Gentle Art of Murder, The

While attending a party to introduce a new staff member at Sherebury University’s art department, Dorothy Martin and her husband, retired detective Alan Nesbit, come across a body at the bottom of an elevator shaft.  As the husband and wife detective team go into action, another faculty member ends up dead.

I have read and enjoyed several books in this series of cosy mysteries featuring retired teacher and ex-pat American, Dorothy Martin who is married to Alan Nesbit, retired Chief Constable and living in a four hundred year old house in Sherebury in the English countryside. Dorothy manages to stumble across more dead bodies than the average person and this book is no exception.

Dorothy and Alan are invited to a reception at the local art college to support a friend of a friend who has just started work there and the body of the head of the college is discovered at the bottom of the lift shaft. Did he fall or was he pushed?

Dorothy and Alan find themselves involved in the investigation as they try to protect Gillian - the new employee at the college - who starts receiving threatening phone calls. The plot is complex and there are plenty of twists and turns and several suspects which will keep readers guessing for most of the book.

I thought this latest episode in the series was well up to this author's usual standard and if you look mysteries with little on the age violence and no swearing then this may be the series for you. The books can be read in any order. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.

This review is live on Amazon and on Goodreads and will go live on my blog - link below - on 22 February.

I've seen books written by Jeanne M. Dams for quite some time, but somehow just never chose one to read. Luckily that situation has changed thanks to NetGalley and I can now count this author as someone I want to put on my "look for" list. There are lots of other novels in this series, but I had no trouble at all having this book be my starting point. The novel has a well planned mystery which was certainly not easy to solve - I was definitely looking in the wrong direction - yet I felt the author allowed me to solve it along with her protagonist. I must admit there were many times when I asked myself if there was no security unit at all at Sherebury University and specifically the Wolfson College of Art because it seemed as if anybody could walk into that place at any time and commit all sorts of mayhem unhindered by another human being. Not having a single person who worked there as a member of the administrative staff was also quite unusual. Definitely not a typical university setting, but quite handy for concealing a murder.

The novel was enjoyable to read and fun for me to try to solve the mystery. I liked the permanent characters and am interested in checking out other adventures in murder Dorothy Martin has been involved with. As an American myself, I was pleased to see that Dorothy was not presented as an irritating ex-American and there aren't too many instances of comparisons between the two countries.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley.

Dorothy and Alan go to an art exhibit at the local college to meet a new teacher that their friends know.  It will be an opportunity to see what they teach at the college as well as a chance to encourage the new teacher.  Certainly nobody expected to find a dead body under the elevator...

Severn House Publishers and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 1st, so make a note to pick it up then.  If you haven't read about Dorothy before, pick up a book or two from the series.  They'll entertain you until this one comes out.  I've reviewed several, so just search my blog by the author's name and you'll know which ones I liked best.

He was the head of the school and was going to Greece when the term was up.  It sure didn't look like he got to go.  However, someone used his ticket to make the trip, even if they didn't use his accommodations.  Why would he go and come back?  And how did he come back without using his return ticket?  

The strangest part is that he has a chisel in his back but there's no blood.  He's also had poison but that didn't kill him.  It reminds me of that story about the man on the train that everybody stabs and no one admits the murder because they weren't sure they were the one that killed him.  In this case, the body is also mutilated with weapons that point at the teachers.  Then the autopsy says he died of natural causes...

This man was hated by all who worked at the school.  There are motives everywhere along with lots of red herrings to help them draw the wrong conclusions.  The more people they eliminate, the foggier the mystery gets.

One of the charms about these stories for me are the characters that people them.  You meet young old, odd, gossipy and sometimes just plain mean folks.  Dorothy always has a sense of right or wrong and can usually filter through the facts and come to a conclusion.  However, sometimes it's not the right conclusion, so you keep reading to see how she does in this book.  I like her relationship with Alan, her second husband and a retired police inspector.  She's always taking someone new under her wing.  And nobody gets away with murder on her watch.  How could I not like her?  I think you will, too.

The Gentle Art of Murder is an enjoyable classic mystery featuring American expat Dorothy Martin and her retired detective husband Alan Nesbitt.  

Before the start of the new term, Sherebury's art college hosts a welcome party for its newest teaching assistant, sculptor Gillian Roberts.  Alan and Dorothy attend, expecting a dull evening complete with indifferent wine and questionable snacks.  Instead, Dorothy and Alan are at hand for the discovery of the body of the much despised head of the art college at the bottom of an elevator shaft.  Was it the fall or the chisel in the back that killed Chandler? With their experience and connections in the community, Dorothy and Alan are well equipped to assist the police in their investigation.

When a lecturer goes missing and Gillian receives threatening calls, it becomes clear that the duo must find the murderer before he strikes again.

Part of what makes reading Dams's novels a pleasure are the characters.  Dorothy and her husband Alan have a close relationship that is wonderful to observe.  Both are perceptive and compassionate, supportive of each others actions and willing to help others.   While practical in their investigation, they are not cynical and that shows in how they interact with others.  Dorothy's optimism and empathy make her an appealing heroine.

While the mystery itself is relatively straightforward, it Dams's craftsmanship and attention to detail that makes The Gentle Art of Murder a good novel.   The side stories and supporting characters add color and depth.  

The Gentle Art of Murder will please fans of the Dorothy Martin books as well as newcomers to the series.  It is a delightful cozy novel appropriate for mystery lovers of all ages.  The Dorothy Martin novels can be read in any order.

I received a copy of The Gentle Art of Murder from the publisher and net galley.com in exchange for an honest review.

The Gentle Art of Murder is available for preorder and will be released June 1, 2015

--Crittermom

The last time I read a book by Jeanne M. Dams was probably 15 years ago or so and while I remember enjoying the series I don't remember much about it.  I have no idea why I stopped reading it.  I was getting almost all my books from a used book store at the time so it may have been just simple lack of availability.  I thought I remembered this being on the cute and fluffy end of the cozy spectrum so I was curious especially since the cover of this one doesn't fit with the usual cute and fluffy cover.  Now I don't know if my memory is faulty, my tastes have changed or if the series has evolved but I definitely wouldn't deem this one as cute or fluffy.  While it definitely is a cozy - amateur-ish detective, most of the violence occurs off-page, and the victim was incredibly unlikable I found this more like a classic mystery in terms of style.  The mystery itself is very solid and kept me guessing.  This definitely wasn't one of those books where you have no suspects.  Every person in the book had a pretty valid reason to take out the victim and the only thing that was surprising was that no one had done it earlier.  It made since that Dorothy was involved in the investigation as her husband was a very much respected detective and they have a long history working as a team.  Also, while I sometimes find books involving the British education system confusing, it was no issue here.  The mystery was clear, clean, well-plotted, and thoroughly enjoyable.  I can't wait to read more of the series.