...Until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman's will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she's about to inherit a siazable estate--if she can discover the secret hidden in a treasure trove of letters in Dimity's English country cottage. What begins as a fairy tale becomes a mystery--and a ghost story--in an improbably cozy setting, as Aunt Dimity's indominable spirit leads Lori on an otherworldly quest to discover how, in this life, true love can conquer all.
Aunt Dimity's Death (AUNT DIMITY MYSTERY)
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Despite its buoyant tone, this blend of fairy tale, ghost story, romance and mystery proves a disappointment. First novelist Atherton creates a potentially appealing heroine in bewitched and bewildered Lori Shepherd, but never places her in danger, thus sacrificing suspense. Recently divorced and newly bereaved by her beloved mother's death, Lori is scraping by as an office temp in Boston when she receives a letter from a Boston law firm informing her of the death in England of Miss Dimity Westwood. Lori is shocked because she had thought adventurous Dimity was her mother's fictional creation, the star of made-up bedtime stories. Courtly lawyer William Willis and his attentive son Bill inform Lori that Dimity left instructions that she and Bill go to her Cotswolds cottage to prepare a collection of "Aunt Dimity" stories for publication. They find the cottage haunted by the ghost of Dimity, who blocks their efforts to trace the secret of her WW II romance with a gallant flier. That all ends happily comes as a surprise to none but Lori.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Atherton's first mystery combines a strong sense of traditional English fare with an insistent gothic spirit. Suffering from her recent divorce, her mother's death, and an erratic income, Lori Shepherd receives notice from a prestigious Boston law firm that she must travel to England in order to meet the requirements of a will. While visiting her benefactor's "haunted" cottage with lawyer friend Bill, she uncovers important clues relating to a World War II mystery. Lightweight, nicely written material complete with a few heart palpitations.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the first in the delightful Aunt Dimity series and the reader's introduction to series heroine Lori Shepherd. Most of life's major crises have hit poor Lori---a divorce, the death of her beloved mother, and the dissolution of her job. If ever a heroine was down-on-her-luck, Lori is. But all that is about to change when she learns of the death of Aunt Dimity.
Lori is stunned, not because Dimity is dead but because Lori never knew she existed. To her, Dimity was a lively character in the stories her mother told her. But when Lori is summoned to the reading of Dimity's will, her whole life begins to change. A trip to England, a charming travelling companion, an elderly man with a dark secret, helpful neighbors, and an ivy-covered cottage with a garden of lilacs are all in Lori's future.
If you like to suspend reality, you will be delighted to meet Dimity's ghost, read along with Lori in the amazing blue journal, and you may even want a stuffed pink Reginald of your own.
Words like delighful, charming, and cozy may seem trite and overused but are the only way to describe this story about a lovable ghost and the young woman whose life she changes.
Lori is stunned, not because Dimity is dead but because Lori never knew she existed. To her, Dimity was a lively character in the stories her mother told her. But when Lori is summoned to the reading of Dimity's will, her whole life begins to change. A trip to England, a charming travelling companion, an elderly man with a dark secret, helpful neighbors, and an ivy-covered cottage with a garden of lilacs are all in Lori's future.
If you like to suspend reality, you will be delighted to meet Dimity's ghost, read along with Lori in the amazing blue journal, and you may even want a stuffed pink Reginald of your own.
Words like delighful, charming, and cozy may seem trite and overused but are the only way to describe this story about a lovable ghost and the young woman whose life she changes.
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By J. Hilles
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is what you need when the noir world of Kinsey Milhone is weighing you down and you've read one too many quick come-backs in the Janet Evanovich books. Poor (and I do mean poor) Lori, cruelly dumped by her ex, has landed in Boston in reduced circumstances. Depressed by her mother's death and a string of soul-numbing temp jobs, she's astounded to learn a storybook character her mother created was indeed an actual person. Lori's circumstances begin to change. She moves briefly into a lush and lovely mansion and from there into a lilac-sheltered cottage in the Cotswolds. All is idyllic, but there are (natch) mysteries she has to solve - who was Aunt Dimity? Why was she wandering the London Zoo one miserable afternoon during the Blitz? And who is haunting her cottage?
Put a kettle on. Bake a batch of oatmeal cookies - recipe's on the back page. This book is a balm for a rattled and weary soul.
Put a kettle on. Bake a batch of oatmeal cookies - recipe's on the back page. This book is a balm for a rattled and weary soul.
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Evin
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Cherish the Aunt Dimity series for its simple sweetness and nostalgic way of weaving the characters together into the adventures and the life (er, afterlife) of the ghost of Aunt Dimity. The first in this series sets off to explain much of the main character's life before encountering Dimity and the evolution of her character as she gets to know herself and her mother's friendship with theDimity. I don't want to give anything away, but if you liked Nancy Drew as a child, you might want to give this series a try as a grown-up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yay for Aunt Dimity
I just loved this book. I thought this little book was a breath of fresh air. Fun, easy to read. At the moment I'm reading my 3rd Aunt Dimity book, I'll read them all.
Published 13 days ago by Beth Patterson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Aunt Dimity's Death
I have been given four of the Aunt Dimity's Mysteries and wanted the first one.
It is OK, but there are others that I like better
It is OK, but there are others that I like better
Published 16 days ago by Pat Pulsifer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy and enjoyable read
Sometimes you just want to sit back on a rainy afternoon and read something enjoyable that you can get lost in that is fun and interesting. Read more
Published 26 days ago by lavander4me
5.0 out of 5 stars
The good recommendation
A friend at work mentioned she was waiting for the new book to come out. I ordered the first of the series and really enjoyed it.
Published 26 days ago by Ncmj
5.0 out of 5 stars
the debut to an utterly charminng series
I first read "Aunt Dimity's Death" some 10 or 15 years ago, and I loved it. I never continued with the series at the time, and, as I wanted to read the entirety of Nancy Atherton's... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Ivonne
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good mystery
Easy reading..."fluffy". Fun to read while I recovered from surgery. Thanks. I will probably read more of Ms. Atherton's books.
Published 1 month ago by Sharon Missel
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a mystery..
I would classify this book as a romantic fantasy, not a mystery. That is fine if you like that sort of thing, but it was not for me.
Published 2 months ago by Jackie B.
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Mystery Author!
Aunt Dimity has become a good friend. I read all of the books before the new one comes out. It's like visiting an old friend.
Published 3 months ago by Betsy Truax
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply great series to cuddle up with
I wish this series had twice or even 3 times as many books! I just love every one! The setting is so sweet, a little village in England. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. T. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic story
I have read all the other books in the series but hadn't read the first one until today, Aunt Dimity"s Death. Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. Halderman
