Customer Reviews

Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Expatriate American Lori Shepherd leaves her Cotswold home to drive to Northumberland to evaluate the Wyrdhurst library rare book collection. However, instead of arriving safely at the Hall, a landslide caused by a torrential storm leads to an accident. Writer Adam Chase takes the unconscious Lori to his hovel. When Lori awakens, she feels an attraction to her rescuer that in turn makes her feel guilty since she just left her beloved spouse with their twin toddlers.

Still, Lori goes about her business and begins to scrutinize the collection. Soon, Lori hears eerie laughter and finds a cache of love letters written by Claire Byrd and W.W.I vet Edward Cresswell, who died in combat. However, an apparent ghost and someone knocking out Adam disturb the serenity of her work. With hints of treasure hidden in the castle, Lori with the help of her spirited Aunt Dimity begins a different type of investigation that could prove dangerous to this amateur sleuth.

On first glance, AUNT DIMITY BEATS THE DEVIL sounds inane, but talented Nancy Atherton turns the tale into an entertaining otherworldly cozy. The story line is simply fun to read due to the strong support cast enabling the lead couple (Lori and Aunt Dimity) to excel. The "dialogue" between Lori and Aunt Dimity is often humorous, but also retains a seriousness that embellishes the plot. Unlike many English cozies, AUNT DIMITY BEATS THE DEVIL contains plenty of action, but the novel as with the previous five books in this series belongs to its two stars.

Harriet Klausner

When Lori Shepard leaves her home to evaluate a library in the wilds of the border country, she does so to do a favor for her friend Stan, and to take a little time away from her twin toddlers. She doesn't expect to be influenced by another less friendly ghost. Once again, Aunt Dimity comes to the rescue, but not without alot of plot twists and turns. This is a great book and I recommend it highly.

Any Aunt Dimity is a ghost story of course but this one is much more. Nancy Atherton has woven a perfect gothic plot. All the elements are present: forbidden stirrings, revenge, lost loves, war, death, mysterious stranger, a bad marriage, a fainting virgin and things that go bump in the night. The author leaves nothing out. I was hooked from the first few pages and couldn't put it down. As Lori falls under the thrall of the spirits of the house and the seduction of the mysterious stranger I found myself shouting, "Listen to your aunt! Don't do this!" I was completely involved in the tale. This plot is more action filled than some of her earlier Dimity novels. It ventures a bit away from the sweet English cozy adding a pinch of spice to the mix.

I recommend this to all the fans of the series and new readers too.

This series is light and airy, a real pleasure reading. A great difference from the classic English mystery but just as interesting. A great gift for the mystery lover. A wonderful read.

Lori Shepherd loves her cozy cottage in the Cotswolds, her rambunctious 18 month old twin sons and her long suffering husband Bill. Still when her former boss asks her to catalog a private library that is potentially full of rare books Lori feels the urge to get back into her former profession. Encouraged by Bill to take on the week long job Lori sets off for Northumberland and the remote estate to begin the job but just a few miles from her destination Lori is caught in a landslide and stranded in the middle of a freezing downpour. She is rescued by a handsome stranger and soon finds herself experiencing some other, less appropriate longings. Once at her destination Lori finds herself dealing with a couple of love triangles, one from long ago and another very much in the present. Guided by Aunt Dimity Lori manages to sort out the various mysteries but not without interference from other more troublesome spirits from the other side.

The AUNT DIMITY series of cozy mystery/paranormal/romance novels focuses (usually) on Lori Shepherd, a young American living in the Cotswolds with her husband Bill and their twin sons. Aunt Dimity is the long time friend of Lori's late mother. Even though Dimity is deceased herself she still takes an active interest in the lives of her loved ones, often time relying on Lori to sort out various problems. For the most part these are light charming stories that require the reader to accept several implausible things before the final pages and the deceased Aunt Dimity writing messages to Lori in her journal is not the biggest one. In each new novel Lori's circle of family and friends expands, adding to the cast of recurring characters. These are not thought provoking puzzler novels, the reader will usually be a few pages ahead of Lori, even with Dimity's help. As with most cozies the attractions here are a the interesting characters in often humorous situations. The one sour note, for this reader at least, is Lori's tendency to drool over anything in trousers, which is frankly getting a bit more tedious with each succeeding novel.

The overall story arc of this series is especially pronounced so for maximum enjoyment the novels should be read in as close to chronological order as possible.

I just finished reading the Penguin 2000 hard cover edition, and it has at least 5 typos. They're all in the category of words that obviously were passed over by an electronic spell checker, but certainly would have been caught by a human proofreader, like the word "noting" when "nothing" is meant, or "thought" when "though" is meant.

I hope the publisher did a better job with the paperback edition, because typos like these really detract from the pleasure of reading.

I am an expat living in Singapore, also very bored, between the serious reading,"Conversation with God" for example I discovered the Dimity series, have enjoyed it immmensly. A days read which actually relaxes me and takes my mind off other problems.So a big thank you to the author, Can't she write quicker! What am I to do now!

If protagonist, Lori is to continue "fooling around," Nancy Atherton should have poor husband Bill take the kids, move back to Boston, and file for divorce. Lori's antics are childish and make Bill look like a chump. Hard to enjoy such a silly plot. Speaking of plot, this one works far better in Aunt Dimity and the Duke.

My title says it all - I read this during Inauguration Weekend (in DC - wet, cold, snow, sleet) hunkered down on the couch with hot chocolate and popcorn. The story was believable; Lori's familiarity with "unearthly" things was fun but there was just enough of a spook there to give you a little chill up the spine. Aunt Dimity wasn't present that much and I thought I would miss her and Lori's family but didn't. The mark of a great series to me is when the main character can go to another setting without the supporting characters and keep my attention. You know, like when Jessica Fletcher leaves Cabot Cove I'm not that interested. But in Maine, she shines like a jewel. Hope this helps.

I really like this series for lots of reasons, including it is appropriate for all ages, there is not always a murder, the main characters aren't perfect, and they are an amusing twist on the paranormal. Aunt Dimity is so very amusing in the way she communicates with Lori. Yet she always gives good advice. In this book Lori travels to a creepy mansion to evaluate the book collection, wrecks her car, is attracted to the stranger who rescues her, and is influenced by a different ghost. This series is truly a "cozy".