Jeanne M. Dams lives in South Bend, Indiana. The Body in the Transept, which introduced Dorothy Martin, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Dams is also the author of Green Grow the Victims and other Hilda Johansson mysteries published by Walker & Company.
This review is from: Holy Terror in the Hebrides (Dorothy Martin Mysteries, No. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
Dorothy is invited by close friends, Lynn & Tom Anderson, to stay for a restful vacation at their cottage in Iona in the Hebrides. Since Alan, Dorothy's significant other and chief constable, is caught up in the formalities of police duties leaving Dorothy alone, she accepts the invitation gratefully. So after a lengthy traveling experience in getting there she's ready to unload and relax. That is until she discovers she left the key to the cottage at home. This situations is shortly remedied by Dorothy moving into a nearby hotel with quite a group of American travelers. On one of their excursions to the fabled Fingals' Cave an accident occurs that involved the death of a fellow traveler. Dorothy ponders whether this was in actuality an accident or is she reading more into it than deems plausible.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this (off the beaten path) story taking Dorothy away from Sherebury and Alan as well as her next door neighbor, Jane. The author brings each new character to life in clear detail with a background on each making this book another adventure in the life of Dorothy Martin. Highly recommended to all cozy lovers.
I read this book a number of years ago, probably when it was new, and it spoiled my relationship with the Dorothy Martin books (I liked the first two, which I recently reread). I still found this book full of offensive stereotypes, but the ending was not quite as bad as I had remembered. Dorothy, for a variety of reasons, is alone at a hotel on the Hebridean island of Iona, her friends having been delayed. She becomes involved by a not too pleasant religious tour group from Chicago that includes (almost like a World War II movie!) an African American, a gay guy or two, a rabbi, and a nun. That's where some of the stereotypes come in. Someone dies in an accident which Dorothy suspects was a peculiarly indirect murder; there's a killer storm; someone is injured; Dorothy feels threatened. It's still never going to be one of my favorites, but I don't feel that it's biased, as I had remembered it.
Fun and Fluffy mystery. Jeanne does a great job of giving us decent, believable characters, interesting locales, and a little mystery with just enough vicarious tea and comfort. I needed this one at a time when LOTS was going on and 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there of fluffy murder was just the downtime needed!
While I generally like the Dorothy Martin Mystery series Jeanne M. Dams, I did not enjoy this particular novel. I was looking forward to all of the charm of the Hebrides, and of Iona in particular. The improbable plot kept disturbing my peace. There is endless hiking over difficult terrain which is difficult to picture unless you have actually been to Iona, and perhaps, even if you have been there. Those of you who like suspense might well like this book, but I became impatient for the story to resolve itself. Dorothy Martin, with her self-proclaimed weak knees, could never have managed those hills, nor could she have outsmarted the villain, since the denouement required a 'chase' over those hills. I think Ms. Dams strayed a bit from her mandate in this cozy. When a cozy starts to read like a thriller, it has abandoned its genre.
I am enjoying reading this series, but sometimes Dorothy Martin does act a bit silly. I like my heroines to have some sense, but running away into an uninhabited area of the island followed by the suspect was not smart when she could easily have gone to where there were other people. And then Alan arrives from Belgium in a helicopter to the rescue. As I am Dorothy Martin's age I do find her frailties a bit overdone at times as well, but I certainly admire her spirit. I will keep reading the series and hope this one is the weakest.
Wonderfully descriptive writing again. Jeanne brings Iona to life and makes me for one want to go there. Maybe slightly less so during the storm but then no where is particularly appealing when extremely wet and windy. Once again Dorothy stumbles on a death only this time she sees it happen and her imagination quickly takes her from the certainty of having witnessed an accident to the fear that that accident has been engineered. Her investigation is hampered by not knowing a sole on Iona and the group of religious travellers she's been thrown together with are not particularly friendly with each other nevermind with Dorothy. It all happens in the space of a few days and Dorothy isn't the only one that wishes Alan was with her.
#3 Dorothy Martin mystery, this one set on the island of Iona off Scotland's coast. Dorothy is planning to join friends who are renting a cottage on Iona for a couple of weeks, only to have her friend's husband have a mild heart attack just before so they are unable to go. Since the cottage is paid for, they urge Dorothy to go on ahead, and as her policeman friend Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt is out of the country at a conference, she decides to do just that.
She unwittingly forgets the key to the rented cottage back in Sherebury and thus spends a couple of days at a hotel along with an ecumenical church group from the Chicago area--but they certainly seem to be having some problems with getting along together! A diverse group from several Christian sects and a Jewish Rabbi, their number dwindles by one when Robert Williams--whom none of the others liked--dies in front of Dorothy's eyes, slipping off a cliff inside Fingal's Cave, bouncing off rocks and into the water.
But the more Dorothy thinks about it, the more she thinks his death wasn't entirely accidental. Then a major storm with hurricane-force winds besieges the island and she doesn't have much time to consider it--without phone or electricity working in her cottage, Dorothy once again takes refuge in the hotel where they have a generator, and where she can observe the members of the religious party more closely and look for clues as to who might have sabotaged Bob Williams, causing him to fall.
This was a pleasant, light cozy read--another of these series that I inexplicably enjoy. I learned a lot of interesting things about Iona and its history, and despite Dorothy sometimes being a silly twit, I do like her and find the author's writing style easy to read and enjoyable. Not earth-shatteringly wonderful, but a certainly enjoyable read, and a series I'll continue to read through.
I chose this book because it is set on Iona, one of the Hebrides islands off western Scotland, where I have visited several times. So I know the house that Dams chose to make the "Iona Hotel" as well as the island itself, basically one mile by four miles. As I mentioned in my review of the first book in this series, I am not impressed by and not sure I even like the heroine. Dorothy is the one to see someone fall into the water at nearby Fingal's Cave and is convinced it is suspicious. A major storm erupts soon after and Dorothy puts together a variety of conversations to convince herself she has discovered a murderer. The primary group of characters are interfaith folk from Chicago, basically caricatures and all rather nasty. The ending with its deus ex machina was not convincing and Dorothy is not really held responsible for her wrong-headed nosiness that is hurtful. I totally understand why the author writes these books--she travels to lovely places in Great Britain and then probably has fun figuring out how to set her books there. But the stories don't work for me; last one of them I will read.
I know I've read other books in this series, but can't remember which ones at this time. This is a step above - maybe even two or three steps above the cozy mysteries I read. Again, we have an amateur detective, but she isn't quite as nosy or foolhardy as some of the heroines in the cozies.
Dorothy Martin has gone to a Scottish Island for a vacation and because of storms brewing gets stuck with a religious group in a hotel, since she forget the key to the cottage she and her friend are renting. One of the party has died in what appears to be an accident, at least at first, to Dorothy, who witness the fall. However, she begins to think is actually a murder. She concludes one of the party must be the murderer and tries to determine which one.
I think I can abide Dorothy's investigating more that others I've read, as I mentioned previously - she is not overtly nosy as some characters. She is certainly not as foolhardy thought she does leap so some conclusion which prove erroneous. On the whole, a good mystery.
Dorothy Martin, American widow living in England, travels to the island of Iona off the West coast of Scotland for a holiday with some friends. She is missing Alan Nesbitt, her friend the Chief Constable as well as he is Brussels for a conference.
Dorothy ends up staying in a hotel rather than the cottage her friends have rented due to a chapter of accidents and her fellow guests are an ill-assorted collection of Americans who seem constantly at each other’s throats. A death and a huge storm creates problems for everyone and Dorothy seems to be the only person trying to work out whether the death was accident, murder or suicide.
Beautiful scenery, less than beautiful people and an interesting plot make this book exciting reading – especially the last couple of chapters which are very tense. I like Dorothy with her eye catching hats, well developed curiosity and her common sense. This is the third book in the series. If you like cosy mysteries with interesting heroines who aren’t afraid of interfering in things which don’t concern them then give Dorothy Martin a try.
This novel is a continuation of the Dorothy Martin series and in this one she is invited on a vacation to the island of Iona with her friends Tom and Lynn. Her friend Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt is in Brussels, so she accepts the invitation. The first thing that goes wrong, and there are many to come, is Tom's chest pains that keep the Andersons in London. The second is the group of people travelling with her. They are an ecumenical group from Chicago who do not enjoy each other's company, and the third is the weather forecast. A storm is bearing down on the island that frightens even the locals.
Her first full day is a holy terror. She takes a boat to famed Fingal's Cave and sees a man slip to his death. Everyone else accepts that his death was a tragic accident except Dorothy who noticed that the area he was standing in was wet where it should have been dry. She is determined to prove it is murder and the storm arrives. There are many twists and turns before the exciting conclusion.
A group of American tourists from different Christian denominations who DO NOT get along with each other visit Scotland on a retreat. Meanwhile, Dorothy is also on vacation in Scotland and is touring with the group when she witnesses a member (who is liked by exactly nobody) fall to his demise. Was it an accident or murder?
"Holy Terror in the Hebrides" is set up like a closed-room mystery in a sense that this group of people get stuck on an island during a raging storm, and one of them is a potential killer. There is no ill will lost amongst the suspects and they each have very distinctive personalities. The one thing to keep in mind when reading this book is that it did come out quite a while ago (1997)so some of the sentiments are a bit dated. Other than that, it was a fantastic cozy and I must say, I am really enjoying my little jaunt with Dorothy Martin.
Couldn't be more poorly researched if it tried. Puffins appearing on Staffa at the wrong time of year, five minutes of lost wandering to cover three miles of ground, the walkway in Fingal's Cave being 60 feet high, the assertion that Iona marble is made of granite... So many issues for anyone that knows the place.
Add to all this the tartan shortbread tin version of the Scottish people that live there. Ugh. It's a bit too "hoots mon', if you know what I mean. For a book set in Scotland it is just so... American.
It's like being trapped inside a high-maintenance tourist. Dorothy is written like she's meant to be relatable, but for me she's exactly like all the other hotel guests that she wants to avoid because they're hard work!
I started to read it because it is set on Iona, and I only kept going with it because, like a car crash, I couldn't look away.
Perhaps it was a bad time for me to reread this, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two. The setting - the Scottish island of Iona - is interesting. But I missed having Alan around, and Dorothy finds herself surrounded by a lot of unpleasant American tourists. I don't like reading books filled with unlikable people, plus I thought the story dragged after one of them dies, perhaps in part because no one liked him and everyone refuses to believe it wasn't an accident, so no one but Dorothy cares. I actually had to force myself to keep reading until the storm arrived. Then things picked up again and I enjoyed it. Dorothy makes some serious mistakes in this book, but I like reading about amateur detectives who aren't perfect, so that didn't bother me at all. This isn't the best in the series, though.
A tale set in Iona which gives an extremely vivid and detailed description of what it’s like in stormy weather. As a murder mystery it’s a disappointment. The self-deprecating ‘cozy’ narrator does think someone has been murdered but it turns out that is PROBABLY not the case. Which is not the most satisfying ending ever. She does get married to someone we only meet in the last five pages of the book if you think that’s any better. And this would not be an LGBT person’s favourite read. Over all, it’s disappointing but the writer does manage a high tedium rating.
I enjoy this series a lot more than I thought I might, given the large influence religion has in the stories. I certainly disagree with her reasoning regarding atheism. But Dorothy -never Dottie- Martin is a very interesting character, and like Miss Marple, uses her age and appearance of harmlessness to disarm and charm while rooting out evil.
Dorothy Martin is almost an American version of Miss Marple and she's out solving murders in the UK (as she lives in a lovely old home outside of London). I am really enjoying Ms. Dams' series of murder/mysteries with the irrepressible Dorothy at the helm. She really does get herself involved in some quite unique situations and THAT is all I'm going to say!
Dorothy is on a holiday on a wee island in the Hebrides, and encounters (to her distress) unfriendly hotel guests, a horrific storm and a murder. In her own inimitable way, Dorothy creates order out of chaos, and emerges triumphant. What a gal!
I really like Dorothy, altho I find it hard to believe that there are nosey ladies such as she, running around solving crimes so effortlessly. This is a great little Brit mystery in a soft cover binding. It moves right along; easy reading.
The main character is an unlikable, self important busybody, the caricatures of Scottish people and accents are unnecessary, the author has done little effective research of the location, and makes harmful assumptions about marginalised communities.
Iona is a favorite place so I enjoyed the setting of this book and the chance to “revisit” this island. The story was quite contrived unfortunately. I do not think I’ll read more of this author.
Not as much on the Hebrides as I would have liked, and the plot was rather improbable. The characters were mildly interesting, but not worth trying to track down more by this author.
If mysteries belong in the "comfort food" section of my reading menu, then Cozies are my literary Mac and Cheese: warm, smooth and cheesy, filling in an uncomplicated sort of way, and so familiar.
Holy Terror in the Hebrides (HTitH) is the third installment of what seems to be a sizable series. I have not read any of the others and can say that this didn't cause any significant trouble for me. As the action of this book takes the main character (Dorothy) away from her standard setting, there are only a few moments that reference anything from the past novels, and they don't relate to the current plotline. There IS an over-arcing romance storyline, though. It also doesn't impact the plot, and is fairly downplayed in this novel, but any readers who care about that would be best advised to start from the beginning of the series, I gather.
I love that our heroine is a sixty-something foodie. I also love that she is sensible without being matronly, and fun enough to still go adventures and imagine herself briefly as royalty while she descends grand staircases. The natural setting is given a lot of love in HTitH, and Iona sounds like a beautiful place.
The actual mystery is somewhat ho-hum. Dorothy makes some pretty big leaps and assumptions, which I found to be problematic. I would NOT call this fair-play.
There is some heavy-handed religiosity, which I never love. Also, while the ambivalent activism in this book is surely meant with good intentions, it falls flat and ends up feeling dated and judgey and insincere. I do applaud Dams for trying, but I feel like she missed the mark.
The Cozy atmosphere is delightful, though, and comfortable. There is an awful lost of homage scattered about (usually in character names), tips of stylish hat to Cozy-Authors-Past (and characters, too). I would read this series with restrained glee, but I wouldn't go out of my way to hunt it down.
When Dorothy Martin is invited to stay with friends on the Scottish island of Iona, she is thrilled; less so when her friends have to postpone their arrival due to illness, nevertheless Dorothy is happy to travel by herself to the far-flung island. Having forgotten her key to the cottage, she must first find accommodations on the tiny island. Fortunately, there is room at one small hotel, which is otherwise filled with religious folks from Chicago - all from different Christian churches (and one rabbi), the group has been selected for a pilgrimage visit to this holy place. Unfortunately, they don’t like each other at all, and when Dorothy sees one of them fall to his death from a slippery rock in a cave, she cannot help but think someone in that group must be involved somehow…. This is the third book in the Dorothy Martin series, which features an ex-pat American widow living in England and finding herself involved in murder in various corners of the UK. I was not terribly impressed with this entry in the series, especially as she expresses doubts about the sexuality of some characters (like it’s any of her business) and is quick to decide that the only Jew on the entire island is guilty of murder; but at least those matters are resolved in the end. This is a series I’ve been picking up when feeling a need to read a cozy; it’s middling as far as the writing and plotting goes, but it does scratch that itch, so a very mild recommendation from me.