Aunt Dimity's Death (32 page)

Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon

Lori Shepherd loves living in the small English village of Finch, but she finds herself wishing for something exciting to spice up her all-too-familiar routine. When King Wilfred’s Faire opens nearby, Lori gets her wish and more. Wizards, wenches, magicians, and minstrels cajole the fairgoers while lords quaff, jesters joke, and knights battle in the joust arena. But Lori soon discovers that it’s not all pageantry and play.

A sinister figure is stalking the angel-voiced madrigal singer; a jealous rival has sabotaged the Dragon Knight’s weapons; and an evil assassin is trying to murder Good King Wilfred. With Aunt Dimity’s otherworldly guidance, Lori races to save her dear village and risks her neck to keep the medieval revelry from ending in tragedy.

ISBN 978-0-670-02050-8

Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter

Lori Shepherd’s life in England couldn’t be more tranquil—except for one thing. Her five-year-old twins have started school, and Lori fears they’ll catch everything from the flu to fleas. What they do come home with, however, is worse: a report of a pale, cloaked figure with bloodstained lips lurking in the woods.

Lori is skeptical at first but soon grows concerned enough to consult with her late (but not entirely departed) Aunt Dimity and her dear friend Kit Smith. With Kit and Aunt Dimity’s help, Lori uncovers the secret that will shock everyone—including herself—about the true identity of the twins’ vampire.

ISBN 978-0-14-311479-6

Aunt Dimity Goes West

Lori Shepherd, still recovering from her most recent adventure, is taking a vacation with her family in the beautiful mountain town of Bluebird, Colorado. But there’s something amiss at their seemingly perfect vacation home. Is the place cursed or is a sinister human hand shaping its eerie reputation? With Aunt Dimity’s help, Lori sets out to solve a hundred-year-old mystery and discovers that sometimes the strangest places can seem the most like home.

ISBN 978-0-14-311291-4

Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea

A series of death threats sends Lori Shepherd to a remote island off the Scottish coast and to a fabulous castle restored by an eccentric friend of her husband’s. But she finds herself drawn into an elaborate whodunit that may involve smuggling—or worse. Why has a human skull washed up on the beach? Is a desolate island really the best place to hide from a murderer? As Lori draws once more on Aunt Dimity’s supernatural aid, Atherton whips equal measures of whimsy and suspense into an irresistible confection.

ISBN 978-0-14-303830-6

Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin

Feeling a touch world-weary, Lori Shepherd decides to volunteer at the Radcliffe Infirmary, where she can spread a little good cheer. There she meets Elizabeth Beacham, a kind, retired legal secretary with no family, except a brother who has mysteriously disappeared. But after only a few visits, Miss Beacham suddenly passes away, leaving Lori to tie up the loose ends of her late friend’s life. Lori discovers that hidden among Miss Beacham’s belongings are clues that Lori believes her friend left for her to discover. Armed with the help of a handsome neighbor and Aunt Dimity’s supernatural skills, Lori begins to unearth Miss Beacham’s secrets and the surprising truth about her next of kin.

ISBN 978-0-14-303654-8

Aunt Dimity: Snowbound

A pleasant woodland stroll turns treacherous when the blizzard of the century crosses Lori Shepherd’s path, forcing her to seek shelter in
Ladythorne Abbey. Once the home of the late, mysterious, madwoman Lucasta DeClerke, the abbey’s cloisters and corridors are haunted by her lingering presence. “Old sins cast long shadows,” Aunt Dimity tells Lori, who will need all of Aunt Dimity’s wisdom and compassion to banish the shadows of hatred and guilt that shroud Ladythorne Abbey.

ISBN 978-0-14-303458-2

Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday

Burning topiaries, threatening notes, suspicious maids, and family intrigue at a lush English country estate lead Lori to seek her phantom aunt’s help in identifying the culprit before he or she can torch the whole house and its guests. Atherton’s signature whimsical and splendidly original twists make for yet one more delicious adventure with cozy mystery lovers’ favorite supernatural sleuth.

ISBN 978-0-14-200393-0

Aunt Dimity: Detective

Nobody in the little town of Finch was really surprised when Prunella “Pruneface” Hooper came to a nasty demise—but murder? With the help of the ghostly Aunt Dimity and Nicholas, the enigmatic (and charming!) self-defense instructor, Lori unravels this delightfully tangled and gossip-filled whodunit.

ISBN 978-0-14-2001547-7

Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil

With rain crashing down on her Range Rover as it climbs up a steep embankment on the Northumberland moors, Lori Shepherd is beginning to doubt the wisdom of her decision to evaluate a rare book collection at Wyrdhurst Hall. It will take all of Aunt Dimity’s supernatural skills to help Lori solve the puzzle and restore peace to a family haunted by its tragic past.

ISBN 978-0-14-100219-4

Aunt Dimity’s Christmas

Lori Shepherd can hardly wait to celebrate Christmas this year with her family until she discovers the body of a mysterious stranger beneath her lilac bushes. Lori teams up with Julian Bright to unveil the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, and must confront painful truths about herself and the true meaning of a perfect family Christmas.

ISBN 978-0-14-029630-3

Aunt Dimity Digs In

Once again Aunt Dimity’s spirit returns to aid the residents of Finch. While Lori Shepherd is busy caring for her twins with the help of a beautiful Italian nanny, the town is thrown into a frenzy by a visiting archaeologist intent on digging up more than just artifacts. Dimity’s magic blue notebook provides the key to the buried secrets.

ISBN 978-0-14-027569-8

Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed

Thanks to Aunt Dimity, Lori Shepherd is now happily married to her very own Prince Charming, Bill Willis. But when a second honeymoon turns into a backroads search for her missing father-in-law, Lori gets lost among all the centuries-old Willis family scandals she uncovers, and needs Aunt Dimity’s ghostly guidance to find her way back to the comforts of home.

ISBN 978-0-14-025881-3

Aunt Dimity and the Duke

Directed to Penford Hall, Emma Porter—forty, fat, and frumpy—is confronted with an eccentric duke and a mysteriously close-mouthed staff. In the face of harrowing events, Emma needs Aunt Dimity’s ghostly guidance to solve the mysteries and to learn to love again.

ISBN 978-0-14-017841-8

Aunt Dimity’s Death

Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story, until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman’s will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she’s about to inherit a sizable estate—if she can discover the secret hidden in Aunt Dimity’s English country cottage.

ISBN 978-0-14-017840-1