Jenn's Review: Aunt Dimity's Death

Summary: Atherton's first mystery combines a strong sense of traditional English fare with an insistent gothic spirit. Suffering from her recent divorce, her mother's death, and an erratic income, Lori Shepherd receives notice from a prestigious Boston law firm that she must travel to England in order to meet the requirements of a will. While visiting her benefactor's "haunted" cottage with lawyer friend Bill, she uncovers important clues relating to a World War II mystery. Lightweight, nicely written material complete with a few heart palpitations.

Review: I am rather disappointed with this book (which is evident in the amount of time it has taken me to get around to writing a review). Billed as the first book in a mystery series I found very little that was mysterious about it. The story was cutesy, the romance was far fetched, and the ending predictable. I found the haunting of the ghost totally unnecessary to the plot. The heroine's "lawyer friend Bill" seemed creepy and although Atherton attempted to explain some of that away in the denouement, he was disconcerting for far too long to be a suddenly likable character.

This is a good light read for a day at the beach, but I don't think I'll be chasing after any of the sequels in a hurry. Maybe if I run out of things to read I'll check one out of the library for amusement.

3.75/5.0