Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Aunt Dimity Mystery Book 2)

The beloved Aunt Dimity returns in this delightful follow-up to the book that launched the Aunt Dimity series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking!Emma Porter is forty, fat, frumpy, and a passionate amateur gardener. When her longtime lover dumps her for a younger woman, Emma escapes the cloying sympathy of family and friends by setting out on a summer-long driving tour of England's glorious gardens. A Dimity-contrived coincidence brings her to Penford Hall, a sprawling Gothic mansion in Cornwall, where she finds a duke in search of a missing lantern with extraordinary powers. Suspecting there's more than one mystery to be solved at Penford Hall, Emma accepts the duke's invitation to stay on and restore the once glorious chapel garden to its former beauty. The dark rumors surrounding a rock star and the near-death of the duke's beautiful cousin confirm Emma's suspicions, and set her--with Aunt Dimity's ghostly guidance--on the path to Penford Hall's secrets and the pleasure of unexpected love.

From Publishers Weekly

Atherton's second novel proves more amusing than her first (Aunt Dimity's Death) as it recycles several characters from that mystery/ghost story. Bostonian Emma Porter-a 39-year-old computer analyst and ardent gardener recently jilted by her longtime lover-is on her own in England, exploring Cornwall's gardens. A seemingly chance encounter leads her to Penford Hall, a name prominent in the tabloids five years earlier when a rock star's death peripherally involved Grayson Alexander, the 14th duke of Penford. At the Hall, Emma is greeted by Grayson as the savior of his ruined chapel garden, waiting to be restored 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 who soon becomes Emma's romantic interest. Also present is a fading supermodel whose acerbic tongue cuts the story's high sugar level until she is rendered unconscious by a blow to the head. The source of Grayson's largesse and the identity of the model's attacker, when revealed, leave some questions unanswered, but romance runs rampant, happy endings abound and most readers will be smiling at book's end. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Atherton follows Aunt Dimity's Death (LJ 10/1/92) with a lightly Gothic-flavored forerunner set in a Cornwall mansion. Emma Porter, fortyish computer nerd and gardener, becomes entangled in a mystery involving the Duke of Penford. Aunt Dimity herself appears only in name-but no matter.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although the genre is cozy English mystery, Atherton gives it breadth and depth with terrific characters and an intriguing plot involving psychic phenomenon. Aunt Dimity barely plays a role in this second of the series, though reports of her demise in Aunt Dimity's Death (1992) were exaggerated. The heroine here is fat-ish, forty-ish Emma, who falls into a position at Penford Hall in Cornwall. Although the duke of Penford seems charming enough, there are rumors he was involved in the murder of pop star Lex Rex several years earlier. Together with Derek, who is restoring the stately home's chapel, Emma sets out to discover if the injury of another well-known guest has anything to do with Lex Rex's demise. One of the nicest bits about the story is Emma and Derek's burgeoning relationship. Despite death and double-dealing, Emma is able to see (with the help of Derek's two children) that Derek is the man of her dreams. Romance and intrigue--you still can't beat that combination. Ilene Cooper

Publishers Weekly

"Atherton smoothly blends history, village life, and the otherworldly."

Open Book Society

"Every scene is superbly crafted to perfection. Even if you have not read all the books in this series, I have not, you can enjoy and immerse yourself in this cozy mystery.”

Gotta Write Network

"I love the graceful style... the sense of tight-knit community, characters who aren’t afraid to be themselves, and, the unique paranormal element...I only wish I had learned about this series earlier."

everydayebook.com

"In the realm of the cozy mystery, there are few series that can hold a candle to Atherton's Aunt Dimity series."

Suspense Magazine

"Atherton is a superb writer who brings a lot of charm and wit to her story."

Deadly Pleasures Magazine

"Always a charming read, the Aunt Dimity series is just right for when life gets too hectic and you need to slow down a bit."

CrimeCritics.com

"Let Nancy Atherton and Aunt Dimity remind you of the reason you got hooked on books in the first place. I promise you will be scouring bookstores for more of the series after you give it a taste."

About the Author

Nancy Atherton was born in Chicago, but she has lived in many different places since then. After graduating from the University of Chicoago, she followed the true Liberal Arts tradition by working every low-paying job in America. She had no idea that she was supposed to be a writer until the first line of her first book, Aunt Dimity's Death, popped into her head. She's been writing ever since.

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