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Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch

Jun 182012

If you’re a fan of Nancy Atherton’s ghostly Aunt Dimity series, you know that the small town of Finch already has a village witch, but this book isn’t about Miranda. In fact, it’s the story of the village’s effort to find out what happened to a woman accused of being a witch in the 17th century.

But first it starts with a bit of contemporary mystery: who is Amelia Thistle, new owner of Pussywillow Cottage? The villagers gather at the town’s quaint tearoom on the morning of the new villager’s move, vying for the window seats so they can be the first to examine her furniture and the woman herself. Suddenly, two of the locals jump up and run out, and our protagonist, Lori Shepherd, gives up her prime seat to follow, deciding that she needs to know whatever it is that they know, which turns out to be that Amelia Thistle is actually a famous nature artist.

Lori and the other villagers soon get caught up in Amelia’s quest to fulfill her brother’s desire to uncover the old story about Mistress Meg, ancient Finch’s village witch. Could this be Mad Maggie, the woman immortalized by parents in threats to get their children to behave? Aunt Dimity, the ghostly journal-writing woman who willed Lori her Cotswold cottage, thinks so.

Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch is a fun addition to Nancy Atherton’s series. I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t exactly a murder mystery, although there’s definitely a mystery to solve, and that the village of Finch pulls together to protect one of its own, not once but twice.

Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree

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Mar 312011

Following Lori Shepherd’s whirlwind tour of New Zealand in the last Aunt Dimity book, Nancy Atherton brings her back to Finch to solve a local mystery in Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree (2011).

Lori’s father-in-law, Willis, Sr. (not to be confused with her husband, Bill), has completed renovations on an old dump, now showplace, near her Cotswolds cottage, and the book begins with his fabulous housewarming party, which goes off without a hitch only because the women of the village save the day.

Late that night, Deirdre and Declan Donovan arrive for their interviews, and Willis, Sr. hires them to be his servants. The Donovans seem just a little too good to be true, though, and Lori is suspicious of their motives when old family items disappear, furniture is moved around, and strange sounds go bump in the night. Are they out to rob Willis, Sr.?

To complicate matters, Aunt Dimity’s ghost has come up with a plan for Sally Pyne, she of the village tearoom, to save face with the townspeople while meeting up with her Mexican love, which involves Willis, Sr. masquerading as “Lady Sarah”‘s American cousin while entertaining the good senor.

The Aunt Dimity series is quirky, lovable, and sometimes predictable, but it’s in a good way that you always know what you’ll get: a charming cozy in which everything turns out well in the end.

Aunt Dimity Down Under

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May 082010

I resisted Nancy Atherton’s “Aunt Dimity” series for several years because one of my friends told me that Aunt Dimity was a ghost. I know some people dig the paranormal, but I’m too skeptical to enjoy. Finally last summer I didn’t have anything else to read so I broke down and tried one… and then I read them all. The first book reveals Aunt Dimity’s story and her ability to communicate with the living, but after that you just accept her presence without thinking too much about it. Set in the English Cotswolds, the series is as cozy as mysteries can get.

“Aunt Dimity Down Under” (2010) is something like the 15th in the series, and I liked it more than some of the other more recent ones. The stories had gotten pretty formulaic, but this one breaks the mold, with Lori racing against time (and the grim reaper) to locate the elderly Pym sisters’ long-lost relative with an important message — in New Zealand. Writing in her blue journal, Aunt Dimity’s ghost provides advice and perspective as well as an intimate knowledge of the village and families of Finch, where the expat American Lori lives with her husband and twin boys. Usually the village figures prominent in the stories, but this time New Zealand takes center stage, as Lori’s whirlwind tour takes her around the country that also formed the backdrop for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (at one point Lori gets to sleep in Frodo’s hotel room).

Like most of the books in the series, this story is fun because Lori has lots of money and good friends that together allow her to do what it takes to solve the mystery. You know things will end well for Lori because they always do. But that won’t stop you from enjoying her journey.

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