Go to My Grave

By Catriona McPherson

Donna Weaver has put everything into The Breakers. Now it waits – freshly painted, richly furnished, filled with flowers – for the first guests to arrive.

But as they roll up – these couples and cousins, all in their forties – each one discovers they’ve been here before. Sasha had his sixteenth birthday at scruffy old Knockbreak House, as it was then. Peach started a life of boozing there. Rosalie and Paul began the life they still share. Buck and Jennifer had one night they barely remember. They’re the lucky ones.

because the party that started with peach schnapps and Postman’s Knock ended with a girl walking into the sea and the rest of them making a vow of silence: lock it in a box, stitch my lips and go to my grave.

But one of them has broken the pact. Someone is playing games, locking boxes, stitching lips. And before the weekend is over, at least one of them will have gone to their grave.

---

WOW! I didn’t think I really liked this one, not one character was likable. But I had to keep reading to find out what had really happened all those years ago. I was a little disappointed that it seemed fairly obvious who was behind all the ‘stuff’ going on, BUT, the twist at the very end… well it was worth the read! My mind was changed in the last few pages. Read it!

The Day She Died by Catriona MacPherson

That was the day I met Gus, the day I grew a family as if from magic beans, the day she died. That’s the point, see? It was the very same day…

Jessie Constable has learned the hard way to always keep herself safe. But meeting Gus King changes everything. Before she knows it, Jessie is sleeping at Gus’s house, babysitting his kids, becoming a part of his family. And yet, she can’t ignore the unsettling questions. Who does she keep seeing from the corner of her eye? Why are strange men threatening her? Most importantly, what really happened to Gus’s wife?

Creating a brilliant, foreboding mystery where nothing is as it seems, master storyteller Catriona McPherson weaves an ominous tale that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Praise: “McPherson’s second stand-alone is a tour de force, a creepy psychological thriller that will leave you breathless.”–Kikus Reviews (starred review)

“Keep the lights on and batten down the hatches, for McPherson’s psychologically terrifying stand-alone demands to be read all night.”–LIBRARY JOURNAL

“[A] deliciously disturbing tale of deception and self-deception…McPherson is a persuasive and immersive writer at the crest of her powers.” –ALEX MARWOOD, EDGAR AWARD-WINNNIG AUTHOR OF WICKED GIRLS

I have to agree with these reviews! This book is delicious, creepy, terrifying and disturbing! Jessie is a wonderful protagonist and narrator. She has a fear of feathers that plays into the tale with grand creepiness! Gus is a real perplexing character. Never quite sure exactly what’s going on with him and he keeps Jessie so off balance with his mixed messages. But he’s such a wonderful dad! 

Not a Dandy Gilver story by any means. This book is one that gets better days after you read it and keep thinking about it. Well done! 

Peggy Ann 

Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains

 

Author: Catriona McPherson

Genre: Mystery

Author’s Website

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Depository

Synopsis:
‘Welcome to Edinburgh, 1926. Dandy Gilver, a wealthy and witty aristocrat (and sometimes amateur sleuth) receives a letter from Lollie Balfour, who insists that her husband of five years is having her followed and her mail is being steamed open. The only way for Dandy to help is by pretending to applying for a job as a lady’s maid in Lollie’s house. Dandy gets a crash course from her own maid and arrives at 31 Heriot Row, ready to put all of her detection skills to good use. Why does Mr. Balfour want to get rid of his wife? And can Dandy stay in disguise long enough to evade the villains?   Charming and funny, Dandy Gilver is an irresistible sleuth who is sure to win over mystery lovers everywhere. Readers who can’t get enough of Dorothy L. Sayers, Barbara Pym, and Dorothy Parker will definitely find a new favorite in Catriona McPherson’s smart and original mystery.’

Locked doors, Jekyll and Hyde personality, lots of believable suspects, and Dandy Gilver to boot! This was my first Dandy Gilver book and it won’t be the last! I found myself thinking about the people ‘downstairs’ and wanting to get back down there and see what was new. Very good! Set during a strike in 1926 Scotland when all the coal mines stopped, all the public transportation stopped. Rough time for all. An especially brutal murder. Each one of the staff had a reason for murder, or did they? How did the person or persons get in or were they already in? Is the will for real or a joke? Who is George Pollard and more importantly where is he? I did guess right who did it but didn’t guess the twist that came with it!

If you’d like to read an excerpt jump over to the Dandy Gilver Website!