preposterous 1930s private-detective stories; realistic 1940s amateur-sleuth stories (The Edinburgh Murders is latest); and contemporary psychothriller standalones (The Dead Room is the brand-new one). These are all set in
Scotland with a lot of Scottish weather. She also writes modern comic crime capers about a Scot-out-of-
water in a “fictional” college town in Northern California sneezedavissneeze. Scot’s Eggs, No. 8 just won
for best humorous novel at Left Coast Crime in San Francisco. Her other novels have won Agathas,
Anthonys, Leftys and Macavitys and been finalists for an Edgar, a CWA Dagger and three Mary Higgins
Clark awards.
McPherson is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime.
She applied the Page 69 Test to The Dead Room, and shared the following:
From page 69:Visit Catriona McPherson's website.‘Lord’s Yard,’ he says. ‘You’re sniffing round for a house clearance.’ I open my mouth to tell him that the house is clear, but he sails on. ‘We work pretty hard to stop funeral directors, furniture dealers, e-scooter reps or anyone else from bugging our friends. Take a hike.’Page sixty-nine of The Dead Room happens to be the end of a chapter so it’s short. I’ve stuck with it nevertheless because, as Monica says in an episode of Friends, “Rules control the fun!” Also, it’s a good excerpt for its size in the terms of this game.
I find myself smiling. I’ve had the sharp end of it but it’s still good to know how well-protected these people are.
‘I will go,’ I say. ‘ I mean, you’re wrong about me but I can’t prove it so . . . I’ll try something else.’
‘You do that,’ he says, turning away. He’s back in the office before I’m out of the front door and whoever it is who’s lurking in there says something I don’t quite catch. It sounds like “Now shave,’ but even if that was his wife, it surely can’t be.
First off, Lord’s Yard is the scrapyard full of old furniture, house clearances, overstock and assorted other junk where Lindsay, the narrator grew up. It’s central to the story. And in this passage, Lindsay is searching for a lost old lady – another core aspect of the book – by asking around local nursing homes. In this one, she’s getting short shrift from a manager who assumes she’s preying on vulnerable elders to make money selling them stuff.
Lindsay’s response to being suspected is revealing of her personality. She’s pleased to find out that the guy in charge of this nursing home won’t let his residents be sold any bridges. It’s always seemed to me to be a mark of someone’s character whether they can understand that they’re not owed trust in the absence of evidence and that, if they take themselves off centre- stage, the world’s a better place because whoever is standing up to them is standing up to them.
You see it when parents are investigated for child abuse if a little one suffers a suspicious injury. I’m always really impressed with parents who get that the system protects tiny people and are grateful that it’s currently protecting their tiny people, rather than protecting the adults’ feelings and image. Moving on, finally there’s what Lindsay overhears as she’s leaving to try the next place. “Now shave.” Now shave? Campaigned-for-the-American-Readers, that – drumroll – is a clue.
All in all, a pretty neat little package of promises regarding what you’ll find in The Dead Room, eh?
The Page 69 Test: Go to My Grave.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2018).
My Book, The Movie: The Turning Tide.
The Page 69 Test: The Turning Tide.
My Book, The Movie: A Gingerbread House.
The Page 69 Test: Hop Scot.
The Page 69 Test: Deep Beneath Us.
Q&A with Catriona McPherson.
The Page 69 Test: The Witching Hour.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (September 2024).
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (December 2024).
The Page 69 Test: Scotzilla.
My Book, The Movie: Scotzilla.
The Page 69 Test: Scot's Eggs.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2025).
--Marshal Zeringue