Jeanne M. Dams introduced her gently nosy Anglophile widow Dorothy Martin in the Agatha Award-winning The Body in the Transept. Now Dorothy has found a body hidden in a closet in the town hall of Sherebury. The town hall itself is the object of a lively local debate between developers and renovators; could the young man have fallen afoul of someone with an axe to grind? As always, Dorothy doesn't mind putting on a ridiculous hat to ask tough questions.

From Publishers Weekly
The ancient English cathedral town of Sherebury is a picturesque one, with its stately University, its Jacobean housing and its solid citizens, among them elderly American transplant Dorothy Martin, who was introduced in the Agatha Award-winning The Body in the Transept (1995). In this methodical and well-mannered mystery, Dorothy is determined to be all things at once: gardener, home-restorer and sleuth. Present at town hall when the body of a young vagrant is discovered in a broom closet of the venerable building, Dorothy assumes (somewhat illogically) that the murder is related to the fierce battle raging over the structure: Should it be restored to its former magnificence or turned into a shopping mall? She relies on the village's greatest asset?gossip?for her clues. Since her romantic interest, the aristocratic and clever chief constable, Alan Nesbitt, is busy with an impending royal visit, she puts on her best hat, some wildly impractical shoes, and marches up High Street for a few audacious chats with the town's leading citizens, among them an enormously wealthy builder and his browbeaten wife, a cagey shopkeeper and a fiery preservationist. Another murder confounds her and stuns the town. Despite a few lackluster and stereotypical characters, the very proper and relentlessly snoopy heroine continues to engage readers. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Dorothy Martin, a widowed American living in Sherebury, England, sleuths her way around another case of murder (The Body in the Transept, LJ 10/1/95). She chances upon the body of a young man in an historic building near her home. Although police handle the case, they cannot move fast enough for Dorothy, who believes the murder has something to do with a local conflict between preservationists and developers. Charming village characters and surroundings, coupled with the heroine's unique mannerisms, make this a welcome second.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio
We have often seen Dorothy's ilk in the genteel annals of the village whodunit. . . . But Ms. Dams serves up these congealed genre conventions with as much relish as if they had come fresh from the garden; and despite her familiarity, Dorothy is a dear.

From Booklist
Sweetly naive Dorothy Martin, a retired American schoolteacher, moves to the English village of Sherebury and becomes involved in a murder case when she and a Cockney cleaning woman discover a body in the town hall. Dorothy's amateur detecting is aided and abetted by Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, her suitor. Convinced the murder has something to do with a local builder's campaign to convert the town hall into a shopping mall--a move that does not sit well with the local preservation society--Dorothy starts asking questions that ruffle plenty of local feathers. When a second body is discovered, Dorothy knows she's getting close to discovering the identity of the killer, a feat that puts her own life in danger. Quaint, old-fashioned, and charming, this gentle British cozy is sure to be popular with blue-haired ladies, readers who are sick of sex and violence, and mystery fans who just want to curl up before a warm fire with a cup of tea and a good book. Emily Melton

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Readers and reviewers were unanimous in their praise for Jeanne M. Dams's first Dorothy Martin mystery, The Body in the Transept. Trouble in the Town Hall finds Dorothy facing a serious dilemma: The house in which she's living is in dire need of repair, but before anything can be done, she must get the approval of the Sherebury Planning Committee. As the rain finds new places in the roof through which to leak, Dorothy is more than ready to accept a luncheon invitation from Alan Nesbitt, chief constable and her own chief beau. On her way to meet him, however, she notices some movement in the abandoned Town Hall, and being a confirmed snoop... At first, Ada Finch, the cleaning lady who has been hired to keep the woodwork nice until something is done with the building, is pleased to have the company. All too soon, she's thankful for Dorothy's presence: Discovering a body is so much easier when someone is with you. A greater unpleasantness comes a while later; as Dorothy and Alan prepare to leave the building, she notices that the corpse's arms have been moved...and its eyes closed. The old Town Hall had been a battle site for the Planning Committee for some time now; with the discovery of the body, the war was taking on a new dimension, and Dorothy Martin had inadvertently landed on the front lines.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The ancient English cathedral town of Sherebury is a picturesque one, with its stately University, its Jacobean housing and its solid citizens, among them elderly American transplant Dorothy Martin, who was introduced in the Agatha Award-winning The Body in the Transept (1995). In this methodical and well-mannered mystery, Dorothy is determined to be all things at once: gardener, home-restorer and sleuth. Present at town hall when the body of a young vagrant is discovered in a broom closet of the venerable building, Dorothy assumes (somewhat illogically) that the murder is related to the fierce battle raging over the structure: Should it be restored to its former magnificence or turned into a shopping mall? She relies on the village's greatest assetgossipfor her clues. Since her romantic interest, the aristocratic and clever chief constable, Alan Nesbitt, is busy with an impending royal visit, she puts on her best hat, some wildly impractical shoes, and marches up High Street for a few audacious chats with the town's leading citizens, among them an enormously wealthy builder and his browbeaten wife, a cagey shopkeeper and a fiery preservationist. Another murder confounds her and stuns the town. Despite a few lackluster and stereotypical characters, the very proper and relentlessly snoopy heroine continues to engage readers. (Nov.)

Library Journal