The Winter Ground

BAD LUCK? BAD TIMING? OR GOOD OLD-FASHIONED MURDER? Gilverton, 15th December 1925 Dear Alec, You will never guess, even if you tried until next Christmas, what has been installed at Benachally Castle, or in the grounds anyway, by the new owners. (Have you met the Albert Wilsons? The name tells you everything you need to know.) I shall give you some clues: Tumbling Topsy Turvy, Madame Polina, Big Bad Bill Wolf, Tiny Truman and the Troupe Prebrezhensky. Yes, darling, a circus. Only for the winter until their season begins again, but still. Unfortunately, Alec, we cannot sit in the ringside seats and simply watch the show, for there is more going on in the big top than acrobatics and juggling and, unless someone puts a stop to it all, death may not be defied for long. Please come as soon as you can; I am working without a net and in great need of your assistance. Dandy xx

Reviews of The Winter Ground

'As ever, McPherson's research is exhaustive and she captures the patois of the circus people beautifully … At the circus, things don't quite turn out as Dandy expects but this simply makes McPherson's delightful tale all the more enjoyable.' — Herald 20081031 Praise for the Dandy Gilver series: — – 20081031 "Dan Brown meets Barbara Pym … Dandy is brisk, baffled, heroic, kindly, scandalised and – above all – very funny' — Guardian 20081031 'McPherson is on to a winner with her 1920s society sleuth Dandy Gilver, who is the most engaging and ingenious crime-cracker I've met in ages … I can't wait for her next adventure.' — Scotland on Sunday on AFTER THE ARMISTICE BALL 20081031 'Dandy Gilver is an enthralling heroine; part Dorothy Parker, part Miss Marple, utterly engaging … She can send chills up your spine and provoke a fit of the giggles in the space of a few short pages. Absolutely wonderful. A real treat.' — Kirsty Scott 20081031 'McPherson is an exemplary crime writer, effortlessly balancing the driest wit with melodramatic suspense. Her range of reference is seriously literary, her research impeccable, and her exuberance with period detail utterly beguiling. And Dandy herself is wonderful: blundering bravely through this mad and murky tale with perfect aplomb and a drop-dead vocabulary, she is a lesson to us all.' — Scotsman 20081031 'Compelling' — Publishers Weekly starred review 20081031