Dotsy Lamb Mystery Books In Order

Publication Order of Dotsy Lamb Books

The Dotsy Lamb Mystery series is a set of cozy mysteries by Maria Hudgins. Apart from the series, Hudgins has also written an Anthology “The 50 Shades of Cabernet: A Mysterious Anthology” and the “Lacy Glass” series of novels. However, the Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries are her most popular series. The first novel of the series “Death of an Obnoxious Tourist” was first published in 2006 and became a bestselling title. They are travel mysteries set in a range of locations in Europe ranging from Switzerland, Greece, Scotland, and Italy among several others. Hudgins always makes a point of traveling to all the locations where she sets her novels, where she takes copious notes before settling down to write. She currently lives in Hampton, Virginia.

The Dotsy Lamb Mystery series by Maria Hudgins are reminiscent of the Agatha Christie murder mysteries set in foreign lands. The murder mysteries are set in Europe, where Dotsy Lamb gets to put her sleuthing skills to work while vacationing and sometimes working. They are also reminiscent of the Rosemary & Thyme television series that featured two middle-aged landscapers who worked as sleuths in the English countryside in their spare time. The lead character in the series is Dotsy Lamb, a fifty-something-year-old divorced history professor. She is a professor of medieval and ancient history in a small college in Virginia. Lamb loves to travel and in all the novels she is with her good friend Lettie Osgood, a librarian who sometimes brings along her husband Ollie. As a woman in her fifties, she has five children from her ex-husband, several grandchildren, and a cat. Her ex-husband makes several appearances in the novel though he is now a shadow of his former self as he wallows in self-pity and alcoholism since the murder of his second wife. Despite being a middle-aged woman she still loves and over the course of the series has several love interests, the most prominent being Captain Marco Quattrocchi, an Italian Carabinieri. Her style of investigations is more in the mold of a Miss Marple, though she is unique in her sharp eye and Tennessee drawl that sets her apart from her compatriots. She combines with Letty and Quattrocchi, to bring different skills to the table that help them solve the murder mysteries as they travel across Europe.

“Death Of An Obnoxious Tourist” the first novel of the Dotsy Lamb Mystery series is set in Italy. It introduces Dotsy Lamb, a recently divorced empty nester and history professor, and her friend Lettie who are in a group touring Italy. But then one of the most obnoxious women in their group gets murdered in her hotel room in Florence. Dotsy manages to convince Lettie to help her investigate the case alongside the handsome carabinieri captain leading the investigations. It is not going to be easy finding the killer as it could be anyone from the four people they met since landing in Italy, a gypsy from the camp near the hotel, or another member of the tour group. To make it worse there are many people that would have had a motive since the victim had insulted almost everyone she met. The two sisters that she had been traveling with may have had a monetary motive, while there could also have been a connection to drugs. The novels take the sleuths on a gondola road through Venice, the caserma of the carabinieri, the gypsy camp, the sights of Florence that include the Piazzale Michelangelo, the Arno River, the Uffizi, and the Accademia.

“Death of a Lovable Geek” the second novel of the series sees Dotsy and her friend Lettie touring Scotland. They are enjoying some time at a castle in Scotland where Dotsy is combining a vacation with work as she is part of the team doing an archeological dig. Things become interesting when Froggy Quale is found dead and no one knows who could have killed him or why. It would seem that there is no one with a good enough motive to kill the man, as he was one of the most likable persons on the team. Before the dust can settle, the body of John Sinclair another member on the team is discovered. But this time there may be someone with a motive, as the victim comes from a rich privileged family and there may be people who would benefit from his death. Dotsy takes it upon herself to solve the murders alongside her friend Letty. She has a very sophisticated process thought to get to the bottom of the murder mystery she needs to go back fifty years. It is a great murder mystery that combines good detective work with great characterization, camaraderie and great food.

“Death on the Aegean Queen” the third novel of the Dotsy Lamb Mystery series is set on a cruise ship named the “Aegean Quee”n and the Greek island of Mykonos. The cruise ship has an archeology theme and has famous guests on board including Dr. Luc Girard who Dotsy promptly strikes a friendship with. Things are going well and they are enjoying themselves checking out the ships antiquities. But then Lettie discovers that some of the antiquities have been stolen or smuggled from museums across the world and the three of them set out to investigate. Things go haywire when George Gaskill a salesman from Indiana disappears without a trace from the deck of the ship leaving only a strange note and a pool of blood. The investigation is complicated by the fact that the last people to see him were three men that had lost to him at poker and Lettie’s husband Ollie Osgood. Then another man’s body turns up on Mykonos the beautiful Greek Island. The victim is the ship’s photographer and no one knows why anyone would want him dead. Dotsy thought she had the time to renew her relationship with the carabinieri captain Marco Quattrocchi and unwind but there is no time for that. Moreover, her handsome captain is embroiled in the murder of the photographer while Ollie Osgood her good friend is the prime suspect in the disappearance of George on the Aegean Queen. The trail of theft and murder leads to Crete where Dotsy is soon dodging bullets from a strange adversary.