SINS OUT OF SCHOOL: A Dorothy Martin Mystery

A traditional American Thanksgiving dinner unexpectedly leads Dorothy Martin, now nearly 70 and settled in the medieval town of Sherebury with her retired police constable husband, Alan Nesbit, into a murder case as chilling as the British weather. This is Agatha-winner Dams's seventh mystery to feature the gutsy and intuitive amateur sleuth (after 2001's To Perish in Penzance). On Thanksgiving day, Dorothy takes nine-year-old Miriam Doyle into her home and heart after the girl's mother, a teacher, is accused of stabbing the girl's father to death. Encouraged by the police and advised by Alan, Dorothy investigates the murder. The local cathedral, quirky characters, erratic trains and lots of tea all figure in this traditional British cozy with a unique twist—an American Miss Marple as heroine. Agent, the Reece Halsey Agency North. (Jan. 30)

FYI:Dams is also the author of Green Grow the Victims (Forecasts, Apr. 16, 2001) and other mysteries in her Hilda Johanns0n series.