting a bit torrid and then avoiding each other for the next week. Totally relatable.
As for the mystery itself, well it was a bit convoluted and quite obvious in parts but the characters are strong enough to carry it. It also lead to a nice moral dilemma at the end. I do love a moral dilemma.
This is classic Dandy fare we get a tour of 1930’s Dundee and St Andrews and a potted history of D C Thomson as well as a look at Punch and Judy shows and the demise of variety theatre. It’s McPherson’s writing that brings me back. Dandy is very likeable but she’s not insipid she can be sharp and biting and some of my favourite moments are Dandy in the domestic setting especially Dandy and Hugh getting a bit torrid and then avoiding each other for the next week. Totally relatable.
As for the mystery itself, well it was a bit convoluted and quite obvious in parts but the characters are strong enough to carry it. It also lead to a nice moral dilemma at the end. I do love a moral dilemma.
November 4, 2021
So happy to find this period cozy series set in Dundee! Even though I'd not read any of the preceding books this made for a delightful afternoon read. Dandy and her friend Alex agree to take a look at a puppet show which Sandy Bissett, a publisher, thinks using images owned by the magazine. It's August 1937 and bank holiday weekend so there are lots of people in the park to see the Punch and Judy show- and therefore many suspects when the puppeteer is found with his throat slit! Dandy, Alex, her household staff, and others find themselves on a trip through the darker side of publishing and well, puppetry. There are lots of red herrings and it's a little different from the modern cozy. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fun read and now I'm going to look for more with Dandy.
December 17, 2020
The Mirror Dance is my first encounter with Dandy Gilver, even though this is book 15 of a 1930s mystery series.
The story is told from Dandy Gilver's point of view, and while she does sometimes share thoughts and speech which are a little wordy, it doesn't detract from the storyline, which is satisfying and quite deliciously complex.
Even though the voice of the narrator, Dandy, gives a few hints that all is not as it seems, I genuinely didn't work out what had happened until it was revealed at the end.
A really enjoyable and entertaining read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.
The story is told from Dandy Gilver's point of view, and while she does sometimes share thoughts and speech which are a little wordy, it doesn't detract from the storyline, which is satisfying and quite deliciously complex.
Even though the voice of the narrator, Dandy, gives a few hints that all is not as it seems, I genuinely didn't work out what had happened until it was revealed at the end.
A really enjoyable and entertaining read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.
April 25, 2021
Other than opening with a very weird flare up of jealously from Dandy's husband, and a throw-away private commentary from her on wishful thinking in regards to her relationship with Alex, this mystery is excellent! There's lots to learn about the turn of last Century's publishing industry, and as a fan of typesetting I was engrossed and enthralled throughout. The book ends on a bit of a cliff hanger for Alex, a will-he-or-won't-he get married moment, with an impending visit from a fiance that he seems to have acquired Jeeves and Wooster style--will his handy valet extract him from this relationship in a future book? Or is this the beginning of the end of our favorite pair of sleuths?
September 19, 2021
I enjoyed this, despite feeling, as Dandy did, that there were clues that I was missing...
I'm all for poetic licence with geography and buildings bending a little to further the plot, a theatre still existing when in reality it was now a cinema is fine, it's the same building after all... what I can't allow is 1930s characters driving over a bridge that never existed until 1966! Just sloppy research, especially as the ferry had been mentioned previously. You build a road bridge the ferry, inevitably, sadly, goes out of business. To add insult to injury the back cover features the solitary rail bridge.
I'm all for poetic licence with geography and buildings bending a little to further the plot, a theatre still existing when in reality it was now a cinema is fine, it's the same building after all... what I can't allow is 1930s characters driving over a bridge that never existed until 1966! Just sloppy research, especially as the ferry had been mentioned previously. You build a road bridge the ferry, inevitably, sadly, goes out of business. To add insult to injury the back cover features the solitary rail bridge.
November 3, 2021
I thought that this was an okay mystery book. Quite honestly, I started the book, finished the first chapter, and then didn't come back for another week or so. It just didn't pull me in at all. I liked the characters, for the most part. The thing that really got me at the end is when Alec doesn't talk about why he "forgot" that Poppy was coming to visit him the next day. It just dangles there like a loose thread. I thought the whole concept of the mirror dance was clever, and I didn't guess the culprit until I was told. Very clever. I may be back for more Dandy Gilver.
Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
January 16, 2023
Yet again a lovely, funny and interesting tale as Dandy and Alec explore the world of Punchinella! Dandy is engaged to warn off a Punch and Judy man who has been using the local publisher's copyright characters in his show. However, while she watches the show, he is murdered. There then follows a twisty tale as they try to work out who killed him, and why.
I did actually work out the plot in advance this time, but it didn't detract from the story itself and seeing how the author reached the conclusion. There were some great moments, including when Alec has to make himself step through a door held open by a woman! Priceless.
A great read.
I did actually work out the plot in advance this time, but it didn't detract from the story itself and seeing how the author reached the conclusion. There were some great moments, including when Alec has to make himself step through a door held open by a woman! Priceless.
A great read.
December 5, 2021
You know... it was great. It was a much better installment than the last. However...and it's a big one... what the what with the ending??!! We were going along just fine and then, that's it. Just like that. It felt like someone rang the bell and McPherson just flung one last sentence on the page, pressed send and left to answer the door . It's terrible. Especially after the Gordian knot we just untangled. VERY unsatisfactory. The only thing to redeem it is that there HAS to be another book coming. Because THAT was awful.
July 21, 2022
I have read all the previous books in this series but was a little disappointed with this one. Each book is set a year later than the previous one so this takes place in 1937 with the action mainly being in Dundee and St Andrews. Dandy is present when a Punch and Judy man is murdered in a Dundee park and she and Alec set out to discover the murderer. However the plot is convoluted and I was irritated by the fact that some of the characters told so many lies. Having said that, the author's writing style is charming so that somewhat makes up for the disappointing story.
April 25, 2022
I'm burning to read the next one
But I am unable to be objective about whether these books are good or not at this point so, shrug emoji
I don't know the author or anything I just am weirdly invested in the characters and the emotional arc the author has been stretching out over the whole thing
(Plus, uh, World War II keeps getting closer and closer to happening. The problem with historicals....)
But I am unable to be objective about whether these books are good or not at this point so, shrug emoji
I don't know the author or anything I just am weirdly invested in the characters and the emotional arc the author has been stretching out over the whole thing
(Plus, uh, World War II keeps getting closer and closer to happening. The problem with historicals....)
July 2, 2024
I judged the book by its cover which I think is very beautiful and the mentioning that Agatha Christie fans would love it. The story itself I found interesting enough and the writing too, but I wasn't convinced by the characters, their conversations which often gave me a confused feeling. So my high hopes for the story... well a little bit disappointed. Luckily the end got a bit better and more "Christie" like.
October 12, 2024
Meh. I’m not quite sure why I feel this way about this particular book. I have been loving the series. But I sort of think as it’s evolved and now Grant and others are coming into their own and figuring more heavily into the plots, a bit of Alec and Dandy is lost. And maybe it’s part of the larger picture and plot line. And certainly it fits with how times were changing. Really big changes are on the horizon…but for me, I prefer the earlier books and plots.
March 23, 2022
It’s great to be catching up with Dandy, Alec and Grant. In this installment, Dandy is called in by a magazine publisher to advise a Punch and Judy puppeteer to cease and desist from using the magazine characters in his show. Dandy and members of her staff attend the show. During the performance, there’s a murder. Lots of misdirection, cleaver dialogue and a plot twist or two. Very entertaining!
July 18, 2023
I love this series. But does anyone else find these difficult to follow the plot? I don't know if it's the odd phrasing or what, but sometimes I have to concentrate very hard to understand what's going on.
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