Rating: Summary: Good but not particularly memorable Review: I'll admit I've only read the first of the "Aunt Dimity" series. While I found "Aunt Dimity's Death" charming and a delightful read, I put it down without any desire to read the others. For similar fare that I revisit over and over, I usually turn to Elizabeth Goudge. While Goudge's work is far more "primitive" and lacks the special effects, I find her characters much more endearing, people I would like to have as close friends. "Aunt Dimity's" characters seem more like acquaintances.
Rating: Summary: About as cozy as it gets Review: If you don't like mushy love stories or have a problem with that suspension of disbelief thing, then don't bother, because you won't give this book the attention it deserves. If you like a healthy dose of fantasy and romance in your mysteries, though, you will love this book. Atherton immediately draws you into Aunt Dimity's world, which is at once gentle and heartwrenching. And rarely do you find a writer with such a gift for flow. I found myself being carried along by the story much in the way a great symphony seems to transport me away from the mundanities of real life.
Rating: Summary: A charming story for a wide range of readers Review: If you like friendly ghosts; OR sweet, almost old-fashioned, romance; OR even cosy mysteries, that focus on likeable characters instead of gore and detective science, you're bound to love this book. It has all of the above, tied into a delightfully original premise, with just enough suspense to drive the plot, and the author's writing style is equally enjoyable. Although contemporary, the whole feeling is of a "kinder, gentler" time, not just the elements of the plot which revolve around WWII-era events. I highly recommend this book - and Aunt Dimity's further appearances, as well.
Rating: Summary: Not what I expected... Review: Let me start off by saying I prefer a heroine such as Kinsey Milhone or Stephanie Plum, a hard boiled fiesty gal. Lori, the main character of this book, was just too weak and sappy for me. There was no mystery at all, not really. It was an adult fairy tale, as some other people have mentioned. But gosh was it sappy. The ending was just too "cute". I wasn't left with a warm fuzzy feeling, more like a sicky sweet taste in my mouth.
Rating: Summary: AWful Review: Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series is sickly saccharin and totally silly. Half romance novel, half fairy tale, this book is neither funny or clever or exciting- it lays there like a chocolate covered brick. Crime solving ghosts just ain't for me!
Rating: Summary: What a Joyous Discovery! Review: One damp and dreary day, I decided to try a book by an as yet unread author, Nancy Atherton. And oh joy, oh joy, it was a real delight. Words like cozy, charming and delightful come to mind easily. It was the perfect book for a rainy Fall afternoon. I only got up from my chair once to get a cup of tea and stir the fire. Yes, it is that kind of book. It has all of the elements, likeable characters, an English cottage, a benevolent ghost, the much loved English mystery...sort of...and a touch of romance. All I can say is that I promptly ordered every book in the series and am looking forward to my next day off and that next cup of tea and roaring fire, with a stack of these "Aunt Dimity" books beside my chair.
Rating: Summary: First of an excellent series Review: Squatting comfortably on the boundary between the mystery and the ghost story (I mean the ghost story proper, like A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and not the ghost-horror story), Nancy Atherton's "Aunt Dimity" series is designed to make readers feel just plain _good_ - the way, say, a movie like _It's A Wonderful Life_ does Somehow, all the best comparisons for this series are to Christmas stories - though only one of them is actually a Christmas story.But they _are_ the best comparisons. Like Dickens's, the plot of AUNT DIMITY'S DEATH is driven by a mysterious supernatural force seeking to do the protagonist an unasked-for good; like the Capra/Stewart epic, its heart is a character you can't help liking and rooting for. Read this one. It isn't the absolute best of the series, but it's definitely the best place to begin, and if you don't like it, you won't like any of the sequels.
Rating: Summary: First of an excellent series Review: Squatting comfortably on the boundary between the mystery and the ghost story (I mean the ghost story proper, like A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and not the ghost-horror story), Nancy Atherton's "Aunt Dimity" series is designed to make readers feel just plain _good_ - the way, say, a movie like _It's A Wonderful Life_ does Somehow, all the best comparisons for this series are to Christmas stories - though only one of them is actually a Christmas story. But they _are_ the best comparisons. Like Dickens's, the plot of AUNT DIMITY'S DEATH is driven by a mysterious supernatural force seeking to do the protagonist an unasked-for good; like the Capra/Stewart epic, its heart is a character you can't help liking and rooting for. Read this one. It isn't the absolute best of the series, but it's definitely the best place to begin, and if you don't like it, you won't like any of the sequels.
Rating: Summary: wonderful series Review: The Aunt Dimity series are wonderful. they really suprised me and have helped me decide my carrer. I am 17 and my aunt introduced me to these books. Once i pick it up i can never out it down. These books are great and I recomend them to any one 16 years and over!!!
Rating: Summary: Cozy meets ghost story meets romance.... Review: The Independent Mystery Booksellers chose this book as one of the 100 best mysteries of the 20th century. It is, however, a most unusual mystery. The dead bodies weren't murdered. Nothing was stolen by thieves. But there is a puzzle to be solved. Lori (an American) "inherits" a project. She is charged with reading through a half century of correspondence between her mother and Dimity. When Lori and Dimity's lawyer (Bill) arrive at Dimity's English cottage it quickly becomes apparent that Dimity is haunting the place. Dimity is a most friendly ghost caught in a purgatory of sorts. The puzzle is to figure out why she's in purgatory and then to fix the problem. This challenge sends Lori and Bill all over Great Britain to find answers and romance. I enjoyed this book. It is almost painfully sweet at times. Somehow the song "Don't worry, be happy" kept crossing my mind. Still, a series that I'll continue to read - it's a great antidote to a batch of hard boiled PI stories.
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