cimorene

Catriona McPherson’s After the Armistice Ball is the first in a series of mysteries starring 1920s Scottish gentlewoman Dandy Gilver and I give it and its sequel eight stars out of five. I simply can't recommend them highly enough. I'm a converted fan for life (knock on wood, unless she later says something racist on the internet...) and my immediate goal is to acquire lovely paper editions of everything she's ever written.

I adored this book. I was dubious about the first-person narrator and her tone for about half a page, then completely charmed by the tone and narrative voice in half a chapter. The mystery is gripping and the narration is beautifully-written perfection, dryly funny, thoughful, intelligent, perfectly-paced and note-perfect, by far the most convincingly and genuinely-feeling modern historical mystery I’ve picked up so far. It was so enchanting that I kept having to put it down to savor the delight (only for a few minutes at a time, though; it was a one-sitting book).

I have actually already read the first sequel, The Burry Man’s Day. All the praise lavished above can apply to it as well though the plot is quite different, as is the setting and the cast of secondary characters.