Wednesday, March 18, 2015

The Gentle Art of Murder, Dorothy Martin Investigates by Jeanne M. Dams

Dorothy and Alan go to an art exhibit at the local college to meet a new teacher that their friends know.  It will be an opportunity to see what they teach at the college as well as a chance to encourage the new teacher.  Certainly nobody expected to find a dead body under the elevator...

Severn House Publishers and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 1st, so make a note to pick it up then.  If you haven't read about Dorothy before, pick up a book or two from the series.  They'll entertain you until this one comes out.  I've reviewed several, so just search my blog by the author's name and you'll know which ones I liked best.

He was the head of the school and was going to Greece when the term was up.  It sure didn't look like he got to go.  However, someone used his ticket to make the trip, even if they didn't use his accommodations.  Why would he go and come back?  And how did he come back without using his return ticket?  

The strangest part is that he has a chisel in his back but there's no blood.  He's also had poison but that didn't kill him.  It reminds me of that story about the man on the train that everybody stabs and no one admits the murder because they weren't sure they were the one that killed him.  In this case, the body is also mutilated with weapons that point at the teachers.  Then the autopsy says he died of natural causes...

This man was hated by all who worked at the school.  There are motives everywhere along with lots of red herrings to help them draw the wrong conclusions.  The more people they eliminate, the foggier the mystery gets.

One of the charms about these stories for me are the characters that people them.  You meet young old, odd, gossipy and sometimes just plain mean folks.  Dorothy always has a sense of right or wrong and can usually filter through the facts and come to a conclusion.  However, sometimes it's not the right conclusion, so you keep reading to see how she does in this book.  I like her relationship with Alan, her second husband and a retired police inspector.  She's always taking someone new under her wing.  And nobody gets away with murder on her watch.  How could I not like her?  I think you will, too.

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