February 23, 2015
In Atherton’s disappointing 20th paranormal cozy featuring amateur sleuth Lori Shepherd (after 2014’s Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well), the ghostly Aunt Dimity, who left her cottage and fortune to Lori when she died, helps Lori figure out why two empty cottages aren’t attracting new owners in the Cotswolds village of Finch. Lori also wants to learn more about the mysterious Arthur Hargreaves, an eccentric genius known to his family as the Summer King, and why her fellow villagers dislike him so vehemently. Unfortunately, Aunt Dimity’s barely useful counsel can’t make up for the slow pacing or the plethora of people totally besotted with Bess, Lori and husband Bill’s baby—and the excuses offered for Lori’s ignorance of facts known to the other villagers just don’t hold water. The denouement is far-fetched, and the charm and wit of earlier books in the series are sadly missing in this one. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.