Lighthearted, fun read with a happy ending. And we all know I need happy endings. ( )

I am glad that Aunt Dimity and the Duke was not one of the first I have read in the series, or it very well may have been my last. I normally like Atherton's cozy mysteries, but was mot a big fan of this installment. ( )

I'd forgotten why I quit reading cozy mysteries until I finished this one. Actually, I made myself finish it. I used to love this stuff a long time ago, but I think my tastes have changed.

In this second book of the Aunt Dimity series, Emma, a computer professional, has been left high and dry by her boyfriend who dumped her for someone younger. She decides to go on a series of garden tours, and she meets two elderly ladies who encourage her to visit Penford Hall in Cornwall. It seems that the owner of said hall is an acquaintance of theirs. So off she goes, and is promptly drafted into service to fix up the old and long-neglected garden. While there, she becomes embroiled in a mystery or two, and some very strange things happen.

Frankly, I didn't like it. The dialogue was just not realistic, nor were the characters. I'm all for a bit of the supernatural in a mystery novel, but this one was just way too cutesy for me. I know, I know, it's average rating is a 3.94, which is high. So I'd recommend it to people who are into cozies, which I realize now that I'm definitely not. ( )

http://www.cozylibrary.com/default.as... ( )

This series of mysteries is focussed on American Lori Shepherd, and the ghost of "Aunt" Dimity Westwood, her late mother's English best friend. Lori never met Dimity in life, but she can communicate with her spirit though a mysterious blue journal. The series also includes apparently sentient stuffed animals and a great deal of paranormal activity. The series is extremely sweet, with the good characters being exemplars of generosity and kindness.

In this book, Emma Porter a computer analyst and ardent gardener from Boston, is exploring Cornwall's gardens. At Penford Hall, home of Grayson Alexander, the 14th duke of Penford, Emma is asked to restore the ruined chapel garden, in time for the village "Fete" that occurs once every 100 years to celebrate a legendary local supernatural event. That act is memorialized in a chapel window being examined by restorer Derek Harris, a widower with two children. ( )