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94th out of 149 books
—
117 voters
Aunt Dimity: Detective (An Aunt Dimity Mystery #7)
When Lori Shepherd returns from her trip to America, she is shocked to hear that Prunella "Pruneface" Hooper has been killed. This is the first murder in the village of Finch in more than a century, and everyone is in an uproar. Before the town implodes in the wake of this scandal, Lori sets out to solve the murder. Unfortunately, nearly everyone in Finch had a reason to w...more
Paperback, 230 pages
Published
January 28th 2003
by Penguin Books
(first published 2001)
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A proper murder! In Finch, of all places!
Aunt Dimity: Detective veers away from the normal pattern of the series by focusing on recent murder. However, the occasion is still a catalyst for stunning revelations about the townspeople.
The rumor mill of Finch is as industrious as any. Atherton lets the gossip fly in a story that takes place entirely within the village. The secrets uncovered by Lori and her newfound friend Nicholas are mostly tame, but one is a regular humdinger.
Unfortunately, I di...more
Aunt Dimity: Detective veers away from the normal pattern of the series by focusing on recent murder. However, the occasion is still a catalyst for stunning revelations about the townspeople.
The rumor mill of Finch is as industrious as any. Atherton lets the gossip fly in a story that takes place entirely within the village. The secrets uncovered by Lori and her newfound friend Nicholas are mostly tame, but one is a regular humdinger.
Unfortunately, I di...more
18 months ago
This wasn't my favourite of the Aunt Dimity books, but I still enjoyed it.
Lori returns to Finch from an extended visit to the U.S. to discover that the nasty new addition to the town has been murdered and while everyone in town seems to have secrets that may have some relation to the murder, nobody's talking.
When the vicar's nephew arrives for a visit, he and Lori team up to try to ferret out the truth.
Unfortunately, a large part of this book invoved a close examination of the very...more
Just what I needed! It was a fast paced, entertaining and charming read. It was a good book to cosy up with in a wet April afternoon.
Although Dimity's presence wasn't as prominent in this book her words of wisdom come through loud and clear. And I think that one of the main reasons I come back for more, Dimity is charming, direct and wise for a ghost. I found the mysteries (both the murder and the "real" reason for Nicholas' visit) easy to crack, but it was interesting to see the villagers point...more
Although Dimity's presence wasn't as prominent in this book her words of wisdom come through loud and clear. And I think that one of the main reasons I come back for more, Dimity is charming, direct and wise for a ghost. I found the mysteries (both the murder and the "real" reason for Nicholas' visit) easy to crack, but it was interesting to see the villagers point...more
I read this because I thought it was the first book in the series.
It's not, which is just as well. Had I read this series from the beginning, I'd have pulled a Thursday Next so I could go slap Lori.
***Spoiler Alert Spoiler Alert***
I don't know why the author bothered to give her main character a husband and twin sons; basically they're a sidenote to the plot. The plot, which seems to be a way for someone (the author, the editor, SOMEONE) to have their cake and eat it too. Not only did Lori spend...more
It's not, which is just as well. Had I read this series from the beginning, I'd have pulled a Thursday Next so I could go slap Lori.
***Spoiler Alert Spoiler Alert***
I don't know why the author bothered to give her main character a husband and twin sons; basically they're a sidenote to the plot. The plot, which seems to be a way for someone (the author, the editor, SOMEONE) to have their cake and eat it too. Not only did Lori spend...more
Another enjoyable book in the series...
I am still waiting for the author to develop a plot which does not involve Lori having a "wandering eye". In this book, she seemed less "tempted" by the "man" (Simon), but I still find it distracting for two reasons. One is that it seems to be a "feature", or part of the plot, and it seems a little contrived that Lori meets and almost immediately "bonds" with a different handsome man in each book. The speed with which her relationship develops seems unnatur...more
I am still waiting for the author to develop a plot which does not involve Lori having a "wandering eye". In this book, she seemed less "tempted" by the "man" (Simon), but I still find it distracting for two reasons. One is that it seems to be a "feature", or part of the plot, and it seems a little contrived that Lori meets and almost immediately "bonds" with a different handsome man in each book. The speed with which her relationship develops seems unnatur...more
This book is very light. All of the people involved are very blasé about the fact that "Pruneface" was murdered and the murderer remains at large; everyone agrees that she was so nasty that her death was a kindness. At the end, the mystery is resolved in a comical manner. I felt that the book/Lori was a bit too flippant, and I think the author shied away from saying anything consequential about some of the issues she brought up in the course of the book (including infidelity and a young teen's a...more
This was the first Aunt Dimity book I've read and I have to say that while it was pleasant, fast reading, I was not overly impressed. In this book, Aunt Dimity (deceased) was a spirit that manifests herself to the heroine, Lori, via a blue journal book. I honestly don't think Aunt Dimity leant much credence to the story - I could have done without her (and I think Lori also, since she had the help of the vicar's nephew, Nicholas). The ending seemed a little melodramatic and disappointing at the...more
It seems that I started my exploration of Aunt Dimity about six books into this series. That, however, did nothing to diminish my reading pleasure as I discovered that Aunt Dimity is a departed spirit who communicates with our protagonist, Lori Shepherd, by writing in an old blue journal .
Imagine if you will a quaint English village with the requisite Vicar and his wife, the local tradesmen and women, and an assortment of residents, some average and some anything but average. With not much goin...more
Imagine if you will a quaint English village with the requisite Vicar and his wife, the local tradesmen and women, and an assortment of residents, some average and some anything but average. With not much goin...more
I can't believe it! Here is an Aunt Dimity book that I didn't like! No interesting historical sidelights and not an engaging mystery either. Other than getting to know the villagers better, this book left me very unsatisfied. It definitely can't hold a candle to the first six Aunt Dimity books. I hope #8 is back to the delicious fun of the first six!
P.S. And I am getting tired of Lori's "wandering eye" too. It doesn't endear me to her as a character, especially when it is repeated with different...more
P.S. And I am getting tired of Lori's "wandering eye" too. It doesn't endear me to her as a character, especially when it is repeated with different...more
While I continue to enjoy the Aunt Dimity series, I didn’t really like this 7th installment. It was pretty predictable and I’m tired of our married mother of two heroine struggling with her “feelings” for every handsome man assisting with her detective work. I realize I’m reading a genre and understand there’s going to be a clinker here and there, so will continue with the “Dimity” series. Just hoping the rest are better than this..
In this adventure Lori, Bill and the twins return from an extended holiday in America to find that Prunella 'Pruneface' Hopper has been murdered and the villagers close ranks against the police, but harbour suspicions about each other. The vicar's nephew, Nicholas is visiting his aunt and uncle and helps Lori in her quest to find a murderer and to restore peace in the village. Secrets are revealed and grudges forgotten in the village.
Another very enjoyable read.
Another very enjoyable read.
This was the first book of the series that I have read. I gave this one three stars because I thought the murder mystery was clever. I found the subplot involving the main character's flirtation with a man other than her husband to be extremely annoying. Based on the dialogue in the book, this appears to happen in the other books so I don't think I can stomach another one.
Another cozy wonderful Aunt Dimity mystery!
I want to live in Finch, the little village in the Cotswolds where Lori and her husband and twin boys live in Aunt Dimity's cozy cottage. Actually, I want to live in Aunt Dimity's cottage!
This mystery centered around a murder in Finch. The victim was Finch's notorious evil gossip. Every one in the village has a motive but whodunit?
I want to live in Finch, the little village in the Cotswolds where Lori and her husband and twin boys live in Aunt Dimity's cozy cottage. Actually, I want to live in Aunt Dimity's cottage!
This mystery centered around a murder in Finch. The victim was Finch's notorious evil gossip. Every one in the village has a motive but whodunit?
There's been a murder in Finch while Lori was visiting the States. It is up to her to solve the mystery of who killed "Pruneface." How could anyone from the village have done such a thing? It turns out that motive abounds in this quaint little village.
Another in the ongoing saga of Laurie and her "aunt". This is another volume where Laurie gets smitten by another man and I find it a bit bothersome as a plotline. Otherwise, it was a pleasantly distracting village mystery.
I liked it, didn't love it. It's starting to bother me that Lori has such a "wandering eye" as they put it. Not as much Aunt Dimity in this one, nor any Reginald ties. Still, an ok story, leaving you wondering "who did it" right up to the end.
Another excellent relationship-exploring book in the Aunt Dimity series. I sort of wish Lori didn't have her "wandering eye," as if it were an uncontrollable party of one's personality, but she never actually does anything truly terrible that might destroy her family, I guess it's supposed to be all right.
I'm finally starting to figure out that these aren't really murder mysteries. They're mysteries, as in puzzles, but most of the people who die are not murdered. Still enjoyable, maybe even more so because of that.
This one was a pretty good read. I do like the cast of characters built up, and Lori and her "roving eye" are kind of funny. I'm wondering if she's going to kiss someone new (who isn't her husband) in every book.
I wasn't sure what to think of this book for the first 100 pages.
I still loved to go back to Finch, to hear again of Lori and Aunt Dimity and to know new characters, but I couldn't get my teeth in this novel.
But then... I couldn't stop reading, because I really really really wanted to know how everything would fit together. And wihle reading the last5 pages, I couldn't stop laughing: Only in Finch suspects of a murder can be so happy about being suspects :D
Now, after this great ending to this bo...more
I still loved to go back to Finch, to hear again of Lori and Aunt Dimity and to know new characters, but I couldn't get my teeth in this novel.
But then... I couldn't stop reading, because I really really really wanted to know how everything would fit together. And wihle reading the last5 pages, I couldn't stop laughing: Only in Finch suspects of a murder can be so happy about being suspects :D
Now, after this great ending to this bo...more
I really enjoyed this adventuremof aunt dimity. Lori comes back to find someone has beemer murdered in the village. Let the detecting begin. I enjoy the mix of villagers involved throughout the story.
The Aunt Dimity books are quick reads--light and enjoyable. I liked the mystery of this particular book, but I don't like the books as well in which Bill is noticeably absent and Lori is spending her sleuthing time with another man. However, all comes right in the end.
So, these were the perfect books for day two of my sore throat. Yep. That's exactly what they're good for. There will be no further reviews, though I will keep reading the series.
I generally enjoy this series. It is fun, light and set in a rural English town with all of its foibles, faults and gossips on full display. It is a summer read.
I feel the heroines thoughts echoing back in mine...and the bright light of hope that people are good, seems to shine through Dimitys books...
Still enjoy this series, just am sad that I may be getting close to having read them all. I would read them again, because they are fun.
It seems all Aunt Dimity books are the same. Same plots, just different characters. Think I will take a break from the series for a while
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Jul 28, 2011
Joyceling
added it
No one misses the murdered woman, but we take on village gossip and suspicions to solve the case.
Ok, its a fun fluffy comfort book but inside is a good lesson on how to live in and love a small town setting.
A fun summer read...always a happy ending, just like some fairy tales.
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Nancy Atherton is not a white-haired Englishwoman with a softly wrinkled face, a wry smile, and wise gray eyes, nor does she live in a thatched cottage behind a babbling brook in a tranquil, rural corner of the Cotswolds.
She has never taken tea with a vicar (although she drank an Orange Squash with one once) and she doesn't plan to continue writing after her allotted time on earth (though such pla...more
More about Nancy Atherton...
She has never taken tea with a vicar (although she drank an Orange Squash with one once) and she doesn't plan to continue writing after her allotted time on earth (though such pla...more
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