Reviewed By: Jeff Kreider - RAM
The Body in the Transept
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Jeanne M. Dams
Class/Genre: Mystery Cozy Amateur Sleuth
Series: Dorothy Martin # 1
This is the first novel from Jeanne M. Dams and introduces Dorothy Martin, a American widow who has retired to Sherebury, a fictional town outside London, England. The setting is Christmas Eve and while attending a Midnight Mass, she discovers The Body in the Transept. It's a cozy and not a bad first effort (she received an Agatha for it). Dorothy does spend about the first half of the book trying to decide whether or not to pursue her own investigation of the murder. But, by this time, she's already met the killer, but doesn't know it. There were some elements that were a bit loose. I mean that some of the motivations didn't seem realistic and some explanations seemed out of character. But I loved the setting (I'm a sucker for anything set in England) and smiled knowingly at her problem with driving on the left and "roundabouts", those traffic circles England employs (I had a training job in England in 1989 and was there for a week. Between the hotel and the office where I held the class there was this massive roundabout, I dubbed "The Double Helix" -- I swear I saw Roman Soldiers stuck on that thing!) Anyway, the mystery was decent, but I think the real calling card of this book is the interaction with the people, the setting and Dorothy's ridiculous but amusing obsession with fancy hats. In spite of these apparent mainstays, there are occasionally surprisingly astute investigative observations. I don't mean than in a condescending way. It's not that I didn't think Dorothy (or Jeanne) was capable of it, but rather, I just excepted the effort to go elsewhere in the story. So that was nice and served to add a bit a depth to the story.
Jeff Kreider - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jeff Kreider - RAM
If you enjoy this website, a link would be appreciated. |