A Dark and Stormy Night: A Dorothy Martin Mystery

Dorothy Martin, with her recent knee replacements, doesn't move as fast as she used to in Dams's stately 10th mystery to feature the retired American schoolteacher living in England (after 2004's Winter of Discontent). Dorothy and her retired chief constable husband, Alan Nesbit, join friends at a restored Kent abbey, now a country house with all the modern conveniences, to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. Unfortunately, a major storm casts a pall on the house party—and blows over an oak tree that reveals a human skeleton tangled in its roots. The discovery in a secret room of a mummy—a desiccated female body whose clothes date from the mid–20th century—adds to the intrigue. Fans of traditional English mysteries should be satisfied. (Apr.)