The Burry Man's Day

August 7, 2006
Set in 1920s Scotland, McPherson's cunning second mystery to feature well-heeled, ballsy and very funny Dandy Gilver, who debuted in After the Armistice Ball
(2005), takes Dandy to South Queensferry to help her friend Frederica preside over the Ferry Fair, the local carnival. When the titular Burry Man (played by a local carpenter, Robert Dudgeon, who's actually covered in burrs) drops dead in the midst of the fair, people assume he died of a heart attack, but Dandy suspects foul play. Dudgeon assumed his annual role with inexplicable reluctance, his bereaved widow is acting suspicious and the town temperance advocates objected to the rowdy festival from the start. Charming historical details add an extra something to this altogether satisfying cozy.