Dorothy Martin is thrilled to visit Mont St. Michel in France, although she is saddened by the fact that her husband, retired police constable Alan Nesbitt, cannot join her immediately because he has a broken ankle. Still, it takes almost no time for Dorothy to stumble across a mystery in the making: it appears that there might be lost manuscripts from the medieval monk Peter Abelard, and it appears that they might be located somewhere within the monastery on the Mont, Soon, she meet some people pursuing such a find, including a British graduate student (or is he?), a retired American businessman who is thinking of writing a novel (or is he?) and a renowned medievalist from the University of Chicago who hopes to add yet more luster to his career - all very interesting altogether, but then they start to be subjected to “accidents”.... This is the first book in the series not to be set in the UK, but the author clearly knows and loves the French landmark too. The various villains and victims are nicely drawn and the unraveling of the mystery is quite well done, although I knew who the culprit was very early on. If you love cozy mysteries but want them to be devious and difficult to solve on your own, this series is probably not for you; I still enjoy Dorothy and the other characters, however, and liked the setting of this one in particular. Recommended. ( )

The Missing Masterpiece by Jeanne M. Dams is the 19th Dorothy Martin mystery. Dorothy i s a retired schoolteacher from Indiana who married Alan Nesbit, a now retired Chief Constable. They are a loving couple. Gentle hints let us know that they still enjoy marital relations. They may not have the stamina and flexibility of youth, but they still have their wits -- all the sharper for decades of experience.

Alan has the misfortune to break his left ankle before their planned trip to France with their young sculptress friend, Gillian, who is having a show in there. Dorothy and Gilly have to go without him, although Alan should be able to join them some days later.

That's why Alan isn't with Dorothy when she visits the abbey at Mount Saint Michel and meets a young tour guide named Peter Cummings. It's Peter who tells her about the missing manuscript by Peter Abelard, the 12th century philosopher, logician, and theologian who is probably best known for his romance with Héloïse d'Argenteuil. They both meet an American man named A. T. Krider who joins them in looking at the Mount Saint Michel manuscripts, which are no longer kept in the abbey itself.

There was a report of a German woman being caught in the island's famous quicksand and almost drowning before Dorothy arrived. A young man is found injured (attacked?) in one of the unsafe areas of the abbey. A friend who was supposed to join Peter hasn't shown up. By the time Alan is able to join them, it's apparent that not everything Dorothy thought she knew about persons and situations is correct. The puzzles deepen. What is the truth?

Chapter notes:

Chapter 1: Gillian 'Gilly' Roberts was introduced in book 16,The Gentle Art of Murder.

Chapter 2:

a. This is Gilly's first solo show outside England.

b. Dorothy says a little about her only other trip to Bayeux 50 years ago.

Chapter 3:

a. The Bayeux tapestry and the Alderney Finale are mentioned. Dorothy saw the Alderney Finale in chapter 21 of book 18, Smile and be a Villain.

b. Penny Brannigan has appeared in book 13, Murder at the Castle, as well as book 16.

c. Picasso and Van Gogh are mentioned.

Chapter 4:

a. Dorothy becomes acquainted with Peter Cummings, tour guide at the abbey. He gives her some of the history of the place as well as of Peter Abelard. and the Scriptorial in Avranches.

b. You may hear Abelard's hymn, 'O Quanta Qualia' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lifgiB0miWQ

Chapter 5:

a. Dorothy mentions something Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey said.

b. Peter Cummings tells Dorothy about himself.

Chapter 7:

a. Dorothy meets A. T. Krider.

b. Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther film series is mentioned.

Chapter 8: Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie are mentioned as well as Dorothy Sayers. (I'm sure Peter isn't too young to have read any of ladies' books. Besides, there are films, radio dramatizations, and TV versions.)

Chapter 10:

a. Alan does his Constable Plod (children's author Enid Blyton character) imitation.

b. Alan reminds Dorothy of the late Alistair Cooke, who used to host 'Masterpiece Theater' for PBS.

c. The Viking Gold speculation appeared in book

d. Peter gives more of his background.

Chapter 11:

a. Dorothy mentions Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind.

b. We learn more about Krider.

c. Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block is mentioned, as is Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres by Henry Adams.

d. Dorothy and Alan talk about D-Day and Normandy.

Chapter 12:

a. We get some D-Day history. Alan's father was injured during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He tells the story.

b. Dorothy quotes the old saying about fighting and running away.

Chapter 13: Dorothy gets more personal information out of A. T. Krider.

Chapter 14: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach is mentioned.

Chapter 15:

a. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is mentioned.

b. Dorothy can't remember in which Brother Cadfael book that had several scenes in the Shrewsbury abbey';s scriptorium. Neither can I.

c. Dorothy quotes Dame Julian of Norwich.

d. We're introduced to another American who was named for Sam Houston.

Chapter 17:

a. Dorothy explains to Alan why an American wouldn't use 'Sam Houston' as an alias.

b. We finally learn Peter's friend Laurence's surname, Cavendish, when Alan calls Chief Inspector Derek Morrison, his former right-hand man.

Chapter 18: Alan mentions the starship Enterprise from 'Star Trek'.

Chapter 19:

a. We learn more about Sam Houston the teacher.

b. Former president Barack Obama is mentioned.

c. Sam compares the abbey to one of the ridiculously tall Dagwood sandwiches from the old 'Blondie' comic strip.

Chapter 21:

a. I quite agree with the Abelard quotation Dorothy mentions.

b. Peter talks about Laurence and his family.

c. Peter explains about palimpsests.

Chapter 22: Dorothy compares something to what the Nazis said to justify themselves.

Chapter 23: Dorothy and Alan get to find out what it's like to stay in a luxury hotel suite.

Chapter 24:

a. Alan tells us what he learned from a man named Bruce Douglas.

b. The Gordian Knot of Alexander the Great fame is mentioned.

Chapter 26:

a. Peter brings astounding news.

b. Sam was born near the Alamo.

c. Sam and Krider meet.

Chapter 27: The Belles Heures book of hours made for the Duke of Berry is mentioned, as is Peter Abelard's autobiography, Historia Calamitatum, or The Story of My Misfortunes.

Chapter 28:

a. Dorothy explains the magic trick known as forcing a card.

b. 'The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, Tra-La' is a song from Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta, 'The Mikado'.

Chapter 29: The name of that rude New Yorker Dorothy keeps running into is David Grant.

Chapter 30: Uncle Remus' Tar Baby is mentioned.

Chapter 31: The famous 19th century artist Renoir is mentioned.

Although I am disappointed that we get only cameos for regular supporting characters Jane Langford, Derek Morrison, and especially Sam and Emmy the cats and Watson the mutt, there are plenty of twists and turns in this entry. One scene seems to be a nod to Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night, one of my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey books. One twist didn't take me by surprise, but only because I've read so many fiendishly difficult John Dickson Carr mysteries.

Dorothy Martin fans and cozy mystery fans in general should enjoy this outing. I loved the painlessly delivered history lessons. ( )