Review: The Reek of Red Herrings

The Reek of Red Herrings: A Dandy Gilver Mystery

Catriona McPherson

Dandy Gilver and her assistant Alec Osbourne have taken on a case for Mr. Birchfield who owns a fish cannery in Gamrie, Scotland, a quaint fishing village on the Banffshire coast. Body parts have been turning up in barrels of packed herring, and they have been engaged to find out who the body parts belong to and to locate any missing parts that haven't surfaced yet.

First, the pair will have to pass themselves off as brother and sister philologists to get the villagers to open up about their daily lives. They soon discover that several strangers were spotted in the village the previous summer, but it's unclear if one might be the victim in question. A local fisherman also drowned during the summer, and Dandy wonders if there may be more to his story, especially since his betrothed disappeared not long after his death.

While I am always up for a good Scottish mystery, I have to admit that this one was not a favorite. It did have a good plot, and there were some surprises at the end, but it seemed too slow and dull to me at times. The historical tidbits were interesting, and the famous Scottish weather made for an impressive background; however, I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was a tad boring.

This review was written by me and originally published by City Book Review.