Aunt Dimity's Christmas - Softcover

Atherton, Nancy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140296301 ISBN 13: 9780140296303

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2000

Synopsis

The fifth installment in the bestselling and beloved Aunt Dimity series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking!

Lori can hardly wait for Christmas this year: lean times are over, the cottage Aunt Dimity willed her is more beautiful than ever, her nine-month-old twins, Will and Rob, are thriving, and she and husband Bill have never been happier. Determined to make this Christmas the best ever, Lori embarks on a round of shopping, holly-cutting, angel-cookie making, and more. When fat snow flakes begin drifting down outside of the window, Lori feels all her holiday wishes are about to come true. But the next day, beneath the lilac bushes now covered by freshly fallen snow, Lori makes a disturbing discovery: the body of a mysterious stranger--a tramp--barely alive. 

While the nearby village of Finch continues with its seasonal preparations, including rehearsals for the Christmas Eve Nativity play, Lori puts her plans on hold and teams up with Julian Bright--a devilishly attractive Roman Catholic priest--to search out the stranger's identity. Their journey takes them from abandoned World War II airfields to homeless shelters, places where the Christmas star shines dimly, if at all. As Lori unveils the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, she confronts painful truths about herself and discovers the real meaning of a perfect family Christmas.

About this title

About the Author

Nancy Atherton is the bestselling author of twenty-two Aunt Dimity Mysteries. The first book in the series, Aunt Dimity's Death, was voted "One of the Century's 100 Favorite Mysteries" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

From Kirkus Reviews

Lori Shepherd lives in England, in the village of Finch, with husband Bill and nine-month twins. She owns her pretty cottage and a considerable fortune besidesa legacy from her mother's long-dead friend Dimity Westwood, who still gives advice and support via ghostly writing in a blue leather journal (Aunt Dimity Digs In, 1998, etc.). Christmas is near and Lori is deep in elaborate preparations when, one snowy morning, a man is found on the ground outsideskeletal, shabbily dressed, and barely alive. Airlifted to the nearest hospital, he shows few signs of recovery, but Lori is intrigued, not to say obsessed, by the mystery of his appearance and is determined to ferret out his identity. Her interest is shared by Father Julian Bright, a local priest who runs St. Benedict's Homeless Shelter. Christmas plans take a back seat as Lori and Julian track their quarry back through a series of men's sheltersall near WWII bomber bases. What is the connection to the war medals and ribbons found with the derelict? Finally, research helpers bring Julian and Lori to London and the home of Lady Haverford, daughter of bomber hero Sir Miles Anscombe and sister of Christopher, the ailing tramp. She refuses to help her brother and accuses him of having driven their father to suicide. Back in Finch, Lori finds that her neighbors have done all the work for her Christmas party and that Aunt Dimity is eager to provide answers to all her unanswered questions, leaving Lori to contemplate some major changes in her own life. Interesting ideas narrated in a bright, literate style, but burdened by much treacly preaching and an obsession that remains unconvincing throughout. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0140296301
• ISBN 13: 9780140296303
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 224