Aunt Dimity: Detective (Mass Market Paperback)

by Nancy Atherton (Author) "My family and I were three thousand miles away when the murder took place in Finch..." (more)
Key Phrases: vigil committee, gilded gingerbread, blue journal, Peggy Taxman, Sally Pyne, Crabtree Cottage (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
A newcomer to town quickly shows herself to be hateful, spiteful, and malicious, so her subsequent murder involves numerous suspects. Lori and her ghostly aunt investigate. A comfortable addition to the popular and enchanting "Aunt Dimity" series.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The wish fulfillment overflows in Atherton's series of very cozy cozies. American-born Lori, her attorney husband, Bill, and their adorable twin sons live near Finch, in a Cotswold cottage left her by her mother's friend, Dimity, who offers Lori advice from beyond in the form of ghost writing in a blue leather journal. When Lori and her family return from a three-month visit to the States, she finds the town atwitter over the death of Prunella "Pruneface" Hooper. Prunella sowed the seeds of discord at every turn, and Lori is intrigued enough --and upset enough by the ugliness directed at several of her closest friends--to try to solve the murder. She is aided in this by Nicholas, the charismatic nephew of the vicar, who has come to visit Finch for reasons of his own. Bill conveniently stays in London while Lori gets to the bottom of things, which include the local Wicca, the ninetysomething Pym sisters, an old heartbreak from World War II, and assorted characters from central casting, British charm division. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142001546
• ISBN-13: 978-0142001547
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,490 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 7 in The Aunt Dimity Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much fun..., July 26, 2002

By	Bookworm "petra" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aunt Dimity: Detective (Hardcover)

I was pretty disappointed in this latest Aunt Dimity installment. I really enjoyed all the previous books in the series, and was very much looking forward to this one.

The "Lori-meets-attractive-men-and-must-resist-their-charms" angle is getting tiresome. It was just plain annoying to read about her aborted dalliance with Nicholas. If this is so important to the author, why not split up Lori and Bill and turn her into a divorced mom, entering the dating scene.

The "quaint" townsfolk are starting to annoy me, as well. And, to me, the mystery was not believable either. Neither was the secret behind Nicholas's visit to Finch.

I am really glad I did not pay full-price for this book. I will certainly read the next installment, but if it turns out to be as lackluster as this one, I may forego any further Aunt Dimity novels.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King, meet Agatha Christie, April 23, 2002

By	John Knight "JK" (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Aunt Dimity: Detective (Hardcover)

Mix Agatha Christie with Stephen King's good twin and you have the Aunt Dimity mystery series--now seven long--by Nancy Atherton. Aunt Dimity is the most benign of ghosts who has left her fortune and a golden cottage in the Cotswalds to her best friend's daughter, Lori Shepherd. In this installment Lori investigates the murder of the village busybody who has created doubt and fear among the eccentric villagers through her malicious gossip mongering.

Assisted by Aunt Dimity, who communicates through elegant copperplate manuscript in a slender blue notebook, Lori eventually uncovers the murderer, and as importantly, is able to, barely, resist her feelings for a man certainly not her husband. This series is frothy and light, all the while acknowledging the sexual side of the the major protagonists. (Agatha missed that trick as I recall!).

I'm a big, burly, slightly profane middle-aged man and I really like this series. You can start anywhere--I started with this one--but were you able to read them sequentially you'd have a better understanding of the characters as the author develops them over time. But wherever you are able to start, start!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neo-Victorian Style Mystery, April 19, 2002

By	Joann Fantina "Three Nephews" (Bernardsville, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Aunt Dimity: Detective (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful series for those of us who love a good mystery and hate all the sex and violence that is put into the books for NO REASON. These stories have you on the edge of your seat and make you feel like you really know the characters. Light fantasy - but great mystery.
Ideal for a stormy night.