Mix snippets of fairy tale, ghost story, romance, British cozy, and history lesson. Stitch in the eccentric Willis family, a transatlantic feud, and three stuffed animals, and you have the latest in Atherton's popular Aunt Dimity series. Anglophile Lori Willis watches her lawyer-husband Bill change from starry-eyed newlywed to bona fide workaholic. Lori decides a second honeymoon at her English Cotswold cottage--a legacy from Aunt Dimity--will restore the glow to her marriage. Unfortunately, busy Bill can't get away, so his father, whom Lori adores, volunteers to accompany her. But once they arrive in England, the elder Willis mysteriously disappears. Fearing the worst, Lori sets out to find him with the help of a friend's precocious 12-year-old daughter. Aided by cryptic clues provided by Aunt Dimity from the Great Beyond, Lori discovers not only a long-standing family feud but also the way to restore romance to her marriage. Heartwarming and charming, Atherton's latest bit of eccentric whimsy is sure to delight. Emily Melton
From Kirkus Reviews
Another foray into fantasyland with rare-book expert Lori Shepherd (Aunt Dimity and the Duke, 1994, etc.), the heiress to a charming English cottage and a considerable sum of money who has been married for two years to Bill Willis, a Boston lawyer of aristocratic lineage. All of this has come to Lori through the ghostly good offices of Aunt Dimity, long in her grave but always on hand when needed. Lori and Bill live in the ancestral mansion of Bill's father/law partner William. When Bill's workload keeps him from a planned trip to England with Lori, Willis Sr. takes his place, but he vanishes soon after the pair's arrival at Lori's cottage in Finch, having excused himself in the middle of a chess game with Nell, the precocious daughter of Lori's neighbors Emma and Derek Harris. Willis, Lori suspects, has seized on the trip as a chance to make peace with the English branch of the family, long estranged over some ancient feud. Lori, accompanied by Nell and guided by Aunt Dimity, keeps missing Willis as she follows in his wake, but along the way she meets the younger generation of Willis cousins--Gerald, Arthur, and Lucy--partners in a London law firm recently decimated by the departure of its senior members. Now Gerald has also left, in a cloud of rumors about an ugly, aging mistress and other matters. It's at Gerald's shabby cottage that Lori at last catches up with her father-in-law--and all puzzles, past and present, are resolved. Giddily opaque plotting, a clutch of overmannered characters, and a general aura of sticky sweetness: Fans could adore it; others might like to see the author's graceful writing skills brought a bit more down to earth. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for Nancy Atherton and the Aunt Dimity series
"Atherton smoothly blends history, village life, and the otherworldly."—Publishers Weekly
"Every scene is superbly crafted to perfection. Even if you have not read all the books in this series, I have not, you can enjoy and immerse yourself in this cozy mystery.” —Open Book Society
"I love the graceful style... the sense of tight-knit community, characters who aren’t afraid to be themselves, and, the unique paranormal element...I only wish I had learned about this series earlier." —Gotta Write Network
"In the realm of the cozy mystery, there are few series that can hold a candle to Atherton's Aunt Dimity series." —everydayebook.com
"Atherton is a superb writer who brings a lot of charm and wit to her story." —Suspense Magazine
"Always a charming read, the Aunt Dimity series is just right for when life gets too hectic and you need to slow down a bit." —Deadly Pleasures Magazine
"Let Nancy Atherton and Aunt Dimity remind you of the reason you got hooked on books in the first place. I promise you will be scouring bookstores for more of the series after you give it a taste." —CrimeCritics.com
About the Author
Nancy Atherton was born in Chicago, but she has lived in many different places since then. After graduating from the University of Chicoago, she followed the true Liberal Arts tradition by working every low-paying job in America. She had no idea that she was supposed to be a writer until the first line of her first book, Aunt Dimity's Death, popped into her head. She's been writing ever since.
