Sins Out Of School

Rating:
Summary: Almost 4 Stars
Review: I enjoy this light mystery series. I find Dorothy Martin interesting - mature, yet sometimes silly enough to make her not stuffy. This is the eighth in the series and one of the better ones. A schoolteacher's husband is killed and she, along with her young daughter, are having trouble coping with all the pressures that would go along with that. In steps Dorothy to help her both with the coping and with the solving of the mystery. Her investigation takes her a few times to London, which provides a break from the smalltown descriptions that normally accompany a book in this series. There were two reasons I did not give this book 4 stars: I was able to figure out the culprit long before the end of the book and I find the character of Dorothy's husband, Alan, a 2-dimensional character and wish he would be fleshed out a bit. But, this is a quite enjoyable read and I would recommend it, particularly to those that have read the earlier books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: ehhhh.... Used to be a fun series
Review: I've really enjoyed the other books in the Dorothy Martin series, especially Holy Terror in the Hebrides and Victim in Victoria Station. I'm only 60 pages into Sins Out of School, and I think I've closed the book for good. Another reviewer had it right - Jeanne Dams has become sanctimonious.

If you're Anglican / Episcopalian and are into heavy tradition and an "important" building to worship in, this book may be for you. Otherwise, stick with the previous books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: Instead of getting better with age,this series seems to be stuck in a rut.The early entries in the series (The Body in the Transept, To Perish in Penzance) were so much better than the most recent Dorothy Martin mysteries. Dorothy seems a bit sanctimonious these days and the presence of her dull husband, Alan Nesbitt, doesn't help much. Nesbitt is so sketchily drawn that it's hard to see him as anything other than just a shoulder for Dorothy to cry on once in a while. The plot in this book is only mildly involving and the mystery not very difficult to figure out. Overall, this is an ok book but it difinitely could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: Instead of getting better with age,this series seems to be stuck in a rut.The early entries in the series (The Body in the Transept, To Perish in Penzance) were so much better than the most recent Dorothy Martin mysteries. Dorothy seems a bit sanctimonious these days and the presence of her dull husband, Alan Nesbitt, doesn't help much. Nesbitt is so sketchily drawn that it's hard to see him as anything other than just a shoulder for Dorothy to cry on once in a while. The plot in this book is only mildly involving and the mystery not very difficult to figure out. Overall, this is an ok book but it difinitely could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: A Clever Diversion
Review: The story begins with a Thanksgiving Celebration in the heart of a British Cathedral town. Dorothy Martin, American Chatterbox with arthritic knees and the new wife of former Chief Constable Alan Nesbit, is begged to fill in for a teacher during a flu epidemic. While doing an admirable job as a substitute teacher, she becomes aware of bit of oddness and suddenly finds herself in the midst of a very unusual murder case. Jeanne Dams does an EXCELLENT sense of setting in her cozy mysteries, and the detective work is plausible. The Dorothy Martin character with her wacky hats and nosy questions does get on my nerves just a bit, but I like her anyway. The religious angle to the book was well set out and quite interesting and the characters were ones the reader could care about.

Rating:
Summary: A Clever Diversion
Review: The story begins with a Thanksgiving Celebration in the heart of a British Cathedral town. Dorothy Martin, American Chatterbox with arthritic knees and the new wife of former Chief Constable Alan Nesbit, is begged to fill in for a teacher during a flu epidemic. While doing an admirable job as a substitute teacher, she becomes aware of bit of oddness and suddenly finds herself in the midst of a very unusual murder case. Jeanne Dams does an EXCELLENT sense of setting in her cozy mysteries, and the detective work is plausible. The Dorothy Martin character with her wacky hats and nosy questions does get on my nerves just a bit, but I like her anyway. The religious angle to the book was well set out and quite interesting and the characters were ones the reader could care about. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant cozy
Review: This seemed to me to be one of the better books in this Dorothy Martin series. The plotting and characters were well done and the story moved along quickly and evenly. The plot opens with a totally submissive mother and young daughter, one or both of whom appear to have murdered the domineering husband/father. They don't ask for Dorothy Martin's help but they get it anyway. She and her ex-Chief Constable husband work on the case, tracking it through a self-righteous religious sect and almost to the British parliament.

The writer does two tricky things well. She manages to write reasonably accurately about life in an small English cathedral town from the point of view of an American, and she has two people working as a detective team without turning one of them into a buffoon (as in the Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot novels). She has also presented a fairly long series without becoming formulaic.

If you enjoy this genre, you'll probably like this book, so curl up beside the fire and enjoy, and share it with a friend.