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Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Nancy Atherton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,987 ratings
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The debut that kicked off twenty-two books (and counting...) of the bestselling, beloved Aunt Dimity series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking!

Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story...

...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.
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  1. Book 1 of 25
    Aunt Dimity Mystery
  2. Print length
    193 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  6. Publication date
    November 1, 1993
  7. Reading age
    18 years and up
  8. File size
    1891 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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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.

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.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0063OCXY8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (November 1, 1993)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 1993
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1891 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,987 ratings

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Nancy Atherton

Nancy Atherton

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,987 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. Blankenship
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful start to a very readable and enjoyable series
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is the first book in what has become a very pleasing and fun cozy series. Unfortunately I did not read these books in order but I really do not feel that this has lessoned my reading enjoyment one bit. The author, Nancy Etherton is a good teller of stories and a good writer and actually each of the novels in this series can be read as stand alones because the author does a nice job of filling in past details as she writes each book. It should also be noted that if you like your mysteries loaded with dead bodies, then you probably should look elsewhere.

In this first tale we find how Lori, a young lady who is down on her luck, discovers that she has inherited her own English cottage near a quant English village and has become the heiress of a not so small fortune. She also meets a young and successful lawyer, moves to England, discovers the cottage she lives in is somewhat haunted and actually meets (sort of) Aunt Dimity, a lady who she always thought was a figment of her recently deceased mother's imagination.

The writing of this story is smooth and easy reading and the novel moves long at a good clip. Characters are rather realistic and believable and in this first book we meet with some of them that will inhabit all the author's future novels in this series.

All in all, if you are into the cozy mystery genre this one is a good choice. We have of course the mystery, a dab of the paranormal and a nice little romance all going at the same time and all skillfully blended to create a very cozy read.

This was a library find.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
24 people found this helpful
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Go For It!
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite modern mystery writer.
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2016
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I have loved the Aunt Dimity series since I read Aunt Dimity's Death many years ago. They are truly delightful and deserving of the title of cosy. I have enjoyed making many of the recipies. If you can find any of the Audible books narated by Christina Moore, they are totally enjoyable. Skip the Teri Clark Lindon narations, they are dreadful!
Aunt Dimity has given me many happy, peaceful hours. They are full of the "ahh " factor, or books that leave you with a smile on your face and in your heart. I normally avoid paranormal literature like the plague. It's just too ridiculous for me, but Aunt Dimity is entire fun and believable. I also love the characters that are so well portrayed. I would love to live in Finch!
7 people found this helpful
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Jerri
4.0 out of 5 stars Cozy Mystery at Its Best
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2023
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Aunt Dimity's Death was a much needed, cozy, fun read for the dead of winter. Part old fashioned romance, part ghost story but mostly a sweet mystery to be solved. The heroine, Lori is a divorced, down-in-her-luck, thirty-something, still reeling in grief over the death of her beloved mother. Her father died shortly after Lori was born, and her mom became a sort of super single mother. The highlight of Lori's childhood were the bedtime stories Beth, her mom, told of the adventures of "Aunt Dimity". Little did Lori know that Aunt Dimity was indeed a real person, and a long time friend of Beth's from her years in England working for the Army during World War II.

“The stories featured a heroine who was, like Beth, blessed with the gift of easy laughter. They were tales of commonplace courage and optimism, for I knew from my own experience that everyday virtues endure best, and that quiet courage is worth more than the grandest derring-do. Thus “Aunt Dimity” was born, a heroine for the common woman.”

Lori is summoned to the opulent Boston mansion/law offices of Willis and Willis and told of Dimity's passing and has been bequeathed a sizable estate. The trouble is there is several conditions to be met before the estate can be settled, and here is where Lori's journey and the solving of the mysteries begins.
6 people found this helpful
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Button DeLonge
5.0 out of 5 stars Glad I found this series!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024
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So many cozy mysteries are real... clunkers. Uneven, unimaginative writing, the kind of book where at about page 20 you lift your eyes and send up a fervent prayer that you can return the damn thing to Amazon and get your money back. And THEN there are authors who are such adroit writers that their prose carries you almost regardless of the plot. The Dimity series is like the latter. Atherton is a both a good writer and a good storyteller.
One person found this helpful
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M
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
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Book was in very good condition!
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Linda Tanguay
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good start to an engaging series!
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2012
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We (my daughter and I) originally picked up a new series in our local public library, which happened to be the newest Aunt Dimity book (#17 - "Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch"). We enjoyed that story so much, with its quirky characters, in-depth historical knowledge and descriptive locale, that we found all the other ones we could at the library to read. But, we wanted more. And we wanted to read the first story, the one that started it all, but we didn't want to wait, so we Kindled the first volume, "Aunt Dimity's Death".

The Aunt Dimity series revolves around an American woman named Lori Shepard, who inherits Aunt Dimity's estate, and gets into predicaments that she has to solve to help the people in Finch. From hunting down a long-lost relative, to historical treasure hunts, or even helping a new neighbor hide from stalkers, Lori will welcome these trials to help those around her. Part of what makes this series so engaging, is that Dimity left Lori a blue journal with blank pages. It is through this journal that Lori is able to meet and learn about Aunty Dimity. Literally.

In Aunt Dimity's Death, we meet the book's namesake, Dimty Westwood, who is a dear friend of Lori's late mother from World War II. Lori grew up thinking that Aunty Dimity was a character from a series of stories that her mother made up when she was younger. Upon learning that Dimity was a real person, and that she did leave her in the will, Lori heads to England's small town of Finch to fulfill Aunt Dimity's final request. Her wish is for Lori to create a children's book of stories, based on those tales of Aunt Dimity she heard while growing up, in a month's time.

However, a letter from her late mother also gives her the task of finding out the truth behind a photo left by Dimity, and the heartache it left behind. Lori travels through the town, meeting the people that Dimity lived with, and also through past historical places around England, to learn the truth of Dimity's loss and to set her heart at peace.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

RMN
5.0 out of 5 stars What a lovely story
Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
a sort of urban cosy mystery romance...
Finished it in a day, which is a feat by itself as I have hardly been able to read the last few (Covid19) months.

On to book 2.
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Lesley Thomson
5.0 out of 5 stars Aunt Dimity’s Death
Reviewed in Australia on April 15, 2020
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Such a lovely, warm, comfortable book. Reading it was like snuggling under my own, hand knitted with Scottish wool, blanket.
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Sharon E. Leighton
5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Book
Reviewed in Canada on October 10, 2016
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I'm rating this five stars because it's such a good book, even though the Kindle edition has some proofreading errors, in the shape of small words going missing and an occasional homonym misused. The spelling and punctuation are perfect, so proofreading was done; they just missed the essential reading aloud to catch all the errors. I enjoyed the book greatly in spite of these minor difficulties.

This is in the genre of supernatural mystery, but it is warmer than most. The ghost here is a sweetheart, who cares very much for other people. It was easy to identify with the protagonist, an under-employed young divorcee, to the extent that some very Cinderella-like elements in the plot were accepted without a qualm. In spite of both supernatural assistance and Cinderella romance, the protagonist used her own skills, intelligence, courage, and love to solve the mystery.

There is romance, but, unlike most modern mysteries that weave romance into the plot, the story remains as clean and pure as a baby's conscience. The man is as gentlemanly as the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins, while the woman is eager for love but not in any unseemly way. The language is also clean enough for a fairy tale. (For conservative Christians, I have to acknowledge that one comment implies that they did consummate their love before marriage.)

As an adult who still reads children's literature because (a) it's clean and readable, and (b) it offers some real meaning instead of just frivolous entertainment, I would consider this book to be an adult form of children's literature. That is a major compliment from me, but those who would see it otherwise may take heed. If you want frivolous writing filled with foul words and pornographic scenes, you will not find it here.

As for that "real meaning," there are levels of meaning here. There is the surface level, where we learn that love and life are worth a little risk; there is the next level, where we learn that love can rise above pain and sorrow; then the third level, where we learn that love is greater than death; and the fourth level, where we look at the carnage and misery imposed on people by the tragedy of war and begin to glimpse the unsinkable human spirit rising above it, like dandelions growing through asphalt. I would not discount the possibility of yet deeper levels. Like all good children's literature, this book just keeps on giving.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful from beginning to end
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2016
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This is the book I wish I'd written I realise it was designed to be the prequel to the children's stories, but it brings out the dreams and expectations in every adults heart. I knew from the start how it would end but the journey to get there made me smile at every turn and I wanted to run intro the book and live the story with the characters. To be left on the outside looking in was the hardest part of all. I recommend this to every adult read it to your children and please someone turn it into a film asap it would bring the screen alive .
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Zalewski Valerie
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fairy Tale
Reviewed in France on May 7, 2013
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I'm not at all attracted to the present fashion for cosies with a supernatural or paranormal content. So, I had never wanted to read Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity books. However I decided to try the first in the series. One of the best decisions ever. I loved this book. It's a modern fairy tale, but with very real people. Aunt Dimity charmed me, but it's the heroine, Lori, who really appeals to me. She's a very human character who admits to a lot of not-so perfect traits but who, gradually, is helped to learn about herself and the world around her by Aunt Dimity. This book is humerous, whimsical and just magic! I'm up to the 7th book in the series now, and just as charmed as with the first one.
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