The Murdered Matron: Doro Banyon Cozy Historical Mysteries

Doro Banyon Historical Mystery #2

by D.S. Lang

Travel back to small-town America during the Roaring Twenties and join Doro Banyon, college librarian and amateur sleuth, as she sets her sights on solving another murder.

As the fall semester ends, Doro’s hands are full as a professor, librarian, and volunteer. She looks forward to planning and celebrating her hometown’s annual Christmas festivities, but her enthusiasm is tested when the chairwoman’s dictatorial ways create dissension among the committee members. Dissension soon turns to malice, and threats fly among the matron and several others. When she is found dead, unsettling questions arise—and so do longstanding grudges. Who caused the woman’s fatal fall from a ladder? After the chairwoman’s handyman disappears, anxiety escalates among townsfolk. Doro and her best friend, Aggie, along with two local lawmen, work together to investigate. Can they catch the killer in time to save the holiday celebration? Or will others fall victim to the perpetrator?

279 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2023

About the author

If you like historical mysteries and intrepid female sleuths in a small town America setting, try my books! My heroines are dedicated to bringing the bad guys and gals to justice, and they have a team of colorful characters who support them in their efforts.

My Arabella Stewart series takes place soon after the Great War. Bella, who served an Army Signal Corps operator, returns to find her hometown and family resort in dire straits. Almost immediately, she is thrust into a murder investigation. Constable Jax Hastings reluctantly accepts her help.

The pair, who were childhood friends, partner in a series of investigations, while also working past barriers put in place during the war.

My Doro Banyon series is also set in an American small town in 1920s, but on a college campus. Doro is a librarian who, along with her best friends, finds herself immersed in a series of mysteries. It has a cozier feel than the Bella series.

Reviews

[Emily Gawlak · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utterly enjoyable, cozy mystery! Everything about this book is pure perfection. I love the fact that this book is set around Christmas and it encompasses the planning of the yearly Christmas celebration. One thing I really liked about this book is the fact that it takes place a few months after the previous book and the author shares a timeline update with the reader.

Throughout the series, I have fallen in love with the characters, Doro and Ev are excellent lead characters. Their ability to work together, building mutual respect, gives the storyline a well rounded aspect and provides additional insight into the characters. Aggie and Wade are excellent characters as well. I love how Wade and Ev work together seamlessly. there’s something about their mutual respect and trust for each other that makes their working together incredibly enjoyable to read about. Of course, Aggie and Doro being best friends brings such a positive aspect to the story, especially because they are always friends first, they’re always there for each other, and they each bring their own dynamics to the table that benefit each situation they face. Plus, Tee is always an important part of the storyline and an absolute treasure to read about.

This series reminds me of my favorite cozy mystery series, the Jax Diamond series, because it not only shows how the main characters work with each other, but also how they work with the other characters in the story. For instance, Doro and Aggie are often together, much like Wade and Ev; but you also see Doro and Wade or Wade and Aggie, etc. This add so much dimension to the story because it allows for the main focus to shift between characters, deepening character development and strengthening the overall storylines. Also, there’s never any distracting plots, differing points of view, or side plots that dead end. Everything is pertinent to the plot, main storyline, and holds your attention from the beginning to the very end. Leaving you guessing the bad guys, up until the moment they’re revealed.

The Doro Banyon series has quickly become one of my favorites and I’m highly addicted to it. So far, read two books in three days and about to start the next book. It’s literally an unputdownable cozy mystery!

Overall, I highly recommend The Murdered Matron, and the Doro Banyon series. It’s not everyday you find a series that is this good. Take this as your sign and start reading it today!

A big THANK YOU to D. S. Lang for sharing your AMAZING talent with us!

Happy reading! 📖

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Christmastime in Michaw and Doro is eager to do her part to help make the season festive for the college and townspeople alike. Her task isn't easy because Mrs. Frotis rules the committee with an iron fist. While she approves one of Doro's suggestions, Mrs. Frotis belittles, insults and overworks the rest of the committee so one by one they quit. That leaves Doro and Mrs. Frotis with some help from Ev to finish hanging the lights. When Doro arrives the next morning, she discovers the dead body of Mrs. Frotis! It seems like a tragic accident, older woman falls off ladder and breaks her neck but Doro notices some unusual clues that lead her to believe this was no accident. Ev teams up with Wade to discover who did this, while Doro longs to go from armchair detective to amateur sleuth and investigate too. She is allowed to assist with questioning and note taking because, as a local, she can put people at ease. The job of solving a murder before Christmas is no easy task. There's no shortage of suspects!

Despite being set at Christmastime, there's very little holiday cheer in this story. I found the writing more bland and the general plot less interesting than the first book. There's a hint of a romantic subplot but I hope it doesn't go anywhere. The whodunit wasn't quite as obvious as in the first book but I did guess correctly. I just had a hunch but still stayed up late to finish the book.

I like Doro. She's intelligent, driven and kind without being a Mary Sue. She thinks she's sophisticated because she went to graduate school in Ann Arbor and she's traveled on her own to Colorado to visit her parents. She is, in some ways, more worldly than a farm wife but also more naive because of her age and because she had a sheltered childhood. Doro reminds me a lot of myself at her age, actually. She has feelings for Ev she's trying to deny. She wants to earn Ev's respect as an officer of the law and doesn't enjoy seeing other women fawning all over him. Yet, she knows their relationship can never be more than friends. Doro has the age old problem of career vs. marriage and family. What else is new? 100 years later and women still have the same problems. We have more options than the either/or of Doro's day, or we did when I was Doro's age. She shares custody of the adorable puppy, Agatha Christie, with Ev and that should be enough for her. I appreciate her friendship with Aggie a lot. They're two, modern career women who share a love of mysteries. Aggie is a little too overly sweet and nice for my tastes.

Ev is a nice guy but he can't help having a suspicious mind. As an officer of the law, it helps to think everyone is up to no good. It doesn't help his standing with the townspeople if he interrogates them like they're guilty. He doesn't but Doro helps ease his path. Ev can be a little too nice though when it comes to fending off man eaters. He needs to stand up for himself. Ev doesn't quite see Doro as an equal partner yet but he admires her intelligence. He does seem to be falling in love with her yet the romance is doomed if the college doesn't change the rules about hiring married women. I think they should just be friends. He's sweet with the puppy and is also good at sharing investigative duties with Wade. I love it every time he mentions his sister. He should invite her to visit to meet Doro!

Mrs. Frotis, on the other hand, never heard the expression "You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar." She's awful! Mrs. Frotis is a snob. She turns her nose up at townies and farmers alike and also seems to hate children. I was watching the Wizard of Oz on TV the other night and Mrs. Frotis is a cranky old lady like Miss Gulch. Less terrifying though. Mrs. Frotis manages to alienate everyone she's ever encountered, including her own little sister. The only person she ever truly cared about was her husband and he's dead. People say she was nicer back when the doctor was still alive but if she's now a lonely old lady, that's her own fault for being so nasty! Mrs. Frotis threatens dogs! GASP! She is kind enough to hire Ralphie, a young man with special needs but she treats him like a servant of the old days and isn't very kind or sympathetic. Ralphie is sweet, earnest and loves dogs. I dislike the period correct term "slow." That wasn't entirely necessary to describe Ralphie. I can tell the author was trying to be sensitive but I could have done without Ralphie. I really hope he's not the murderer, not even innocently causing an accident. That would be just awful in more ways than one. I think he saw something and ran off because he's afraid.

Veronica Parson is new in town. No one knows who she is or where she came from. She's a wealthy widow and a man eater! Ev better watch out! Doro suspects that Veronica is so interested in Ev's time with the Prohibition Bureau because her late husband may have been and now Veronica herself might be rum running. Veronica doesn't seem like the type to get her hands dirty. She took no nonsense from Mrs. Frotis and seemed to think of Mrs. Frotis's belittling as sort of a joke she didn't take seriously. Veronica is more the eye-rolling type than cause an "accident" type. However, Mrs. Frotis threatened her dogs and Veronica turned mama bear and threatened Mrs. Frotis! It seems like Veronica and Mrs. Frotis were always at odds and nothing Veronica did would please the older woman. Eloise Vining, a spinster, is bitter and lonely and when she speaks, she's blunt - almost to the point of rudeness. SIGH. Again with the stereotypes! Miss Vining lives alone and doesn't have much money. She's jealous of Doro. Oh PLEASE don't let the murderer be a spinster! For some reason Veronica and Eloise are friendly. Veronica seems to be calling the shots and Eloise goes along with what Veronica says and that leads to them quitting the committee!

The prime suspect is the town baker, Mr. Adler. The Christmas committee has always ordered their treats for the party from the Adlers. However, after placing their order this year, Mrs. Frotis went behind everyone else's backs and cancelled the order AFTER the Adlers had purchased a new freezer and Mrs. Adler had baked all the goodies for the party! That's incredibly rude and thoughtless. No, it wasn't thoughtless, it was calculating coldness. A delivery boy's service didn't live up to Mrs. Frotis's exacting expectations last year and the Adlers came over right away to make it right but that wasn't enough for Mrs. Frotis! She had to get revenge. Ouch! That's truly, incredibly evil, especially during the holiday season. Mr. Adler has a nasty temper and he's been complaining and yelling since Mrs. Frotis cancelled the order. Mrs. Adler seems mild mannered but she could be afraid of her husband. It seems obvious that Mr. Adler would be the prime suspect (why didn't he have a contract? A deposit? Sue her?) but what about the Mrs.? He never refers to her by her given name and she refers to him by Pa and never his name. That's weird and creepy. I think he sounds scary and controlling. Perhaps Mrs. Adler killed Mrs. Frotis to save the bakery and save her own life?

Irma Green, a farm wife, has rowdy children who want to help with the decorations. They're excited and eager to please but Mrs. Frotis finds fault with them for no reason. Mrs. Green refuses to subject her children to such undeserved harsh treatment and quits the decorating committee. She's a quiet kind of strong and her love for her children may have caused her to return and argue with Mrs. Frotis, pushing the older woman off the ladder. Anita Ressinger came from the city to work for Mrs. Parsons who refuses to share details of her maid's background. Mrs. Fortis refused to allow Anita to join the committee. Who is Anita and could she have killed Mrs. Frotis? Why now and not last year though? Magenta Silven, wife of the town doctor,

Another new character is Loretta "Retty" Hood, the younger sister of Mrs. Frotis! No one knew Mrs. Frotis had a sister. Mrs. Frotis was basically Retty's mother and Dr. Frotis adored having a child in the house. He loved and spoiled Retty as if she were his own child. I'm wondering if there was some jealousy there either because Dr. F loved the younger sister maybe more than his wife or because they couldn't have children of their own? Or maybe Retty grew up and had an affair with Doc? That would point to the murder happening the other way around. Mrs. Frotis is not kind to Retty or a loving sister. She's spiteful and vengeful even with her own sister! Retty is very nice and she gets along with Ralphie very well. She's good with him, friendly and outgoing with the other women. Mrs. Otten, Mrs. Frotis's longtime housekeeper, sure loves to gossip in spite of claims to the contrary. She knows everything that happened in the house and all the gossip about everyone. She seems to be the only one mourning the loss of Mrs. Frotis (Retty is away and doesn't know) but only because she's about to lose her job. Mrs. Otten was close with her brother before his marriage but she isn't sure his wife will allow Mrs. Otten to move in with them. She's sad for the loss of her close relationship with her brother and her job loss more than Mrs. Frotis's murder.

I still plan to continue with this series and hope the next one is a little better.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the mother of a homicide detective, I agree that ALL murder is wrong…but Hortense Frotis sure tempted a lot of people to break the 6th commandment! How will Ev and Doro whittle down such a large field of suspects?! Will the investigation stall or spur their budding romance? I really enjoyed the 1920s atmosphere of this gentle mystery: the clothes, automobiles, and social expectations from a century ago are a refreshing contrast to the tensions of finding a murderer. I was grateful to receive an ARC of this satisfying whodunit, and was not required to post a review.

[Karen L. Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this time period, and this book is an interesting mystery. Doro finds a woman dead, and she and her friends need to find out if it was an accident or murder. Great mystery with interesting characters. I was an ARC reader and given this book free for an honest review.

[Tambi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the resolution of the Corlon case, Doro Banyon is hopeful that the approaching Christmas festival will offer the community a much-needed return to normalcy. However, her optimism is dampened by the stormy atmosphere at the Christmas Festival committee meetings. The chairwoman, Mrs. Hortense Frotis, is a domineering figure whose overbearing nature puts everyone on edge. Her strict adherence to her own custom ways for the festival often leads to heated exchanges, particularly when the topic shifts to Doro’s dog, Tee. Mrs. Frotis’s disdain for the dog becomes the catalyst for a verbal attack on another committee member, Veronica, over her dogs digging up Mrs. Frotis's cherished flower beds on more than one occassion. The tension escalates as Mrs. Frotis continues to alienate committee members, having dismissed several over the years, and even currently changed vendors, potentially ruining a hard-working family in the process.
Amidst these conflicts, Mrs. Frotis’s estranged sister, Loretta, makes an unexpected visit, highlighting their stark differences - more of chalk and cheese than siblings. Despite the growing animosity, Doro feels compelled to remain involved due to her sense of community duty. But everything changes when Doro arrives one morning to find Mrs. Frotis entangled in a ladder, a discovery that adds an ironic twist to the already unfolding drama. With the mystery of Mrs. Frotis’s predicament hanging in the air, Doro anticipates Everett (Ev) Mallow, the campus security guard, and Wade Lammers, the town constable, would invite her to participate in the investigation. After all, she played a pivotal role in solving the Corlon case just a few months prior, and Doro didn’t hesitate to enlist her best friend Aggie’s assistance. Aggie has a special talent for encouraging people to open up, and those they needed to question held her in high regard. Doro and her team, including Ev, Wyatt, and Aggie, are drawn into a web of intrigue. The situation becomes more complex when their main person of interest mysteriously disappears, prompting Doro—no stranger to unraveling criminal puzzles—to lead the charge in solving this enigma. As the team navigates through the mysteries, the pressure mounts to uncover the truth and prepare for the festival. But with the clock ticking, can they unravel the web of secrets and find the missing person to bring the mystery to light, all while ensuring the festival goes off without a hitch? Or will the chaos spell the end of the festive celebrations for good?

From the moment I picked up The Murdered Matron, I was drawn into a whirlwind of suspense and intrigue that kept me guessing until the very last page. Each suspect in this gripping historical mystery—meticulously crafted by D.S. Lang—had a plausible motive, means, and opportunity, making it nearly impossible for me to pinpoint the culprit. Doro Banyon, along with her companions Ev, Wyatt, and Aggie, meticulously pieced together timelines and possibilities, leaving no stone unturned. The narrative made me feel like an armchair detective, fully engaged in the unraveling of the whodunit, eagerly flipping pages as I tried to solve the case alongside them.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the novel was the dialogue between Doro and Ev. Their discussions about the case were rich with questions and insights, allowing the reader to ponder the mystery as if it were unfolding in real-time. This clever technique added a cinematic quality to the reading experience, as if I were watching a movie play out in my mind. The story was filled with secrets, unexpected character actions, and sound alibis that kept me on edge, yet it was never overwhelming. Instead, it struck a perfect balance, ensuring that I was always entertained.
Ev’s interactions with Doro were particularly fascinating. He leveraged her knowledge of classic whodunits to strategize and solve the mystery, simultaneously strengthening her skills and career while tapping into her expertise. This dynamic was compelling and added depth to their partnership. Furthermore, Doro's character development was skillfully woven throughout the story. Her moments of self-reflection and growth—from questioning her independence to grappling with jealousy—made her a relatable and realistic protagonist.
Doro’s internal struggle with her feelings for Ev was another captivating element. Her attempts to deny her emotions while wrestling with moments of vulnerability added layers to her character, making her journey all the more relatable. D.S. Lang deftly sprinkled information about Ev’s past, allowing readers to learn about him alongside Doro, which enriched the storytelling. It felt as though I was discovering Ev's character alongside Doro.
I really enjoyed Aggie’s significant role in the investigation as it provided both tension and heartwarming moments. Her friendship with Doro was portrayed with authenticity and humor, resonating with the universal desire for a true, lifelong friend. The humor interspersed throughout the novel added a delightful layer of amusement, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the story.
The pacing of the novel was brisk right from the outset, perfectly complementing the investigative questioning, interrogations, and brainstorming sessions that drove the plot forward. The quick pace kept me engaged, and I found myself reluctant to reach the end, despite my eagerness to uncover the mystery's resolution. When the murderer was finally revealed, the “whodunnit” narrative seamlessly transitioned into a "howcatchem," adding another layer of excitement and satisfaction. The conclusion left no loose ends, offering a gratifying ending that was then followed by charming recipes, one of which was a special contribution from the author's mother. As I turned the last page, I was already anticipating the next installment, The Jammed Judges. This series promises to continue delivering brilliant, entertaining, and intriguing mysteries that are sure to captivate any reader.

Book Rating:
Originality: 5.0/5.0
Plot Structure: 5.0/5.0
Pacing: 5.0/5.0
Dialogue: 5.0/5.0
Personal Enjoyment: 5.0/5.0
Overall Rating: 5.0/5.0

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mix of suspects with a range of motives.

Great story