Aunt Dimity's Christmas

Two weeks before Christmas, Lori Shepherd finds a near dead tramp in her snowbound front yard. Her father-in-law has him air lifted to a local hospital. There he drifts into a coma. He is recognized by Father Julian from St. Benedict's Hostel as one of their sometimes attendees. Lori and Julian try to track down “Kit's” identity and what brought him to his current circumstances and to Lori's cottage. There are sides stories about the members of her family getting ready for Christmas and a pageant being organized by the villagers. A very well done and touching Christmas mystery.

Lori Shepherd has had to do Christmas on a shoestring budget before, but now that she has a handsome husband, two adorable sons, a quaint English cottage, and more money than she could possibly use, she has big plans to keep Christmas in a grand old style. Those plans are interrupted when a scruffy homeless man collapses in her driveway a few weeks before Christmas. Lori is initially reluctant to have anything to do with the fellow, but she soon becomes intrigued at the man's story. Why did he choose to collapse in her driveway, of all places? With Bill out of town dealing with some legal business, Lori enlists the help of a Catholic priest who runs a homeless shelter to help her unravel the mystery of the stranger.

I thought the plot of show more this one was a little stronger than the last few entries, but I'm kind of irritated at Lori's wandering eye (she spent most of this book lusting after the priest) whenever her husband is not directly in her line of vision. This was a nice seasonal read, but it doesn't leave me incredibly inclined to continue with the series. show less

This was very easy to read and was fairly entertaining. However, the main character (Lori) got all over my last nerve. Her obsession with Kit was not a healthy one, and I felt that the author conveyed it with such a heavy hand that the story suffered. Also, her attraction to Julian was completely unnecessary.

It all ended well, but this recalls my dislike for her character in the first book. I enjoyed the second in this series so much more because the main characters were Derek and Emma Harris, and not Lori.

I recommend this as a nice, light and quick read, but be ready to get your hackles up, if you are like me.

Another in the Aunt Dimity Mystery series.... Dimity Westwood dies years ago & left her cottage & fortune to Lori... She commands Lori to figure out various mysteries via literal "Ghost Writing" in a blank blue journal.

This one has to do with the rescue of a tramp found barely alive outside the cottage... Balm for the soul, christian platitudes, helping those less fortunate..... really preachy and a lot of filler for a book with an interesting conclusion.

I really enjoy the Aunt Dimity books. They are very cozy mysteries and once in a while it's nice to read a mystery where everything works out in the end!

Well, if it weren’t a pandemic I probably would rate this lower, but it kept me occupied and not depressed. So there.

They seems to slowly be losing the magic of the first few....but
I still love them.