Dorothy Martin, American ex-pat, and her husband, retired Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, are invited to Buckingham Palace to attend the presentation of the George Cross to Alan's friend Jonathan Quinn. Jonathan is a retired police officer who was severely wounded during an act of heroism. After the ceremony they discover the body of a teenage girl under the shrubbery in Saint James Park and Jonathan later admits that he recognized the vistim as the daughter of his childhood friend Jemima. Against Alan's better judgment, the trio decides to investigate on their own rather than immediately informing the police of the girl's identity in hopes of protecting the girl's mother, who works at the palace.
As usual, Dorothy's investigation runs into twists and turns and roadblocks, but both her husband and the local police have come to realize that her reputation as a superb amateur sleuth is well-deserved and they value her insights even when they are exasperated by her involvement. I love Dorothy's hats and her bad knees (now greatly improved due to knee replacement surgery). She is such a lovable character, more worldly than Miss Marple and more down-to earth than Agatha Raisin. She and Alan enjoy occasional love scenes that fade out in a pleasingly old-fashioned way and their home in the shadow of the Sherebury Cathedral s is the perfect English cottage. As usual, I recommend this series highly. The mysteries are always good and the sense of place is wonderful!
No comments:
Post a Comment