I just reread one of The Body in the Transept, the first book in Jeanne M. Dams‘s Dorothy Martin Mystery Series. as part of my ongoing and long-standing series on the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.
This is a series that started in the mid-90s and that is still regularly getting new entries, with the 24th entry due out in less than a week. In many ways, this and other series like it in the mid-to-late-nineties really established the current Cozy formula, and many of the modern elements can be seen in The Body in the Transept.
Dorothy Martin is a retired, recently widowed woman who has uprooted her life to make a move to a new town – though the move is further than in many cases – across the Atlantic, from a midwestern American town to the (fictional) small town of Sherebury, in southeast England. Unlike the majority of her neighbors, Dorothy isn’t a life-long member of the town, and has only been a member of the community for a year – long enough that she has a wide network of acquaintances, but not long enough to have forged many truly strong friendships or rivalries.
Still, this is a benefit in at least one way, in that she hasn’t yet had the time to truly come at odds with one of the local priests, Canon Billings – a difficult man that most of the community seems to have had one argument or another over the long years. Unfortunately, she has one unforgettable brush with him when she discovers his dead body in the cathedral, as she is leaving midnight mass by one of the back exits that leads to a faster route to her home. Between the death – and the appearance of a ghostly monk, supposedly one who has appeared periodically for hundreds of years, Dorothy is quite busy for the holiday season.
On the other hand, there are also several very important divergences from modern Cozies. First, at least at the beginning of this first novel, Dorothy is still having difficulty acclimating both to her new surroundings and to the recent death of her husband. Modern Cozies often minimalize the transitions that their protagonists go through, but this one does a much better job of portraying a “semi-realistic” portrayal of the sort of grief and discomfort an individual would experience in such a situation.
As a result, The Body in the Transept is an interesting mixture of older and newer Cozy trends, offering a sort of transition between some of the older Cozes of the past and the newer Cozy series on the market today. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book, and can strongly recommend it to enthusiasts of both classic and modern Cozies.
If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
Elise Maloof says
I love the Dorothy Martin series and I’m so glad you posted this because I have read all of them in order, but I need to check for her latest releases! Thanks
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Elise, I hope you enjoy the new ones as much as the old!
Mary Kuretza says
Thanks so much for reminding me of her first book.. Just ordered the newest one. It will be so nice to go back and revisit the beginnings.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary, I agree – it certainly is nice to come back and reread the beginning of a favorite series!
Diane M Siira says
Thank you for recommending “The Body in the Transept” by Jeanne M. Davis. I have just ordered it and so looking forward to reading it and finding a new cozy author!!! Di
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Di, I certainly hope you enjoy it!
Susan Hampton says
Thank you for this post. My memory thinks I have not read any of the books in this series; and if I have, they will still be new to me! Just checked, and my library has several, including the first, so I have them in my on-line checkout basket!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
Elizabeth says
Couldn’t agree more! I am on the fourth in the series in less than two weeks. I find her story telling interesting from being to end.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Elizabeth, I’m glad to hear from someone who is just starting to enjoy this series!
Terry A says
A favorite series. Definitely cozy but plots are fresh and characters have aged naturally since the first book. They are now in senior citizen territory, Dorothy has had one or more joints replaced, etc. Dorothy has been all over England and abroad too; without making an obvious point of it, Ms. Dams’ descriptions of place are more than background, without getting in the way of the mystery. Great to curl up with with a cup of tea (and preferably a cat) and enjoy the company of the nice people who fill Ms. Dams’s books (with the exception of murderers, of course).
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Terry, I definitely agree – the classic English setting is definitely one of the greatest parts of the series, as well as the continuity!
Wanda Pelfrey says
One of my favorites.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Wanda, I’m glad to hear from another fan of this series!
PamB says
This series is one I really enjoy reading. Smartly written with good plots. Several years ago a librarian recommended this series to me as I was browsing the mystery section and it quickly became one of my favorites
Danna - cozy mystery list says
PamB, I’m glad to hear from another fan of this series!
Kathie Deviny says
I appreciate your distinction between the last and current generation of cozies.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathie, it’s definitely worth mentioning, particularly for a series like this that sits right on the line (at least in my opinion)!
Deanna S says
I love this series! Think I am up to date and waiting for the new one.
Thank you for keeping this site going and all the interesting things you have on it. I am 83 years young and I don’t do all the Twitter things.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Deanna, you’re very welcome, and thank you for your comment! I hope you enjoy the new one as much as the old ones.
Mrs. Ainee C. Beland says
Sins out of School is the one that I have of hers and it was a good read for me last year. Thank you for the reminder of this author.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ainee, you’re welcome!
Greenway says
THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT sounds rich and intriguing. As you said, it has qualities of contemporary and traditional cozies. The convention of newcomer-in-town, but with the old-fashioned sense of real mystery, a little sense of the supernatural without promising “real” ghosts, magic powers, etc. I preferred old-people protagonists even before I was AARP-Card eligible; avoids yet another hormone-rattled woman playing human ping-pong between hunky bad-boy and hunky “officer of the court”. And wrinklies are usually cool enough not to run all over outrageously “inquisitioning” anyone who piques their curiosity.
I’ve been re-reading the great Carolyn Hart’s SET SAIL FOR MURDER (2007), of the Henrie O series (my favorite, though I’ll read and re-read anything of Hart’s). It’s of the Restless Neurotic Heirs vs. Arrogant Heartless Controller of the Great Expectations tradition, and is set on a luxury cruise (always a plus!). I’ll highly recommend it without spoilers, but will say it’s a surprise that critical events which would make one think there would be few pages left for the big conclusion happen in the middle of the book, and it’s no drag. Enjoy!
Elise Maloof says
You are absolutely correct about the older protagonists! I think that Annie Darling may be an exception to the rule in the Carolyn Hart Death on Demand series. I actually found a lot of other authors and series through her books because she has the name the 5 authors in paintings award in every book at the end and mentions other authors and books throughout all of her books.
I miss the Henrie O series and wish she had continued those instead of the Ghost series.
Now I need to check for any new Death on Demand books! Thanks to this original post I now have 3 new Jeanne Dams books, one not out until later this year to read!