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21st out of 293 books
—
980 voters
Aunt Dimity's Death (An Aunt Dimity Mystery #1)
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 sizable 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 t...more
Paperback, 244 pages
Published
November 1st 1993
by Penguin Books
(first published 1992)
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I got this on CD from the library and really enjoyed it. It's about a young woman who learns that her late mother and the mysterious Aunt Dimity conspired to leave her a very unusual legacy. It's more a ghost story and romance than a mystery; sophisticated enough to hold my attention, but there was nothing in it I couldn't listen to when my 5-year-old was in the car (she liked it too!). The characters, settings, and situations were so charming that I wished I could just jump into the book and li...more
There are few books that are so sweet, so perfect, so interminably beautiful. A blast into the past of the 1940s, though set in the 90s. Reminiscent of L.M. Montgomery, few books have made me as happy as this one has by just being astoundingly brilliant. If I could give it more than five stars, I would. Of course, having just finished it, I perhaps have less objectivity than I should, given my current overjoyed, amazed state, but still. I must read the others immediately! If you are expecting a...more
I'm really on the fence with this one.
On the positive side:
This was cute and well-written, and the supporting cast was very appealing.
On the negative side:
The narrator, who is the main character of the novel, was supposed to be so terrifically special and wonderful that everyone was falling all over themselves to help her and love her. Yet I never got the impression she was all that great. The plot was predictable, and I solved the mysteries ages before she did. The author lost a lot of what usu...more
On the positive side:
This was cute and well-written, and the supporting cast was very appealing.
On the negative side:
The narrator, who is the main character of the novel, was supposed to be so terrifically special and wonderful that everyone was falling all over themselves to help her and love her. Yet I never got the impression she was all that great. The plot was predictable, and I solved the mysteries ages before she did. The author lost a lot of what usu...more
Lori Shepard is shocked when she finds out that Aunt Dimity died. Mostly because she thought she was a fictional character her mom made him to tell her bed time stories. Not only is she real but she has left her a task to complete and then she will receive $10,000. Lori could really use the money so off she goes to Merry Old England to stay in Aunt Dimity's cottage. With her is Bill Willis the son of her Aunt Dimity's lawyer to help her with the task. But once at the cottage strange things start...more
First of all the main character has a great name! :) It seemed like it took a little bit of time to get to the mystery, but it was ok the story leading up to it was fun to read. I enjoyed the style of writing and getting to know the characters.
Lori has know Aunt Dimity her entire life. Her stories lulled her to sleep as her mother shared them with her at bedtime. Lori never realized that Aunt Dimity was a real person until she was contacted by a lawyer and told that she was mentioned in the will...more
Lori has know Aunt Dimity her entire life. Her stories lulled her to sleep as her mother shared them with her at bedtime. Lori never realized that Aunt Dimity was a real person until she was contacted by a lawyer and told that she was mentioned in the will...more
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I am going to lump all of her books into one review because it will simply take too long to review all of her books individually. I have been a huge fan of these since I started reading them about six years ago. I always look forward to her new release with some anxiety, because apparently book sales are down and there was a question prior to her Deep Blue See book (I believe it was that one), that it may get dropped from being published. Hence, the new artwork on the more recent books in an eff...more
Apr 04, 2013
Ivonne Rovira
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of charming cozies
I first read Aunt Dimity's Death some 10 or 15 years ago, and I loved it. I never continued with the series at the time, and, as I wanted to read the entirety of Nancy Atherton's heart-warming series, I've reread this book again to start myself off and refresh my memory.
I had completely forgotten how charming this modern-day fairy tale was! Downtrodden librarian Lori Shepherd is startled to discover that Aunt Dimity, who she'd always thought was an imaginary heroine in her mother's stories, actu...more
I had completely forgotten how charming this modern-day fairy tale was! Downtrodden librarian Lori Shepherd is startled to discover that Aunt Dimity, who she'd always thought was an imaginary heroine in her mother's stories, actu...more
I read the edition that contained the first two Aunt Dimity detective stories, where the character is billed as a "paranormal detective". As it turns out, Aunt Dimity is "paranormal" because like the title indicates, she dies, and then her ghost hangs around and helps out. She is an elderly, eccentric, wealthy British lady who guides the fortunes of her friends and loved ones from beyond the grave. However, this first novel is mainly focused on protagonist Lori, the child of Aunt Dimity's closes...more
The first Aunt Dimity mystery. Lori Shepherd has grown up on Aunt Dimity stories. Her mother used to tell her the stories with her pink bunny Reginald to get her to go to sleep. She has carried Reginald with her everyone. She has divorced her husband and gone back to New York to work and her mother dies. Lori is devastated. Then a burglar breaks into her apartment, not finding anything worth stealing, he destroys Reginald. She cannot put him back together since she can't sew, so keeps him in a s...more
This was a sweet, nostalgic old-fashioned story that will leave you with the warm fuzzies!
Lori has been having a very bad year. Her marriage has fallen apart, her beloved mother has just died, she has no job, no money and no prospects.
When out of the blue she learns, from a father and son team of very unusual lawyers, that stories her mother told her as a child - the "Aunt Dimity" stories - were based on a real woman, and that woman wants her to write the introduction to the book of those storie...more
Lori has been having a very bad year. Her marriage has fallen apart, her beloved mother has just died, she has no job, no money and no prospects.
When out of the blue she learns, from a father and son team of very unusual lawyers, that stories her mother told her as a child - the "Aunt Dimity" stories - were based on a real woman, and that woman wants her to write the introduction to the book of those storie...more
I bought this book when at college, so it's been a while (we won't say how long). I specifically remember buying it, however, because I remember standing by the shelves, thinking how charming it sounded.
And it is a charming book. I like re-reading it because of that. It's relatively short, and just serves to cheer me up. I also find I react differently to it each time I read it.
The basic premise: Lori Shepard's mother told her "Aunt Dimity" stories all through her childhood. Lori always assume...more
And it is a charming book. I like re-reading it because of that. It's relatively short, and just serves to cheer me up. I also find I react differently to it each time I read it.
The basic premise: Lori Shepard's mother told her "Aunt Dimity" stories all through her childhood. Lori always assume...more
I think that this book is the perfect example of how expectations can color your impression of a book. Although the front cover boasts "One of the 100 best mysteries of all time," this book isn't really a mystery.
There's no murder. There's no hunt for whodunnit. There's no bad guy.
I was expecting a traditional murder mystery, something along the lines of Agatha Christie perhaps, because I knew the story was partially set in an English cottage. I was drawn into the opening. The main character, Lo...more
There's no murder. There's no hunt for whodunnit. There's no bad guy.
I was expecting a traditional murder mystery, something along the lines of Agatha Christie perhaps, because I knew the story was partially set in an English cottage. I was drawn into the opening. The main character, Lo...more
Nov 01, 2010
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
No One
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
The first person narration drew me in, and at first I found myself charmed. I could identify with Lori Shepherd; she had recently suffered the loss of her mother and she's been on a "downward spiral" since her divorce, going from temp job to temp job and dealing with disappointed dreams.
However, I found myself disappointed then when we headed to a Cinderella story with an eccentric law firm as fairy-god mother. I couldn't buy it--any of it: The rain-drenched Lori gifted with dry clothing as soo...more
However, I found myself disappointed then when we headed to a Cinderella story with an eccentric law firm as fairy-god mother. I couldn't buy it--any of it: The rain-drenched Lori gifted with dry clothing as soo...more
Lori Shepherd is shocked when she discovers her "Aunt" Dimity has died. Shocked because she thought Aunt Dimity was a character her mother made up in bedtime stories. When Lori visits the law firm handling Dimity's estate, she discovers that Dimity wants her to travel to England and stay at her cottage while reading letters sent by her mother and Dimity and write a forward to Dimity's collection of stories. Lori can use a change; she is still reeling from the end of her marriage and her mother's...more
I award four stars to many wonderful books, so there is a distinction from outrageously special ones. Those you stick with all night, forsaking other activities because "you're at a good part" non-stop. So superbly done, its characters and quirks integrate into your life and everyday things remind you of the story. “Aunt Dimity's Death” was excellent from start to finish and I thank Nancy Atherton for creating it. Her peculiar first lines, which advertise the synopsis, successfully draw you in a...more
Wandering around the library, waiting for a book or title to catch my eye, I saw a shelf full of Nancy Atherton books.
Since I was kind of looking for a book in a series that I hadn't read before, this series appeared to be a cozy mystery that wasn't too "precious."
Frankly, I was so blown away by the wonderful writing in the first book that now I am nervous about picking up the second in the series - can it hold a candle to this first book?
The story of Lori Shepherd learning that "Aunt Dimity" -...more
Since I was kind of looking for a book in a series that I hadn't read before, this series appeared to be a cozy mystery that wasn't too "precious."
Frankly, I was so blown away by the wonderful writing in the first book that now I am nervous about picking up the second in the series - can it hold a candle to this first book?
The story of Lori Shepherd learning that "Aunt Dimity" -...more
This is totally a not-me sort of book. Although a fan of cozy mysteries, this type of magical fluff just makes me mad. It has several annoying points - the Cinderella factor and the ghost being the major ones. But the invasion of Americans into my precious British landscape (and I am speaking AS an American), while smoothly handled, ... it's just wrong. Other folks have done it, notably Martha Grimes and Laurie King, and have done it well enough to not annoy me. This just rankles.
I am not as an...more
I am not as an...more
More of a 3.5, really. This book is so light it almost floated away from me, but I enjoyed it. It's very wish-fulfillment chick-lit-y, but Atherton's a writer with the right touch to pull it off. I read this and Aunt Dimity and the Duke in a combination set that recently came out, Aunt Dimity, Paranormal Detective. A little odd that Aunt Dimity hardly shows up in either of them, then.
This one was the better of the two; it feels like the author hadn't really meant the series to be a series when...more
This one was the better of the two; it feels like the author hadn't really meant the series to be a series when...more
Apr 16, 2012
Christina (Boupie)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lovers of cute or cozy reads, especially fond of British countryside
Shelves:
chick-lit,
fantasy,
books-i-own,
mystery,
non-scary-things-that-go-bump-in-th,
series,
romance,
2012-books
I really enjoyed this book. Even though I guessed most of the twists and interesting parts right off the bat I did enjoy meeting the characters and truly fell in love with Bill. i liked Lori, though she is difficult at times but Aunt Dimity is thoroughly charming. I wish her tales actually were published in a children's book because they sound delightful.
As for category for this... well... I put this on multiple shelves since it is not really a mystery, nor is it just chick-lit, and it does hav...more
As for category for this... well... I put this on multiple shelves since it is not really a mystery, nor is it just chick-lit, and it does hav...more
Sep 19, 2007
Emily M
added it
My sister gave me the first of this series when she dropped me off at the airport for a short flight from Columbus to Chicago. I had devoured it before the plane was over Indianapolis. Light, engaging mysteries, each with a recepie for a yummy baked treat. You end up wanting to move to the little village where the heroine and her family live in the English countryside, and you are left with a warm fuzzy feeling after each book.
Picked this up at a book exchange cart. Off the wishlist and onto the TBR pile. I was thinking this was a Maisie Dobbs book, which I saw on a dear friend's book list and snagged it because of that. As it was, I think I've seen these books on the lists of a couple of other friends, so maybe that's why the name chimed with my tired brain.
Anyhow, it was a good read for a rainy, chilly Sunday. It was definitely a cozy mystery, and very sweetly written. Lori's Reginald reminds me of our Dr Bear here...more
Anyhow, it was a good read for a rainy, chilly Sunday. It was definitely a cozy mystery, and very sweetly written. Lori's Reginald reminds me of our Dr Bear here...more
The cosiest of cosy mysteries. The setting and the characters were all exceedingly charming, and that was the problem, really. Any character who was the slightest bit unpleasant was swiftly and effectively dealt with, and I have experienced more dramatic tension from drinking a weak and milky cup of tea. It was a very sweet book, but (and I say this as a vegetarian) I generally prefer a little more meat to my mysteries.
So I do have some qualms about this one. It is the first of this series. I actually got a hold of a later one in the series and found that I was so out of the loop of the story line that I had to find out how it all began. So here I am at number one. I did like it. I do like Atherton's writing style. I was on the edge of my seat a couple of times. It does have that cozy right up to your book effect. But being that it's the first one I do have some issues. I feel like she left out certain things....more
Nancy Atherton knows how to write a simple story with a big heart and she does it perfectly in this first Aunt Dimity book. There is lost love, millionaire bankers, a mysterious picture and a ghost!
There is no grand mystery and for being quite the buffoon compared to Sherlock Holmes I was able to figure out the big ta-da well before the end. But that's ok! This book isn't supposed to be a mystery, this is a book about people and relationships.
Lori is someone just about everyone can relate to: s...more
There is no grand mystery and for being quite the buffoon compared to Sherlock Holmes I was able to figure out the big ta-da well before the end. But that's ok! This book isn't supposed to be a mystery, this is a book about people and relationships.
Lori is someone just about everyone can relate to: s...more
FINALLY! The first book in the series. This is my third Aunt Dimity book and as I said waaaaay back in the beginning of the discovery, it was love at first sight. I fully understand the term "cozy mystery"; there is just something warm and fuzzy like a treasured blankie, about these books.
Also, it was like hitting my forehead with my palm, because THIS book started all of the Aunt Dimity's. (First in a series are kinda like that, you know?!) My other two have been so sporadic: the first one read...more
Also, it was like hitting my forehead with my palm, because THIS book started all of the Aunt Dimity's. (First in a series are kinda like that, you know?!) My other two have been so sporadic: the first one read...more
Nancy Atherton (Aunt Dimity series)
This is a very quick read series of books. There is not any extreme violence, language, sex or gore in this series. So in my opinion this would be a 'cozy mystery'. Definitely a 'fairy tale' quality to the books.
There is a paranormal theme to this series however, and that makes me hesitant to recommend to easily influenced young people or anyone with strong Christian values as it is clearly not a biblical view of the hereafter.
This is an entertaining series t...more
This is a very quick read series of books. There is not any extreme violence, language, sex or gore in this series. So in my opinion this would be a 'cozy mystery'. Definitely a 'fairy tale' quality to the books.
There is a paranormal theme to this series however, and that makes me hesitant to recommend to easily influenced young people or anyone with strong Christian values as it is clearly not a biblical view of the hereafter.
This is an entertaining series t...more
This book got me in trouble. I picked it out of a pile of books my mom was given by a friend at work. Once I started reading it, I decided I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Problematic, since I was 12 at the time and my sneaking the book into math class to read it resulted in a call home to my mother.
I've read the book over and over since then, and my adult self still finds Lori Shepard to be one of the smartest, most admirable, and most realistic book heroines I've ever met.
In the f...more
I've read the book over and over since then, and my adult self still finds Lori Shepard to be one of the smartest, most admirable, and most realistic book heroines I've ever met.
In the f...more
All through her childhood, Lori loved her mother’s tales about the indomitable Aunt Dimity, whose ordinary experiences seem adventures because of her zest for living. Lori wanted to be just like her. Now that Lori is thirty, though, her life has fallen apart, her mother has just died, and any zest she might have had for living seems long gone. Then, on one grim and rainy day, Lori receives a letter from a most unusual law firm. Thus begins her real-life fairytale.
I picked this book up not knowin...more
I picked this book up not knowin...more
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Mainly because it's part of a series and I love a good series. But it was just okay. A little too fluff for my taste and that's probably saying a lot since I'm working my way through the House of Night series! But I guess the difference is that HoN is a YA vampire series, so I expect it to be cheesy and badly written. Whereas I had high hopes for this one. And I have to question putting it in the mystery section, cause it's not really a mystery in the...more
This is the first in the series of many. There is nothing in depth or intellectual about the book. It is a simple tale told in a delightfully special way.
Lori Shepard's father died when she was an infant and now as an adult she lost her mother. Down and out, when she receives a call from a prestigious law firm, her life dramatically changes.
As the story unfolds, the Lori learns of her mother's adventures in England during WWII and a wonderful friendship she had with a lovely lady whose name was...more
Lori Shepard's father died when she was an infant and now as an adult she lost her mother. Down and out, when she receives a call from a prestigious law firm, her life dramatically changes.
As the story unfolds, the Lori learns of her mother's adventures in England during WWII and a wonderful friendship she had with a lovely lady whose name was...more
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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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“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.”
—
1 person liked it
“When I learned of Aunt Dimity's death, I was stunned. Not because she was dead, but because I had never known she'd been alive.”
—
1 person liked it
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