Dorothy and Alan are pleased to meet a Muslim family, visiting their village and curious about their Anglican church’s rituals and music. The family is committed to fostering peace through understanding, an admirable goal but one that haters in both religions are set against. So when the parents disappear, leaving their two children behind, Dorothy and Alan immediately worry that some hate group has kidnapped them, and they start to take desperate measures to find them before it is too late…. This is the 20th book in the Dorothy Martin cozy series, and it’s chock-full of the knotty problems of the world circa 2017 - demagogue leaders, Christian-Islam struggles, the ongoing fear of terrorism especially from jihadis and the far right - which actually makes for fairly uncomfortable reading. I found the solution to the situation rather far-fetched, and the depiction of a young man with Asperger’s veered toward the stereotypical, but Dorothy is as engaging as ever and, for the first time in what seems like a long while the cats (and dog) are front and center for much of the book. Mildly recommended. ( )

I have read all 19 of the Dorothy Martin mysteries from Jeanne Dams and was happy to receive a digital ARC for the new book in the series--Crisis at the Cathedral.

I first met Dorothy Martin--an American living in Shrewsbury, England--in The Body in the Transept and Trouble in the Town Hall in the back in the 1990s, but then life intervened and didn't have much time for reading. I re-discovered the series recently through my public library's Hoopla app and spent several hours enjoying her investigations. As she often says, she doesn't look for trouble but often seems to end up in the thick of things anyway.

Much to my surprise, I was unable to get into the new book. I read the first few chapters, and it took me time to pick the book back up. The story centers around a missing Muslim couple who disappeared suddenly from Shrewsbury, living their children asleep at the local inn. The resulting to-and-fro from Shrewsbury to London while Dorothy and crew search was drawn-out and didn't do much to move the story forward, and the final third of the book strained credibility.

I'm hoping that this is an anomaly and that Dorothy returns to form in her next outing. ( )

Crisis In The Cathedral is the twentieth book in the Dorothy Martin Mystery series.

I always enjoy visiting with Dorothy Martin and her husband, Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, Ret, in their quaint little town of Sherebury, England and Crisis In The Cathedral was no exception.

Dorothy and Alan are introduced to a young Muslim couple and their two children who are visiting the Sherebury Cathedral. Dorothy invites the family to have tea at her favorite tea shop. Mr. Ahmad shares that being devout Muslims, they believe in peace and in the teaching their children about different cultures around the world.

Dorothy and Alan have procured tickets for a music concert at the cathedral and have arranged for friends to watch the Ahmad’s children. After the concert, Dorothy and Alan and friends from church were to meet at the Rose and Crown where the Ahmad’s had hired a private room to host a thank-you party. When the concert ended Dorothy and Alan waited around for the Ahmad’s but they never showed. When they arrived, they still hadn’t arrived and the children were still there. When Alan discovers that the Ahmad’s car is gone, everyone begins to worry about their safety, fearing that they might have been abducted.

Alan calls his former assistant, Derek Morrison, looking for help from Scotland Yard. Without knowing if the Ahmad’s have been kidnapped or might be involved in a terrorist threat, M15 is also called in to help look for the Ahmad’s. In the meantime, Dorothy begins to investigate around Sherebury, particularly a church that preaches against anyone who is not white and English.

Jeanne Dams provides the reader with a well-plotted and exciting story, with believable characters.

I never tire of reading this series and am looking forward to the next book in the Dorothy Martin series. ( )