The Bath Conspiracy (A Dorothy Martin Mystery)

by Jeanne M. Dams

American Anglophile Dorothy Martin is celebrating her birthday in the historic city of Bath, but the discovery of a number of stolen artefacts throws her plans awry.

Retired chief constable Alan Nesbit and his wife Dorothy Martin are in the beautiful historic city of Bath to celebrate Dorothy's birthday, enjoying the city's elegant surroundings, sightseeing, shopping - and champagne.

But the celebrations are curtailed when they discover a curious assortment of loot in their car boot during a trip to Stonehenge - from precious artefacts to cheap jumble sale trinkets. The stolen items are linked to various historic sites in Bath, but how did they end up in the Martins' car? As Dorothy and Alan seek to prove their innocence and catch a thief, they are soon swept into a conspiracy that runs much deeper and darker . . .

• ISBN10: 0727892509
• ISBN13: 9780727892508
• Publish Date: 31 March 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Bath Conspiracy is the 24th (!) book in the Dorothy Martin cozy mysteries by Jeanne M. Dams. Released 1st June 2021 by Severn House, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This entire series is very cozy and enjoyable and the characters are refreshingly down to earth, intelligently portrayed, and believable. All of the books work well as standalones and this would be a good starting point to hop on the series. The author is adept enough to provide the necessary back story without spoon feeding or info dumping and there aren't any major spoilers from earlier books which aren't included in the blurb on the back cover, namely that Dorothy is an expat American who is married to a retired English chief constable and who now resides in England and they solve mysteries together as a sort of superannuated Nick & Nora.

This is pure escapist entertainment and the language is squeaky clean. There's *very* light unspecific consensual sexual content hinted at in the book, but nothing at all suggestive or off-color (and the characters are married). The narrative arc doesn't contain any real danger or threat and I found it a lovely interlude to a very stressful time. This is the book for a pot of tea and nibbles, curled up on the sofa on a rainy weekend.

Four stars. A lovely read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.