Holy Terror in the Hebrides: A Dorothy Martin Mystery

Dorothy Martin, an American widow with arthritic knees and a penchant for hats, travels with the reader into this cozy mystery set on a dramatic island off the coast of Scotland. Bright flowers, glorious hiking, historic landmarks, mislaid keys, heavenly meals, a canny cat, travel to the dark and mysterious island of Staffa, even a cure for seasickness, factor into a fun and clever whodunit. When one of the members of an acrimonious church group is lost and presumed drowned in Fingal's cave, Dorothy senses more than knows that it is murder. Back at the beautiful island, she puzzles out the numerous motives, as a major storm blows an ill wind across the island. Better batten down the hatches, this one is exciting.

This is the third in Jeanne M. Dams' delightful English cozy series featuring Dorothy Martin, a retired American schoolteacher living in Sherebury, England. In this adventure, our heroine, en route to a vacation on the Scottish island of Iona, finds herself on a bus with an ill-assorted, bickering American church tour group headed for the same idyllic destination. Dorothy's holiday turns out to be anything but peaceful: An obnoxious American is killed in a fall from a cliff in Fingal's Cave, and Dorothy suspects murder. As if that weren't enough, the island is hit by an extremely violent storm. This is a wonderful series, with a charming sleuth and many likable characters. I recommend beginning with the first novel, "The Body in the Transept," and reading the books in order, so you can become acquainted with Dorothy and her friends.

This is not a review...I had written a review but do not see it listed with the others do you only take so many for each book or is there certain criteria that I am not meeting....I thought it was a good review. [email protected] (Margie R.)

And what a vacation she has...In this 3rd book, Jeanne Dams takes us to the Isle of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides....a beautiful place, pleaceful, historical, spiritual, and at the stame time... stormy, wild, unyielding and meloncholy. Dorothy sees an accident..BUT, is it an accident? She jumps right in to convince others that it wasn't but no one seems to believe her....she is surrounded by a group of Americans who don't like each other...don't worry, Dorothy to the rescue! Another good story from Jeanne Dams whose descriptions of the island made me feel as if I were there the whole time and had a vacation myself....Margie

The bit of a twist that made an accident appear to be murder worked for me. It made me think, 'Okay, this main character is on the edge of bragging about helping to solve murders in England, feels a bit put-out because the Scottish police don't seem to want her help, and then realizes that she might have made a mistake - and she wants to correct it." It's nice to see a main character who is not only NOT perfect, but is made to face how she might have hurt someone by her mistake. She doesn't have to see and solve everything on her own.