The Burry Man's Day

This book was so enjoyable I hated to put it down. I hope someone makes a mini-series of these Dandy Gilver books, she is a great character.

The Burry Man's Day by Catriona McPherson is the second book in the Dandy Gilver series. I've been reading lots of cozy mysteries that take place in late Victorian to Edwardian times, and this series truly stands out from the pack. Dandy is an upper-class socialite with two boys she's happy to leave in the care of their nanny and a husband she has a tolerant affection for, but she's looking for more out of her life. Nothing too serious though, she is altogether too sophisticated for heavy thought. Dandy is spending a holiday at her friend Buttercup's new castle in Scotland. A local festival involving a Burry Man has become controversial with the advent of the Temperance movement. When the Burry Man drops dead in front of the entire town, Dandy determines to discover who murdered the poor man. McPherson's character are on occasion stereotypes, but she infuses them with such charm that all is forgiven. She has a terrific ear for dialogue, and the witty repastes that fly between characters readily brought a smile to my face. Dandy is always ready with droll and often self-deprecating asides. Her sheer honesty about her ambivalence toward her husband and children is endearing, as awful as that sounds. I became frustrated in the middle of the book when Dandy seemed to be deliberately ignoring a vital clue, but the fast paced climax and unexpected twist at the end more than made up for it. While Dandy is a cozy character, McPherson manages to throw in a few serious elements that are all the more powerful because of the light tone of the book. The book is entirely satisfying and definitely worth the read.