Trouble in the Town Hall

American widow Dorothy Martin is slowly adapting to her new hometown of Sherebury, England, with the help of her neighbour Jane Langland and Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, and by busying herself with the affairs of the town. She knows there is dissension concerning the dilapidated town hall, which some people want to preserve and others want to gut and turn into a shopping centre; while snooping around the place, she stumbles upon a dead body stuffed into a closet. The questions of who the victim is, and how he might or might not be tied to the local building controversy, keep nagging at Dorothy, until she knows that she must dig deeper for the truth…. This is the second book in this cozy mystery series, and, like the first, it’s show more light and frothy, with murder and other unsavory events generally discussed but not graphically seen. I like Dorothy, although she can be a bit annoying at times because she seems to like to get herself into a dither emotionally from time to time; still, anyone who names their cats Esmeralda and Samantha (after “Bewitched,” of course!) can’t be all bad. The story, full of the obligatory red herrings and misdirections, plays relatively fair with the reader, too. I would take issue with the idea that even in 1996 (when this was published) then-Prince Charles would make a Royal Visit to open a wing of a small hospital in a minor cathedral town - lesser royals, sure, but the Heir to the Throne would have more important things to do - but otherwise, a pleasant enough read. Mildly recommended. show less

Over 6 months has passed since the events in #1 in this series, THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT.

Dorothy is thrust into world of building by the state of the roof of her cottage, and also by the local controversy over what will be happening to the town hall now that the Town Council has moved to new premises on the outskirts of the town.

Since the last book Dorothy has acquired another cat and has been developing her friendship with the Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt. Despite Alan's warnings to take things carefully and circumspectly, Dorothy attends a town meeting when discussion about turning the old Town Hall into a shopping mall becomes very heated.

Dorothy discovers the body of a young man in a cupboard in the Town Hall, and then becomes show more curious about why a work colleague becomes faint every time the incident is mentioned.

Eventually Dorothy predictably outs herself in danger yet again, and another work colleague is murdered.

If you enjoy cozies you will probably enjoy this series, but make sure you read them from the beginning. show less

I loved the first few of the series, but this one was just plan annoying. The protagonist is a busy body and down right obnoxious with her style of getting answers. I don't buy it either that the police would be so accommodating to her and her getting involved. She is whiny and bothersome. Sorry to say that I won't bet reading any more of this series.