The sixteenth
book in the Dandy Gilver historical mystery series by Catriona McPherson is
scheduled for release in the UK on 2 May 2024 and in the US on 3 September
2024. I had the great good fortune to receive an advance copy of the story so I
don’t have to wait until September.
The series
began shortly after the end of World War I in 1922, with Dandy the epitome of a
bored housewife, and has progressed chronologically through the social and
economic upheaval of the interwar years. The Witching Hour (Hodder & Stoughton/Mobius) takes
place in spring of 1939, with a second war imminent, to the great fear of Dandy
whose two sons are now the right age to be called up.
Hugh Gilver’s
60th birthday was being observed with all the pomp it deserved. The
family and close friends were gathered for an enormous feast and the family
cook had done herself proud. Of especial interest to Dandy is the guest her
younger son had invited. To all appearances Dandy was to acquire a second
daughter-in-law. Dandy’s close friend Daisy Esslemont was there alone, her
husband Silas had pleaded a previous unbreakable engagement, and Daisy was
peeved about it. Silas has a long history of philandering and Daisy has
tolerated much from her sadly deficient husband.
In the night
the telephone unexpectedly rang. The police in a remote village are looking for
Daisy. Silas has been found dead, and they think Daisy has killed him. Dandy is
happy to advise them Daisy was sound asleep in Dandy’s guest bedroom. But on inquiry,
Dandy learns both Daisy and Dandy’s automobile are gone. She and Alec Osborne,
Dandy’s investigative partner, tear off to the village where Silas was found
and hope that Daisy is not there.
The village
turns out to be an odd little place with hints of otherworldliness and
witchcraft. No one is especially helpful but Dandy is desperate to clear Daisy
and Alec, who had his own reasons for disliking Silas, is up for the challenge.
I am once
again reminded that this series is not cozy, despite blurbs that say otherwise.
Inevitably there are serious underlying issues at play in each book, even if
perhaps the overall premise is lighthearted and improbable. The UK is facing
the advent of war once again, and this time Dandy knows she may lose her sons.
The memory of the earlier war is all too clear and her entire generation is
devastated at the thought of a repetition. Dandy also has the opportunity to
review her very fortunate marriage compared to that of her friend Daisy. While
Hugh is boring, he is also kind and would never humiliate her the way Silas mistreated
Daisy. The contrast emphasizes how little freedom women had then to improve
their circumstances. A bad marriage was something to be borne, not discarded.
The
resolution was entirely reasonable, considering the life that Silas led, but I
found the fact so many others suffered from his thoughtlessness deeply sad.
For fans of social
history the bits about proper dinner table and drawing room behavior are
fascinating. The conversation between Dandy and Hugh about their potential new
daughter-in-law reveal the conventions about appropriate marriages in the
landed gentry and just how much those conventions had changed.
A fine
addition to a solid historical series. Recommended.
·
Publisher: Mobius (September 3,
2024)
·
Language: English
·
Hardcover: 320 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1399720392
·
ISBN-13: 978-1399720397
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dfrw6s
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works
on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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