There are dragons in this one, but only the talking animals are aware of them... these books become more and more a crossover between historical fiction and fairy tales, but it kind of works. The dragon is really nice for what it's worth. ( )

I wasn’t expecting the dragon — somehow faeries haven’t been a stretch, but a dragon really surprised me. In any case, I did really enjoy the book, although I am starting to sympathize with the Lake District’s habitual suspicion of incomers— seems as though they are all in disguise and up to no good, if the last 4 books are any indication. Except Miss Potter, of course, she’s all right. I do wish she would fire her incompetent publishers, though. What a tragedy. ( )

Synopsis: A man is killed by a falling tree and a barn catches on fire. Is this the result of a curse, a dragon, or a hoax? Beatrix begins to see that there may be a man in her life.
Review: The story is more fanciful than most and the 'storyteller voice' is really annoying in this one. ( )

All of the Land of the Lakes is snowed in. New character of a dragon is entered in the animal world--very engaging. ( )

"Snow has draped a woolly shawl over Near Sawrey, where Miss Beatrix Potter has retreated to her country house. But the quiet, snow-covered setting belies the buzz below the surface, where Mr. Wickstead has met his death under a tree limb. The villagers are certain that his death had to do with a treasure he had dug up0 last spring. But why was he in the woods on a frigi8d night? And what of the claw markis on the limb? And what was the treasure?

"As often happens, the town's animals know more than the Big Folk. Actually, Wickstead was not alone; Pickles, his fox terrier, stood by his side. Only Pickles knows what happened, although Bailey Badger, the animals at the Brockery, and the local dragon know important bits, too.

"Meanwhile, Miss Potter is unsure what to do about her nagging parents. She also wonders: Can she acknowledge her fondness for Mr. Heelis and remain loyal to the memory of her fiance? She has not time to muse about her personal affairs, what with helping the denizens of Sawrey, human and animal -- and the little matter of this murder. Although she's enlisted the help of her furry friends, Miss Potter still wonders if she'll ever make heads or rails of it all ..."
~~front flap

A plot that mirrors modern times, in that people show up claiming to be someone they're not in order to worm their way into the confidence of older people, gradually take control of their lives and their finances, and then ... That part of the story was a good read, and of course, this series being English cozies, it all came right in the end.

But ... enter the dragon. Which I thought was a bit too much deus ex machina, although it was certainly thrilling. Meditating on the first lines of the Serenity Prayer, I do have to accept that this charming series weaves the fey lands and people into our human world, and accept that the result is enchanting and bewitching, even if not all that realistic. ( )