Malice in Miniature

September 28, 1998
Dorothy Martin, known for her eccentric hats and snoopy nature, returns (from Holy Terror in the Hebrides, 1997) to delight cozy fans anew. Martin, who moved from America to England after she was widowed, has married Alan Nesbitt, Chief Constable of Sherebury, and is adjusting to wedded bliss in her 17th-century cottage. Then their charwoman, Ada Finch, begs Dorothy to help clear her son, Bob, who has been arrested for theft. Bob, who works as a gardener at Brocklesby Hall, is accused of stealing an antique miniature tea set from the Miniatures Museum there. Agreeing to investigate, Dorothy finds that the Hall harbors not only the enchanting Museum but a collection of assorted oddballs, foremost of whom is Sir Mordred Brocklesby, obsessed with his miniature houses and furnishings. Bob is cleared of theft, but is eyed as a suspect again when Brocklesby's domineering housekeeper is murdered. Another murder complicates the case--and Dorothy's home life with her copper husband. No garden variety ex-pat herself, the 60-ish Martin manages to get around the British reserve of most of the villagers as she steers this tightly paced, thoroughly entertaining tale to its unpredictable finale, and despite some damage done to herself in the process, celebrates a memorable Thanksgiving.

November 3, 1997
In her pleasurable, albeit snail-paced, third adventure (following Trouble in Town Hall, 1996), Dorothy Martin, a 60-ish expat American widow living in England, goes on holiday to the Isle of Iona and is stuck in the company of an acrimonious group of spiritual leaders. As in her previous appearances, the amiable Dorothy becomes a sounding board for all viewpoints. The seven men and women, on a trip sponsored by an ecumenical religious group in Chicago, include an angry young Roman Catholic nun, a black Baptist choir director, a gay Lutheran organist and a Jewish rabbi whose only grandson committed suicide when he learned he had AIDS. The group reeks with mutual animosity and is united only in their enmity toward Bob Williams, a Methodist youth organizer. When Bob slips off a rock in what looks to be an accident while the group views Fingal's Cave, only Dorothy notices a treacherous and unexpected patch of water beneath his feet. It could have been left by anyone in the group, each of whom carried a water bottle. As an enormous storm isolates them on Iona, Dorothy hears more about Bob--including hints of pedophilia--and vows to uncover the truth. Dams's latest leisurely, nonviolent mystery doesn't have much of a payoff but benefits from its sleuth's appealing, loquacious personality and comes as well with a loving description of Iona.