THE VICTIM IN VICTORIA STATION

Another episode in the life of one of the genre’s most aggressively nosy amateur sleuths—expatriate American widow Dorothy Martin, now living in England’s Sherebury village and married to V.I.P. policeman Alan Nesbitt (Malice in Miniature, 1998, etc.) who is presently at a conference in Zimbabwe. On a train to a doctor’s appointment in London, Dorothy and a young American across the aisle have an amiable conversation, but as the train arrives, Dorothy finds him unconscious—dead, she thinks. A doctor passenger verifies her diagnosis and promises to notify the authorities as Dorothy rushes, late, to her appointment. As days pass with no mention of the incident, Dorothy, after talking to indifferent police, begins to suspect foul play. The young man had told her his name and spoken of’ problems in London at his Multilinks computer company. Dorothy engages the expertise of young friend and computer-whiz Nigel Evans, who helps her get a job as a temp in the Multilinks office. There, she meets office manager Evelyn Forbes and the rather dreary execs and sales staff. Nigel helps her with a few unproductive nighttime forays into files, but it takes another killing and some prodding from the US before the means and motives behind it all are uncovered. Dorothy’s chutzpah is less likable—and her adventures less convincing—with each outing.