Mystery Monday: Aunt Dimity and the Summer King

Title: Aunt Dimity and the Summer King (Aunt Dimity #20).
Author: Nancy Atherton
Publisher: Viking, 2015. 240 pages.
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:
There’s trouble in Finch. Four recently sold cottages are standing empty, and the locals fear that a developer plans to turn their cozy village into an enclave of overpriced weekend homes. But for once Lori Shepherd can’t help.

Her infant daughter, her father-inlaw’s upcoming wedding, and the crushing prospect of her fortieth birthday have left her feeling inadequate and overwhelmed. Until, that is, she has a chance encounter with an eccentric inventor named Arthur Hargreaves. Dubbed the Summer King by his equally eccentric family, Arthur is as warmhearted as the summer sun. In his presence, Lori forgets her troubles—and Finch’s.

But Lori snaps out of her happy trance when she discovers detailed maps of Finch in the Summer King’s library. Next, a real estate agent comes knocking. Is Arthur secretly plotting Finch’s demise?

With Aunt Dimity’s otherworldly help—and her new daughter in her arms—Lori mounts a crusade to save her beloved village from the Summer King’s scorching greed.

My Review:
Since I think I've given the last couple of Aunt Dimity books lukewarm reviews, I thought it only fair to review this one so I can note that I think it's moved a bit more in the right direction. There has definitely been a turn away from any hint of violence or physical threats (as there were in a couple of the books back a few years, which made Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea one of the strongest in the series), but this was less saccharine than the Wishing Well or The Lost Prince.

The story builds a nice sense of a threat to the village of Finch, and Lori's usual trouble with jumping to conclusions, before she manages to stumble her way to the solution. I have to say that although I think this was better than the last two, I miss something that the early books had--maybe less of a sense of everything coming up kittens and sparkles. Maybe I just think that a mystery needs a little more real threat to give it a sense of urgency. In any case, the books remain nice little confections, a little too sweet and without much substance, but still a pleasure to nibble with your tea.

Recommendation: 
For fans of the series, and those who like their books completely unthreatening.

Book Review: Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well

Title: Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well
Author: Nancy Atherton
Publisher: Viking, 2014.  278 pages.
Source: Library

Summary:
When the village recluse dies and his nephew shows up from Australia to settle the estate, strange things begin happening in Finch.  Naturally, it's up to Lori Shepherd and the dead but not departed Aunt Dimity to sort it all out.

Review:
As with the last couple of Aunt Dimity books, this is a very mild mystery with no corpse, no danger, and minimal sense of any urgency to deal with the problem.  The result is a sweet story, but not one that I would call a mystery.  I assume that this has been a deliberate move on the part of the author, after venturing into some more dramatic territory a few books back.

I prefer my mysteries to have a little more mystery to them, and it is conventional to provide a corpse.  So although the story is a fun, quick read, and I'm hooked enough on Lori and the rest of the denizens of Finch to keep reading, I'm not entirely happy, either.  Not many of the books have actually involved corpses, but most manage to muster up a bit more peril than this one, and more of a puzzle to solve.  I also found most of the resolutions ion this book a bit too predictable, including the "big surprise" at the end.

Recommendation:
For those who are hooked on the series.

Addendum, Jan. 3, 2015: I have just listened to the audio book narrated by Teri Clark Linden, and I have to say that I found the narration irritating. Several women were given rather puny voices that I didn't think went with them at all (especially Emma), and there was a curious hesitation in the speeches of characters that I disliked. I'd say to give this one a miss.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well  out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Review: Aunt Dimity and the Lost Prince

 

Aunt Dimity and the Lost Prince, by Nancy Atherton.  Aunt Dimity series #18.  246 pages
Publisher: Viking, 2013.
Source: used book sale

Summary: 
Lori Shepherd and her neighbor Bree Pym spend a week chasing around the countryside near Finch, Lori's sort-of idyllic English village, looking for a Russian Prince from a story told by a child.  As usual, Lori gets  a little help and guidance from her "aunt" Dimity Westwood, who never let a little thing like being dead keep her from helping her best friend's daughter cope with life.  Oddly, Lori seems much more concerned with the unlikely prince than with the disappearance of the child and her mother.  Maybe there's nothing she could do about that, but she could at least try!

Recipe for Russian tea-cakes at the end of the book.

Review (sort of spoiler-ish):
I got lucky and scored a basically brand-new copy of the latest by Nancy Atherton at our library fundraiser book sale.  Aunt Dimity is one of my almost embarrassing little indulgences--cozy mysteries so cozy they verge on the saccharine.  In fact, I have to say that this time we've tipped over the edge.  Atherton seems to share a problem I sometimes have when writing: she just hates to make anyone really a villain.  But a mystery where everyone turns out actually to be nice?  Well, I don't think this is the first time, but she goes too far with that. 

Frankly, I found the premise of this book unconvincing, and the characters rather one-dimensional, though it was fun to discover what each suspect in turn was really like.  And there's no denying the book is a fun romp, but it lacks that tiny hint of an edge that even a Cozy needs to qualify as a mystery.   The only part of this book that offered a real edge was the missing child, and that thread is left in the dust.

Was it still fun to read?  Yeah.  But not as fun as it should have been.  Aunt Dimity has had better adventures.

Recommendation: for die-hard Aunt Dimity fans, and those who like their books excessively sweet.

Full disclosure: I purchased this book second-hand at a library fund-raiser and received nothing from the author or the publisher for this review, which they probably won't like anyway.  The opinions expressed herein are my own and those of no one else, unless someone happens to agree with me.