From Publishers Weekly
In the solid style of the best British cozies, this sixth offering in the Dorothy Martin series moves across the Atlantic to the rolling hill country of southern Indiana. Sixtyish Dorothy and her second husband, Alan Nesbitt (former chief constable of Belleshire, England), receive word that she's been bequeathed $5,000 by Dr. Kevin Cassidy, a dear friend from her hometown of Hillsburg, Ind. There's a catch, though. To inherit, she must find the doctor's presumed murderer. Since Cassidy died of pneumonia, there are no cast-off shell casings or bloody stilettos around to point to the guilty party. How was Cassidy done in? And by whom? Was it Jerry, the crazy coot in the ramshackle trailer next door to Cassidy? Or Reverend Bussey, the blustering preacher whose finances have risen as those of his parishioners have fallen? Or Mary Alice Harrison, the impoverished niece, who expected to be named in Cassidy's willDbut wasn't? Cassidy made loans to them all, depleting his fortune. Dorothy and Alan must untangle a snarled skein of Medicaid rules, IRS regulations and human foibles to unearth the truth in this skillfully plotted story with retirement-age sleuths. Although cloying at times, Dams writes with a good ear for Midwestern dialogue and develops her characters lovingly. Altogether, this is a warm and worthy read that should generate a lot of interest in Madison, Ind., the model for the fictional Hillsburg, as well as in similar Midwestern venues. Mystery Guild alternate selection. (Dec.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Former teacher, avid mystery reader, and not-so-amateur detective Dorothy Martin returns home to Indiana, where she finds her old friend and former professor, Kevin Cassidy, has died at the venerable age of 96. He leaves septuagenarian Dorothy a bit of money and a request: Find out who killed him! With her handsome English husband, Alan Nesbitt, retired deputy constable of Scotland Yard, Dorothy begins questioning an entire village of possible suspects. Kate Reading's performance provides generous touches of charm and wit. Through her skillful narration, we share the pain in Dorothy and Alan's aging bones, as well as the keenness of their analytical minds. This sixth Dorothy Martin mystery is sure to please. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
In the latest Dorothy Martin mystery (the sixth in the popular series), the amateur sleuth returns home to Hillsburg, Indiana, after three years in England. Kevin Cassidy, an old friend, has died unexpectedly of pneumonia, bequeathing Dorothy $5,000 and his suspicions (put to paper before his demise) that someone was trying to kill him. With the help of her husband, a former Scotland Yard chief constable, Dorothy sets out to find out if her friend was murdered. Martin has a genuine knack for transplanting the gentle British mystery to American soil. With its finely detailed (and immensely likable) characters and interesting but not convoluted plot, this is one of those mysteries that goes best with a blanket and a cup of tea. Fans of the Dorothy Martin series (or Dams' Hilda Johansson novels) will be thoroughly satisfied, and readers who haven't yet met the delightful Mrs. Martin are in for a real treat. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Murder in a Small Town

Though adopted Anglophile Dorothy Martin is quite content with her new life in a cozy English village, she looks forward to an unexpected trip back to her Indiana hometown. Sadly, it is the sudden death of a longtime friend and a small inheritance that offer Dorothy and her husband, Alan Nesbitt, this brief holiday in the States.

Along with her inheritance, Dorothy gets a cryptic note from her deceased friend, a renowned biologist at the local university, claiming he was murdered. Now, back among the friends and acquaintances of her past, she must find out if one among them is a killer — and why. A second murder puts Dorothy on the trail of a deception as strange as it is tragic, and leads her to a solution that will challenge the formidable skills of her retired constable husband —as well as her own nimble mind — to find the solution before tragedy strikes again.

SYNOPSIS

When an old colleague dies in Indiana, Dorothy Martin is summoned back to the Midwest from her expatriate exile in England. Martin enthusiasts know her as a feisty, seventy-year-old widow with a quirky hat fetish, remarried now to a retired Scotland yard inspector. In this, her sixth adventure, she must confront her feelings of being back in the university town where she spent most of her life while being embroiled in the mystery of her friend's seemingly natural death from pneumonia.

The victim, ninety-year-old emeritus biochemist Kevin Cassidy, has bequeathed Dorothy a note: "You see, my dear, someone is trying to kill me. When you read this, they will have succeeded." Rather than question Cassidy's senility, her husband Alan trusts Dorothy's instincts and lends his Scotland-yard insight.

Dams, a retired teacher living in South Bend, Indiana, has re-mastered the British cozy style with mid-western flair. She creates a whole cadre of unlikely suspects for Dorothy and Alan to interrogate: the victim's neighbors--a virtual Rambo and an environmental activist--the attending physician, the lawyer, the local evangelist, the disenfranchised niece, and even the local police chief.

Alan has no clout in the states and, in fact, the Yanks distrust him. Dorothy relies on contacts, among them former students, to ferret out information. Their digging leads them to be implicated in murder charges when one of the suspects is found dead.

In Dorothy and Alan's tender interchanges, Dams captures the reality of a couple's life. They tolerate each other's quirks: her hats and his tourist need to acquire every item of tiger-emblazoned memorabilia in the university store. The geriatric newlyweds share love and intimate moments in their hotel off-camera, as well as arthritis pains, and case notes. Most importantly, they understand the subtle nuance of each other's thoughts and desires. Dorothy notes his frustration with a legal system he cannot affect; Alan senses her disappointment in the homogenized modernization of her home town. On a tour of the foliage along the Ohio River, while Dorothy peels acorn skins, he goads her to reveal her feelings:

"You also thought," Alan said gently, "that you would dazzle your friends with your English husband and your detective expertise. Instead you find yourself--what? Rejected?" "No," I said shortly. Alan was trying to help. I would try to be fair. "Not rejected, exactly. Just--set aside. Unimportant. Not in the scheme of things anymore. And also--ineffectual would be the word I suppose."

Alan and Dorothy wind up anything but ineffectual in their solution of the mystery. Dams cunningly includes an ordinary misinterpretation of Medicaid laws (that Dorothy must explain to her British husband and the reader) as the murder motive. The case ends in a running chase scene through the town's historic house district where Dorothy jumps into the river after the perpetrator. New readers will feel compelled to read all the Dorothy Martin mysteries, while followers will be anxious for her next exploit.

FROM THE CRITICS

New York Times Book Review

Ms. Dams serves up genre conventions with as much relish as if they had come fresh from the garden . . .

Publishers Weekly

In the solid style of the best British cozies, this sixth offering in the Dorothy Martin series moves across the Atlantic to the rolling hill country of southern Indiana. Sixtyish Dorothy and her second husband, Alan Nesbitt (former chief constable of Belleshire, England), receive word that she's been bequeathed $5,000 by Dr. Kevin Cassidy, a dear friend from her hometown of Hillsburg, Ind. There's a catch, though. To inherit, she must find the doctor's presumed murderer. Since Cassidy died of pneumonia, there are no cast-off shell casings or bloody stilettos around to point to the guilty party. How was Cassidy done in? And by whom? Was it Jerry, the crazy coot in the ramshackle trailer next door to Cassidy? Or Reverend Bussey, the blustering preacher whose finances have risen as those of his parishioners have fallen? Or Mary Alice Harrison, the impoverished niece, who expected to be named in Cassidy's will--but wasn't? Cassidy made loans to them all, depleting his fortune. Dorothy and Alan must untangle a snarled skein of Medicaid rules, IRS regulations and human foibles to unearth the truth in this skillfully plotted story with retirement-age sleuths. Although cloying at times, Dams writes with a good ear for Midwestern dialogue and develops her characters lovingly. Altogether, this is a warm and worthy read that should generate a lot of interest in Madison, Ind., the model for the fictional Hillsburg, as well as in similar Midwestern venues. Mystery Guild alternate selection. (Dec.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Dorothy Martin, who retired to England, solved several murder mysteries (Malice in Miniature), and married a now-retired policeman, returns to Indiana in order to claim an inheritance. Unfortunately, her benefactor left a letter crying murder--at age 96! An English cozy, transported. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Foreword

When an old colleague dies in Indiana, Dorothy Martin is summoned back to the Midwest from her expatriate exile in England. Martin enthusiasts know her as a feisty, seventy-year-old widow with a quirky hat fetish, remarried now to a retired Scotland yard inspector. In this, her sixth adventure, she must confront her feelings of being back in the university town where she spent most of her life while being embroiled in the mystery of her friend's seemingly natural death from pneumonia. The victim, ninety-year-old emeritus biochemist Kevin Cassidy, has bequeathed Dorothy a note: "You see, my dear, someone is trying to kill me. When you read this, they will have succeeded." Rather than question Cassidy's senility, her husband Alan trusts Dorothy's instincts and lends his Scotland-yard insight. Dams, a retired teacher living in South Bend, Indiana, has re-mastered the British cozy style with mid-western flair. She creates a whole cadre of unlikely suspects for Dorothy and Alan to interrogate: the victim's neighbors--a virtual Rambo and an environmental activist--the attending physician, the lawyer, the local evangelist, the disenfranchised niece, and even the local police chief. Alan has no clout in the states and, in fact, the Yanks distrust him. Dorothy relies on contacts, among them former students, to ferret out information. Their digging leads them to be implicated in murder charges when one of the suspects is found dead. In Dorothy and Alan's tender interchanges, Dams captures the reality of a couple's life. They tolerate each other's quirks: her hats and his tourist need to acquire every item of tiger-emblazoned memorabilia in the university store. The geriatric newlywedsshare love and intimate moments in their hotel off-camera, as well as arthritis pains, and case notes. Most importantly, they understand the subtle nuance of each other's thoughts and desires. Dorothy notes his frustration with a legal system he cannot affect; Alan senses her disappointment in the homogenized modernization of her home town. On a tour of the foliage along the Ohio River, while Dorothy peels acorn skins, he goads her to reveal her feelings: "You also thought," Alan said gently, "that you would dazzle your friends with your English husband and your detective expertise. Instead you find yourself--what? Rejected?" "No," I said shortly. Alan was trying to help. I would try to be fair. "Not rejected, exactly. Just--set aside. Unimportant. Not in the scheme of things anymore. And also--ineffectual would be the word I suppose." Alan and Dorothy wind up anything but ineffectual in their solution of the mystery. Dams cunningly includes an ordinary misinterpretation of Medicaid laws (that Dorothy must explain to her British husband and the reader) as the murder motive. The case ends in a running chase scene through the town's historic house district where Dorothy jumps into the river after the perpetrator. New readers will feel compelled to read all the Dorothy Martin mysteries, while followers will be anxious for her next exploit.

Kirkus Reviews

Comfortably settled in Sherebury, England, with her second husband Alan, a retired police inspector, former schoolmarm Dorothy Martin is unsettled at the posthumous request that arrives in the post: Would she return to Hillsburg, Indiana, the letter writer pleads, and find out who killed him? Since the man asking, nonagenarian Kevin Cassidy, was a close friend of her late husband and, like him, a professor at Randolph University, Dorothy, with Alan beside her, is soon flying back to the States, where nothing is exactly as she remembers it. Charming banks have become inglorious parking lots, and former students are all grown up and toiling in the police department, the hospital human resources department, and the county clerk's record room. Even more unsettling, nobody except Dorothy and Alan seems to think Cassidy passed away from anything but pneumonia. Treading circumspectly, they question Cassidy's closest neighbors, disturbed Vietnam vet Jerry and development-picketing pharmacist Hannah, then delve into the backgrounds of a doctor, a scamming preacher, and a close-mouthed lawyer. Jerry dies, the doctor takes it on the lam, and a series of loans Cassidy made to pals in need seems to indicate a motive—all of which leads to a timely suicide. Like its predecessors ( Davis, Lindsey ONE VIRGIN TOO MANY Mysterious (368 pp.) Nov. 22, 2000