Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder

McPherson’s sixth cozy set in 1920s Scotland markedly improves on its predecessor, 2011’s Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains. When Mirren Aitken, a department store heiress, goes missing, Mirren’s mother asks well-to-do sleuth Dandy to track her down. Aitkens’ Emporium (“Tailors, Mantle Makers, Silk Merchants, Domestic Bazaar”) is in bitter competition with another store in the town of Dunfermline, House of Hepburn (“Hosiers, Glovers, Clothiers and Milliners”). The Aitkens fear that Mirren has eloped with Dugald Hepburn, a scion of the rival family. Before long, Dandy must tackle a related homicide, only to become a suspect herself. Dorothy Sayers’s fans will find many aspects of Harriet Vane in Dandy, who really comes into her own in this installment. The strong plot offers a truly baffling traditional murder mystery, which bodes well for future books in the series. Agent: Lisa Moylett, Coombs Moylett Literary Agency. (May)