Review: The Burry Man's Day

The Burry Man's Day by Catriona McPherson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dandy Gilver and her friend Daisy are invited to visit an old school friend Freddy who has married an American (Cadwallader) and returned to Queensferry where the two of them have rebuilt a ridiculous castle, complete with dungeons. Their visit coincides with the centuries old Ferry Fair, a tradition which is the cause of much strife since it involves a local resident donning a costume made of burrs and walking around the town taking a nip of whisky at every stop. For some reason, although they are newcomers to the town and there are several other families with more right to host the Fair, Freddy and Cad have been invited by the townsfolk to open the Fair and hand out prizes for bonniest baby and best fancy dress costume etc. Their sudden elevation may have something to do with the vociferous protests of the local temperance supporters and as a consequence Robert Dudgeon, Burry Man for the past 25 years, has come to Cad the night before the Ferry Fair to resign. Cad and Dandy manage to persuade Robert to continue but that could have been a mistake when Robert drops dead from alcohol poisoning at the end of the day.

At first Dandy feels guilty about persuading Robert to be the Burry Man with such tragic results but a series of strange incidents suggest there may be more to his death than first suspected.

I am really pleased because I guessed part of the plot quite early on, but I didn't guess all the elements (or indeed the murderer) and what makes these stories so good in my opinion is the way that the clues are scattered through the book, there to be picked up by the discerning reader or to be recalled ruefully when their relevance is disclosed later in the book - I'm thinking specifically of the two Conshies.

What I also love is the ring of authenticity about these books, if I didn't know better I would believe that they were written in the 1920s. Now I'm not claiming any great knowledge of the period, the books may be completely anachronistic, but they feel real. The attitudes of the landed gentry, the way in which Cad behaves quite reasonably but is looked at askance by the locals, the interactions between rich and poor etc.

Really enjoying this series.

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