To Perish in Penzance

October 8, 2001
Cornwall has a tradition as a setting for good mysteries, and this latest from Dams is no exception. In the seventh Dorothy Martin mystery (after 2000's Killing Cassidy), the retired Indiana school teacher and her husband, Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt (Ret.), escape from their rainy home in Sherebury to sunny Penzance, where Dorothy avowedly, and Alan less openly, hope to find evidence to solve a mystery that has long haunted Alan—the mysterious death of an unknown girl. Their Penzance vacation starts auspiciously enough with a chance meeting with a cancer patient and her beautiful daughter, as well as a party invitation from one of the town's leading citizens. Within a few days, however, history seems to be repeating itself when the daughter is found dead, apparently of a drug overdose. The opportunity to investigate is all too tempting, especially when the police shelve the inquiry to pursue other matters, including a bank robbery and the missing granddaughter of the couple's party host. Dorothy, who likes to gossip over tea or brandy, and Alan, who is methodical and thorough, make an appealing sleuthing pair. The tightly constructed plot contains enough twists to keep the reader wondering, though the somewhat weak solution rests on Dorothy's suppositions rather than on the concrete evidence her husband or the police might have provided. Well-drawn characters and striking sense of place make this a welcome addition to the series. (Nov. 23)FYI:Dams is also the author of
Green Grow the Victims (Forecasts, Apr. 16) and other mysteries in the Hilda Johansson series.

October 30, 2000
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.