Winter Ground: Catriona McPherson

When a circus comes to spend the winter at the neighboring estate to Gilverton, Dandy Gilver is asked to investigate some worrisome pranks and practical jokes. Then one of the pranks results in a death, and the question becomes, was it an accident or not?

This is the fourth book in the Dandy Gilver Mystery Series, set in 1920s Scotland after WWI. The series features Dandy, wife of Hugh Gilver, owner of the Gilverton estate, and mother of two sons. She is also a private detective, working with her friend Alec Osborne. The series is cozy, with little violence, quirky characters, and a lot of subtle humor.

I had a mixed reaction to the first book of the series, After the Armistice Ball. The story was interesting and nicely paced, but some aspects bothered me. My comments on that book are here. I became much fonder of Dandy in this book than I had been in Book 1. Dandy and her friend Alec are still investigating crimes. Dandy takes it very seriously but her husband, Hugh, is not resigned to the idea. Dandy's two sons are home from school for the holidays and thrilled to visit the circus folk and watch them prepare for a special performance.



It was fun to read about a circus operating in the time frame of this story. The circus people were very interesting and provided a contrast to Dandy's upper-class life. The depiction of Scotland in 1925 is very interesting, the characters are well-done, and the events take place around Christmas and the New Year.

I enjoyed Dandy's thoughts while on a walk in November with her dog, Bunty:

I trudged on, inwardly counting my blessings as Nanny Palmer's early training had left me all but unable not to do. Peace was still on the list even seven years after the armistice that put it  there but it was beginning to lose its place to the everyday: stout shoes, warm clothes, a solid roof awaiting my return, hot coffee – chocolate even, if I asked for it – and health and strength and… I willed my thoughts towards less depressingly wholesome blessings… a new sable-tipped evening wrap, Christmas coming but no family visits coming with it and, next week, Rudolf Valentino at the Cinerama.

Christmas, which comes very near the end, does not play a big part in the plot, but I enjoyed the chapter that included the family's observance of Christmas and the family squablles.

While preparing this post, I reread the last 30-40 pages of the book and I liked the ending just as well the second time. McPherson does a very good job of pulling together a lot of threads in the book and left me with a good feeling about the future of the series.

See also:
Katrina's review at Pining for the West. Katrina lives in Scotland.
The review at the Historical Novel Society.
A review at The Bookbag.


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Publisher:   Hodder, 2009 (orig. pub. 2008) 
Length:       294 pages
Format:      Trade paperback
Series:       Dandy Gilver Mystery #4
Setting:      Perthshire, Scotland, 1925
Genre:       Mystery
Source:      I purchased this book.