Rating: 
Summary: Just what I needed . . .
Review:
Having been in the vortex of some pretty vicious rumors recently, I found myself totally engrossed in this book. I haven't read any of the Dimity series, but I enjoyed this one.
I have to admit the Lori-resists-a-handsome-man was a bit off-putting because there was enough tension in the main plot line to keep the action moving forward. Atherton's message here was: one bad apple CAN spoil the whole bunch -- if you're not careful. It happened in my town and it happened in Finch.
Rating:
Summary: A sweet cozy
Review: American expatriates Bill Willis and Lori Shepherd were staying with his parents in Boston when someone in their English village of Finch killed "Pruneface" Hooper. When the married couple with different last names returns home to Finch, the news of the homicide stun both of them because the last murder in Finch occurred in 1872.
Eleven days pass without the case being solved because everyone seemed to have a reason to see the mean-spited gossip Pruneface dead. Deciding it is time to get involved, Lori turns to her sleuthing guide the spirit of "Aunt" Dimity Westwood, former resident of Lori's cottage. Through Dimity's blue journal, the ghost and Lori communicate. Though the townsfolk remain reticent, Lori and Dimity accompanied by Nicholas Fox, the visiting nephew of the vicar begin to investigate.
The seventh Aunt Dimity tale retains the freshness of the series as the supernatural and the mortal combine forces to uncover the identity of a killer. Nicholas gives readers a different view of Lori especially since Bill is in London for most of the novel. The who-done-it is fun to try to figure out as most of the villagers had cause to see Pruneface dead. Anyone who enjoys a contemporary English village mystery with a large dose of the paranormal will enjoy AUNT DIMITY: DETECTIVE and Nancy Atherton's previous supernatural-amateur sleuth stories. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Fun in the Cotswolds.
Review: Here we are in the Cotswolds, but this is a completely different view of the Cotswolds than that of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin books, which are also a lot of fun. There's not much sense of place here, but a nice sense of community. A nicely hateable victim and a nice list of colorful suspects. A light mystery that reads easily and has some really interesting moments. I don't quite get the spirit of Aunt Dimity thing. This is my first Aunt Dimity book, and in this one Aunt D. really wasn't needed. And I can't figure out why a spirit in her "position" wouldn't know everything -- including who committed the crime. Ah, well. Suspending disbelief makes life much more interesting. In spite of my finding fault with Aunt Dimity, I'd like to read more Aunt D. books.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best...
Review: I really enjoy this series as it does not take the ghost tactic too far. Aunt Dimity, the "ghost" in the series, does not play a large part in the solving of the mysteries but is very much a side character. In this entry, Lori is trying to discover the person responsible for the murder of a not-so-nice newcomer to Finch. The principal suspect is her friend Kit, who first appeared in an earlier episode of the series and she knows that he is innocent. Along the way to solving the crime (which Lori does not really solve), she and the vicar's nephew, Nicholas, discover some pretty dark secrets about several villagers. I almost rated this 3 stars as I figured out how the victim was killed and, more disappointing, I am getting tired of Lori always meeting and halfway falling in love with a handsome stranger. It seems like in every single story, she is having to stave off emotional and physical attraction to some man. While I am sure that happens in many marriages once, it is getting a little tiresome when you realize that she has done this a few times.
Rating: 
Summary: Left a stale taste.......
Review: I was dissappointed in this latest Aunt Dimity. While the earlier
books are charming, this one bothered me. The reason is the way
Lori is developing. I'm not a prude, but this interest of hers in
other men really annoyed me. In fact I frankly disliked her as a
character. This is the last Atherton for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not much fun...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Number seven close to the best
Review: In this cozy, number seven of the series, it is the victim you will love to hate, and that makes it all the cozier. All of the Dimity books are well-plotted but this plot is the tightest, with such a nasty victim that the many possible suspects are logical. The Dimity ghost appears less and less, as is reasonable since Lori is maturing as a detective. As in previous Dimities, family life and the hectic village provide a setting to allow laser-like views of human nature that make "cozy" a funny term. A real who-done-it!
Rating:
Summary: With One Reservation, as Nice as the Rest
Review: In what I consider a REAL cozy, only horrible, nasty people die and the killer isn't terribly nice, either. This mystery fulfills the first part admirably. While we don't know the personality of the murder victim in 1879, "Pruneface" Hooper was evil. The lie she spread about Kit Smith alone is enough to earn Hooper that status. It's a good thing for her grandson that she died before he became a teenager. I do hope his father can turn him around. Loved the reason Aunt Dimity can't communicate with Pruneface. Although virtually everyone in Finch hopes the killer is never found, Aunt Dimity doesn't agree. Her reason turns out to be correct. Of the suspects, who killed the Queen of Malice? Was it Mr. Wetherhead of the Miniature Train Museum, who isn't as lame as he used to be? Was it Miranda Morrow, the telephone witch?
How about Sally Pyne who runs the tearoom? Did she serve Pruneface a dessert that was just instead of sweet? Did the pub-keeping Peacocks cook up something besides calorie-laden food? Isn't Peggy Taxman going overboard on her displays of grief over the death of her old friend? Why is Mr. Barlow missing? As for Nicholas Fox, is the sexy martial-arts instructor really trying to find the killer to help his uncle, the vicar? There's an old saying that there's no smoke without fire. Is there ANY truth behind the rumors Pruneface was so eagerly spreading? Unless you happen to be a horrible and nasty person yourself (in which case I recommend you find a different series to read), you should be satisfied with the author's choice of killer. There's only one nit I'd like to pick about this book. One of the themes I've loved in this series is that Prince [and Princess] Charmings come in all shapes and sizes. That's why I find the changes in Emma and Bill so disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: A murder in Finch!
Review: Lori Shepherd has just returned from a holiday visit to her husband Bill Willis' family in Boston. She is surprised to learn that a newcomer to the village, Prunella (Pruneface) Hooper has died, apparently a murder. The vicar's mysterious nephew and Lori are intrigued by the mystery, and the fact that the police have no clues and no witnesses, although many people were out and about that morning. Pruneface was very unpopular with the local populace, being a vicious gossip and possibly a blackmailer. Lori finds out that the people of Finch have many secrets and that Aunt Dimity, although wise, does not know everything. This is the latest in a very good series featuring Aunt Dimity, a ghost who communicates with Lori and Bill via a blue journal. This is a very good addition to the series and I read it in one sitting.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King, meet Agatha Christie
Review: 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!
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