Dagger Before Me, The

Dorothy and Alan are back again. Dorothy is getting cabin fever and wants to do some traveling. Alan has been reading an old history book and suggests she might want to go see some of the buildings mentioned in there. She's amenable to that suggestion and they do that for a while. Then they get an invitation to come and stay for the baptizing of a young son and become his godparents. That sounds good to them, the father of the child was someone Alan knew long ago, and Dorothy has never seen that part of the country. No one expected what came next...

Severn House and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published June 1st.

The first disaster they find is that the dagger that is supposed to be part of the ceremony is missing. It's a family heirloom and it's always used when baptizing the next male heir to the house and grounds. Without it, they can't baptize the baby or they'll lose that inheritance. Who would have taken it from the cupboards? Where did it go?

If that wasn't bad enough, a woman is found dead in the hotel. She's been stabbed by a dagger but not the missing one; she's been exposed to smoke inhalation; and, she's been poisoned. She had just informed the father of the baby that she was his mother. Which probably means he can't inherit that property.

What a mess Dorothy and Alan have found. They try to help the young father because the police like the father as a suspect. Dorothy finds the dagger outside in the snow. Alan discovers the lawyer he's been using has been embezzling. How does this all add up?

The killer is a shock. Ms. Dams always writes a good mystery and this is another of them. I really enjoy the team of Dorothy and Alan. They make good investigators.

A Dagger Before Me is the twenty-first book in the Dorothy Martin series.

The author points out in the Author Notes that if the reader is familiar with English history they can skip the first nine chapters and not miss much of the plot of the story. One, if the author went to the trouble of writing the mentioned nine chapters, this reader is going to read them and two, most of the information in the first nine chapters I was not familiar with and found them to be very interesting and well worth the time to read them.

After attending the Lord Mayor Show they run into Edwin Mountcalm. Edwin is the nephew and godson of Andrew Mountcalm. Alan and Andrew were partners in their early days on the police department. Edwin has a son who 6 months old and asks Dorothy and if they would consider being godparents for his son and they agree. When they had first met and gone their separate ways describes the elaborate christening. There is the ceremonial dagger that has been used for generations to pass on the family estate to the firstborn or lose same.

When Dorothy and Alan arrive at Edwin’s home they find it in turmoil as the dagger has gone missing. The local constabulary is called and Alan offers his assistance with the investigation. Before much of an investigation can be started there is a body of female found in her room at a local pub. She has been stabbed and there is a dagger found next to her body and Edwin begins the prime suspect of her murder. Dorothy and Alan need to take more of an interest in proving his innocence, rather than walking around thinking woe is me.

I love this series. The stories are well-plotted and told. There is always a beautiful description of the countryside and the villages and their residents. The book also has a cast of wonderful characters that I always think I would like to be friends with.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book of this interesting series.