A Deadly Web

Snug In Sherebury…
The twenty fifth mystery in the superlative Dorothy Martin mystery series has arrived! Snug in Sherebury, Dorothy and Alan have no idea of the impending chaos which is to descend along with the arrival of Alan’s unofficial great niece from the States. Lucy is arriving and with her buckets of mystery and mayhem of the first order. An absolute joy to catch up with this latest in the series and a delightful mystery with a most likeable protagonist in Dorothy, a well drawn supporting cast and an engaging storyline. A perfect escapist read with the Sherebury Sleuth.

A Deadly Web is the 25th book in this cozy mystery series set in a small cathedral city in England. I enjoy reading this series when I’m in the mood for an Agatha Christie style mystery featuring an American woman and her ex-policeman British husband. This book checks all the boxes of a classic cozy mystery including a murder that takes place “off page”, well developed characters, descriptions of British life and lots of interactions with the family pets.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Severn House, in return for an honest review. While the 25th book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. It is always a joy to return to ex-pat, Dorothy Martin, and her retired UK police officer husband, Alan. This time, an unofficial great niece, Lucy, arrives from the US to present at a conference. Her arrival brings unexpected mayhem to Dorothy and Alan although Lucy is a joy. Strong characters, excellent mysteries – this is a great cozy series!

Jeanne M. Dams' long-running Dorothy Martin Mystery series--26 books in as many years--is for readers who enjoy a low-key cozy mystery with a lovely retired couple as unofficial investigators. Dorothy had a long career as a school teacher, and Alan was chief constable of the county in which they reside in Sherebury, England. Both had been widowed, meeting when Dorothy, an American, was vacationing in England and Alan was still a constable. Since that time they have helped solve many murders together--with the help of law enforcement, of course.

This book focuses on Alan's "unofficial" grand-niece, who is visiting the couple as she presents lectures at the nearby university on fund-raising. Lucy has barely arrived when her fiancé, who is traveling from Illinois to meet up with her, is killed in a hit-and-run accident. The search for clues as to why the murder occurred, and whether her fiancé was really who he claimed to be, results in an interesting plot that requires both Dorothy and Alan to use their contacts from their previous investigations across several countries.

I enjoy spending time with this engaging couple who have such an admirable marital relationship--they really do "complete" each other--not to mention their friends and their pets, including an adorable, tiny kitten adopted by the family dog. And yes, the kitten plays an important and unexpected role in the plot. I recommend it as a quick, comfort read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

I do love a good murder mystery, especially when it involves a pair of more mature amateur sleuths. I haven’t read anything in this series before - my error - but I’ll certainly be looking for them now, especially as this is the 25th book in the series. Dorothy and Alan are great characters, fully rounded, with a wonderful selection of pets and friends. There is a really good, and plausible, plot, nice lines of enquiry and a good ending. I read it fairly quickly and really wanted to know how it finished. A very satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.q

Alan, a retired constable, and Dorothy, his American wife, have settled nicely into their marriage- and solving crimes. Alan's great niece Lucy has come to stay while she lectures at a college and she's eager to introduce them to her fiance Ian but then he's killed in a hit and run accident (or is it) in London. As in all good cozies, it turns out, sadly, that Ian wasn't the person Lucy thought he was. Alan and Dorothy put their skills and their contacts to work to get answers for her and open a can of worms in the process. I like this series (and this will be fine as a standalone) because of the way this mature couple relates to one another as a team. And the settings, as well as the mysteries, are terrific. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Jeanne Dams writes perfect British cozy mysteries in books that I have been reading since the very first in the series. This is number twenty-five. There are the setting in a cathedral town, a likeable ex-pat, Dorothy, who is of a certain age; Dorothy’s husband, Alan, a retired highly placed police official; those around them and, of course, a mystery in each entry.

This time Alan’s unofficial great niece is visiting. However, all does not go according to plan and Lucy’s fiancee is murdered. Who was this man really? Why was he killed?

Readers read the novel knowing that the case will be solved and that order will be restored. This is exactly the appeal of a cozy title; the reader can relax and enjoy while the author is trusted to do what they do best as Ms. Dams does here.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this title. All opinions are my own.

Alan's mobile wakes Dorothy with a text from Lucy, the daughter of the daughter of Helen's best friend, who is Alan's unofficial great-niece. She is coming to Sherebury to head a conference on fundraising. Dorothy agrees they must ask her to stay at their house. Lucy arrives, and soon tells them about her friend who is a wonderful, goodlooking, and smart man who is raising money for COVID victims. She shows them a gorgeous engagement ring inside her shirt which he doesn't want her to wear yet for some unknown reason. Alan is a little worried because she didn't declare it coming into the country, and it wasn't insured, so he offers to take it to be appraised and to insure it.

The next day, the dog Watson brings in a baby tortoiseshell kitten. Dorothy takes it to the vet and finds it is a male, and quite valuable. They name it Mike, and Watson and Mike become inseparable. Alan comes home with the ring which is fake stones, but he insured it for it value of 500 pounds. When Iain flies to London to be with Lucy, he is run down by a car in London. They find he was carrying a passport with a different name, and very soon realize that Iain is not the perfect fiance that Lucy had thought.

The more they find out, the more they decide that Lucy is better off without Iain. Several friends help in discovering more about Iain and the man he has been working with, as Alan, Dorothy, and Lucy work with their friends and the police to figure out who killed Iain, and what he was up to.

There is a lot of excitement near the end, and then we are celebrating Mike the kitten as the hero of the day.

Dorothy and Alan Martin are a charming elderly couple who live in the cozy village of Sherebury and frequently find themselves involved with murder. Alan’s unofficial grand-niece is coming from America to attend a conference and would like to visit. Connected through Alan’s late wife, they had lost touch when she moved to America as a child but she would like to meet Dorothy and catch up with Alan. She is newly engaged to Iain Campbell, who will be following a few days later. He is a fund raiser who manages his own charity. As she describes his work Alan and Dorothy’s suspicions are aroused and they decide to learn more about him. Before they can even meet Iain, he is the victim of a hit and run in London. Oddly, he is carrying a passport that identifies him as William Gray with no other identification.

Alan was a former police official and Dorothy was a school teacher in America. They have connections through their professions and travels that may be able to answer some questions about Iain’s true identity. Lucy’s also involved in fundraising for small colleges. Some of her contacts were wealthy donors who may have had contact with Iain. The more they learn about him the more questions they seem to have. One thing is clear. He was not working alone. The question is whether or not his death was an accident. If it wasn’t, could Lucy be in danger?

A visit with Dorothy and Alan is like a visit with friends. Her neighbor Jane is always there to offer support and plenty of food. The peal of the church bells, the visits to the local pub and the pets curled up on Dorothy’s lap as they discuss strategy give the reader a warm glow and will have you looking forward to your next visit with the Martins. I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn House for providing this book for my review.

Dorothy Martin's mysteries is amongst the longest running cozy mystery series and Ms Dams delivered another well plotted and entertaining story that kept me guessing.
I was glad to catch up with the characters and happy that this is well done mystery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Jeanne Dams plunks Dorothy Martin into the middle of a Deadly Web of shady money, murder, double identity, and theft. Lucy Bowman her British husband's unofficial great niece, has arrived in England to give a seminar at a high toned university; she is invited to stay with Dorothy and Alan. Alan, a former high powered policeman, discovers that Lucy's engagement ring is fake and then her so called fiance is killed by a car in England. The boyfriend has triple identities and was engaged in fraudulent fund raising. Every page of this thriller brings a new fraud of identity or money affairs. Who killed the fraudster at the center of the Deadly Web?