Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree by Nancy Atherton

Goodness I've been reading lately! I may have to slow down now because with bedbugs rampant in our libraries I'm not even sure about buying second hand. So I guess I'm down to buying Kindle books which certainly can add up!

I bought this book by mistake. I did want to read it but I didn't want to pay$14 on Kindle for it! However after reading the sample I accidentally pressed purchase book rather than delete sample and there it was. I love the aunt dimity books but I usually wait until they've at least come out in paperback and are cheaper. The books are fun to read. I love the small town of Finch and the happenings there but it only took me 24 hours to read the book so $14 was a bit steep.

Willis Sr. has decided to retire and buy an estate in Finch that is tumbling down but has a good foundation. There is lots of mystery in this one along with all of the single widows in Finch, which Lori calls the handmaidens, vying for Willis' attention and trying to get chosen to work for him keeping the large house clean and his cooking done.

I really did enjoy the book but it went too quickly

Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity series

This series needs to be read in order. I was given one of the books in the middle of the series to read first and while I really liked the story and the writing I couldn't relate to what was going on and I couldn't figure out why our heroine, Lori Shepherd, was turning to a journal and it was writing to her instead of her writing in it. Then I bought the first book in the series and after just a couple of chapters was online ordering the rest in the series so I wouldn't have to wait for the next one to arrive once I finished the first one.

Lori is a lonely, and broke, divorcee when she recieves a letter telling her that a relative in England who she thought was simply a story book figure in stories told by her late mother, has died and left her a cottage in the Cotswolds in England and a large amount of money. There are stipulations of course, but Lori meets the challenge. Aunt Dimity is still wandering the rooms of her cottage and Lori soon discovers is in contact with her through a journal she finds in the cottage's library. Of course there is romance involved and Lori marries the also US born executor of Dimity's estate. They decide to settle in the delightful cottage in England rather than live in the States. The first few books give us more of an insight into who Aunt Dimity really was.

I love all the characters in the village, including the 90 something twins who finish each other's sentences. While most of the stories take place in or near the Cotswolds, there are also journeys to Oxford, Scotland, the midwest and now even Australia.

If you are looking for a ghastly ghost story, realism, life struggles, don't bother reading this series. If you are looking for a cozy mystery you can curl up with on the couch under a quilt for an afternoon and get lost in then you can't do much better than this series. I'm looking forward to reading the next two installments.

# 1 Aunt Dimity's Death (©1992)
# 2 Aunt Dimity and the Duke (©1994)
# 3 Aunt Dimity's Good Deed (©1996)
# 4 Aunt Dimity Digs In (©1998)
# 5 Aunt Dimity's Christmas (©1999)
# 6 Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil (©2000)
# 7 Aunt Dimity: Detective (©2002)
# 8 Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday (©2003)
# 9 Aunt Dimity: Snowbound (©2004)
# 10 Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin (©2005)
# 11 Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea (©2006)
# 12 Aunt Dimity Goes West (©2007)
# 13 Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter (©2008)

Next on my list are:
# 14 Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon (©2009)
# 15 Aunt Dimity Down Under (©2010)