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Trouble in the Town Hall (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 2)
 
 
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Trouble in the Town Hall (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeanne M. Dams (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)


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Book Description

January 7, 1998
A lovely old building hides a nasty crime...

A Shereby resident for a year now, American Dorothy Martin is still learning her way around the charming English cathedral town.But she recognizes a dead body when she sees one. As town debate rages over what to do about the decaying town hall, Dorothy is at that very site when the body of an unknown young man is found. Her passion for mysteries is as hot as ever, of course. Despite warnings from her dear friend Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt not to get in the way of the official investigation, Dorothy simply can't resist taking a look around. What she discovers is that there are plenty of skeletons in local closets, enough to keep an amateur sleuth on her toes -- unless the hands of a murderer reach her first.



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTorch (January 7, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061011320
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061011320
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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 (3)
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 (6)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars TransAtlantic cozy, July 31, 2001
By 
Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Trouble in the Town Hall (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jeanne M. Dams first book in this series, "The Body in the Transept" won the Agatha for best first novel. This book, the second in the series is a solid follow-up. (Reading of the first book is nice but isn't necessary.)

The book starts with the discovery of the body of a young stranger in the deserted town hall. Our heroine, retired teacher/American living in England - Dorothy Martin - just "happens" to be in on the discovery of the body. From there on, her sense of justice and curiosity won't rest until the killer is found. The town hall is in the middle of a tempest about it's future. Was the murder related to the feud between the preservationists and the developers? As Dorothy digs further, there are some other ties between the suspects that may matter.... The solution comes together nicely - not the obvious guess but not a total surprise either.

Half the fun of the book is seeing English village life through Dorothy's adoring American eyes. Leaky roof problems are annoying but also part of the "experience." Roundabouts on the highway are a menace. I also find myself liking Dorothy even if she is a terrible snoop. I'm particularly fond of her growing relationship with Alan Nesbitt, the chief constable. We don't get much "senior" romance in books and it's about time.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely done cozy, July 22, 2002
This review is from: Trouble in the Town Hall (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Dorothy Martin has decided to buy and repair a home in her adopted town of Sherebury, England but first she needs the approval of the Sherebury Planning Committee. Before she can do that, she stumbles across the body of a young man who has been murdered in the old Town Hall. Since the Planning Committee is involved in the effort to renovate Town Hall this causes problems for everyone concerned, including Dorothy and so she decides to investigate. This is a nice cozy series with an interesting cast of characters and even a little romance between Dorothy and Alan Nesbitt, chief constable. The first book in the series is The Body In The Transept.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dorothy does it again, March 23, 2000
This review is from: Trouble in the Town Hall (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Dorothy Martin is my favorite housewife-private eye.....She is elegant, although rather nosy, and meanders through this beautiful Cathedral town, hunting for clues, talking with people, making friends and hunting down her lunch partner Constable Alan Nesbitt who seems to be just crazy about her. Even with her constant questions the townsfolk seem to really like her..forgiving her nosiness because "she is an American" and can't help it. This really makes me laugh...

This is a delightful cozy book...I have read the first two and just ordered all her others...I just wish I could read them all at one....and I highly recommend them....Lawscotch@aol.com

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE JUNE DAY had started off normally enough with the cats' demands to be fed and let out. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Town Hall, Barbara Dean, Lord Mayor, Herbert Benson, High Street, John Thorpe, King's Head, Archibald Pettifer, Inspector Morrison, Jack Jenkins, William Farrell, Ada Finch, Clarice Pettifer, George Crenshawe, Mavis Underwood, Bob Finch, Daniel Clarke, Dorothy Martin, English Heritage, Planning Aid, Cathedral Close, Sherebury Cathedral, Sherebury Museum, Archie Pettifer, Boris Karloff
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