Aunt Dimity's Death

Enjoyable non-murder mystery romance. ( )

I think "mystery" is stretching it a lot. I do get that a book marketed as a mystery is likely to sell more copies than a book presented as fiction, but this really was just plain women's fiction.

If I had begun reading the series with this first book, I wouldn't have continued. The main character is pretty unpleasant. She's rude, constantly questions the motives of everybody around her and thinks they're all out to make a fool of her, and she whines a lot. This personality sludge is toned down quite a bit in the later books (thank goodness). This is one series in which I should have concentrated on the author's later efforts. ( )

I've been watching and enjoying Rosemary and Thyme, a British cozy mystery television series, and I thought I might enjoy some cozies in book form. Since Rosemary and Thyme wasn't based on a book series (dash), I hunted up some other series and hauled a bunch home from the library. Aunt Dimity's Death is the one I picked to start with.

I sort of fell in love with the characters and the pleasantness (without descension into Tweeland) in the first third, then climbed slowly out of love as the book went on. I never disliked the book, but as the characters went about solving the mystery (it wasn't much of one), I started to lose interest and things started to feel just a little too pat in places. (I realize that patness is a likely danger in cozies, so maybe it would be more accurate to say this one felt too too pat.) Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I would probably be willing to give the next in the series a go to see if it picks up a bit. ( )

An unexpected twist on the cozy female sleuth - charming and clever. ( )

This is the first in a series of books set in both the United States and England with the story beginning during WWII and ending in the present. I had thought the series would feature Lori Shepherd, but I found discovered the error in my thinking. The first novel features Lori Shepherd and her involvement with Aunt Dimity. Of course, Aunt Dimity is deceased, but she orchestrates the story as a ghost or spirit. I found the story warm and fuzzy with just a hint of malice. Each book ends with a delicious recipe, this book has an oatmeal cookie that I am eager to attempt. This is not the fast paced sinister novel of James Patterson, but more like a novel by M C Beaton. ( )