The fifth installment in the bestselling and beloved Aunt Dimity series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton’s latest, Aunt Dimity and the King’s Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking!Lori can hardly wait for Christmas this year: lean times are over, the cottage Aunt Dimity willed her is more beautiful than ever, her nine-month-old twins, Will and Rob, are thriving, and she and husband Bill have never … and husband Bill have never been happier. Determined to make this Christmas the best ever, Lori embarks on a round of shopping, holly-cutting, angel-cookie making, and more. When fat snow flakes begin drifting down outside of the window, Lori feels all her holiday wishes are about to come true. But the next day, beneath the lilac bushes now covered by freshly fallen snow, Lori makes a disturbing discovery: the body of a mysterious stranger–a tramp–barely alive.
While the nearby village of Finch continues with its seasonal preparations, including rehearsals for the Christmas Eve Nativity play, Lori puts her plans on hold and teams up with Julian Bright–a devilishly attractive Roman Catholic priest–to search out the stranger’s identity. Their journey takes them from abandoned World War II airfields to homeless shelters, places where the Christmas star shines dimly, if at all. As Lori unveils the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, she confronts painful truths about herself and discovers the real meaning of a perfect family Christmas.
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Even if you haven’t read other books in the Aunt Dimity series, you would definitely enjoy this book -especially during the Christmas season and during such a stressful year as 2020 has been. Everyone in Finch, located in the Cotswolds in England, learns a solid lesson of faith and community from a character most of them have never met – Kit Smith, an apparent vagrant who collapses on the bridle path during the weeks before Christmas. Even though Kit is hospitalized and in a coma for almost the entire book, he exerts a phenomenal influence. Truly an awesome and inspirational read.
The entire Aunt Dimity series is fun with great characters. Talking to her ghostly friend is a little sappy for me, but I still love the device and the advice.
I loved all of the aunt dimity books!
I really enjoy reading the Aunt Dimity books–I’ve read the first six and plan to continue to the end. During the Christmas season, Lori gets caught up in the excitement (as I have) and has high expectations. She has a little mystery to
solve that takes her off track, but it also enhances the magic of Christmas in the end.
I just love this series of cozy mysteries. I need feel good stories right now (COVID 19 isolation times) and this stories are fun and have delightful characters. I’d give them 4.5 is that was possible. Are they great literature? No, but they make me smile through every single book in the series.
Love all her books!
I love the Aunt Dimity books. They are a great read!
I enjoy Aunt Dimity books.
Every book in the series is wonderful – I think I enjoy these books and Aunt Dimity herself more than any others.
I really like the premise of the Aunt dimity stories. she communicates from beyond through a diary to help solve mysteries.
The Aunt Dimity series continues to satisfy, but this one is perhaps the best of all. It was really inspiring, not a light weight “Christmas mystery”, but one that presents some thoughtful insights while retaining the wonderful characters.
I enjoyed the location and the story. It’s fun to see the story unfold. The characters are believable even if the “Aunt” is a little hard to believe but that was fun also.
A very good read!
Boy, this was not an Aunt Dimnity usual storyline. It gives one second thoughts about war decisions. Important ending theme; One needs to be fair – even in war.
Love the way situations happen around Lori but somehow Aunt Dimity gives good thoughts & helps Lori find what’s necessary for a better understanding of “things”.
Yea for Aunt Dimity – may she “rest in peace”.
I don’t know exactly what it is about the Aunt Dimity books that pleases me so much. They are sweet books, and I don’t mean that in a saccharine sickly sweet way but, in that nostalgic way of our fondest memories. The books are all written with heart and kindness and are comforting and cozy. You care about the characters and will probably recognize a few. I feel when I read these books that I’ve gone to dinner with some of my best friends and talked all night long. I love Aunt Dimity. This is the 5th book I’ve read and I highly recommend them.
Aunt Dimity series is a fun group of cozy mysteries.
I like the book, but wish I had read the first books in the series first. It is very similar to another series I like, and I get them a little confused. But it was fun reading for the holidays, and I like novels set in the UK.
As usual, Aunt Dimity NEVER disappoints! I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking whimsical entertainment.
This book is a truly marvelous Christmas book. I enjoyed it.