A Dagger Before Me

Dams gives fair warning in an author’s note to her flimsy 21st Dorothy Martin mystery (after 2018’s Crisis at the Cathedral): “If you have no interest in eccentric English ceremonies, you can skip to chapter nine without missing too much of the plot.” One April morning, American expat Dorothy awakes in her home in Sherebury with a raging case of spring fever. Her always obliging husband, retired police detective Alan Nesbit, plans a series of excursions around Britain to amuse her. These trips continue into December, when the mystery plot finally slips into first gear. Sir Edwin Montcalm has invited Dorothy and Alan to the christening of his son. The couple arrive at the estate to discover things in a tizzy: the jeweled dagger to be used in the christening ceremony is missing. Later, a woman is found dead in a local pub, with a jeweled dagger beside the body. Dorothy’s actual detective work is negligible and is based mainly on her ability to decipher a small child’s rambling monologue. This one’s for diehard series fans and those fond of travelogues. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron Agency. (June)