Nancy Atherton

Arriving in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado only to find herself enmeshed in a missing-persons case, Lori Shepherd becomes suspicious about a hundred-year-old mystery and a charming man who seems to know more than he will admit.

Nancy Atherton?s growing number of fans will certainly be delighted by Aunt Dimity?s latest appearance in the honey-colored English cottage she bequeathed to her "niece," Lori Shepherd. Thanks to Aunt Dimity, Lori?s life has taken on fairy-tale proportions: she?s financially set for life and happily married?or so she thinks. When Lori?s plans for a second honeymoon to England with her workaholic husband fall through, she begrudgingly takes along her father-in-law?who promptly disappears, leaving behind a mysterious note. Inspired and guided by the ghost of Aunt Dimity and her inimitable blue journal, Lori?s search for the elderly gentleman turns into a harrowing mission to uncover a centuries-old family secret?complicated by mistaken identities, falsified deeds, family feuds, and Lori?s unseemly attraction to her husband?s beguiling English cousin. In a delightful chase that takes her all over the English countryside, Lori discovers the true meaning of marital bliss, and Nancy...

Feeling a touch world-weary, Lori Shepherd decides to become a volunteer at the Radcliffe Infirmary, where she can spread a little good cheer. There she meets Elizabeth Beacham, a kind, retired legal secretary with no family, except a brother who has mysteriously disappeared. But after only a few visits, Miss Beacham suddenly passes away, leaving Lori to tie up the loose ends of her late friend's life. Lori soon discovers that hidden among Miss Beacham's belongings are clues that Lori believes her friend left for her to discover. Armed with the generous help of a handsome neighbor and, as always, Aunt Dimity's supernatural skills, Lori begins to unearth Miss Beacham's secrets and, ultimately, the surprising truth about her next of kin.

Lori's peaceful English village is being overrun by a rowdy and mischievous Renaissance fairLori Shepherd loves living in the small English village of Finch, but as her eighth summer in the town approaches she finds herself wishing for something exciting to spice up her all-too-familiar routine. When King Wilfred's Faire opens nearby, Lori gets her wish and more. The age of chivalry lives again at the Renaissance fair. Wizards, wenches, magicians, and minstrels cajole the fairgoers while lords quaff, jesters joke, and knights battle in the joust arena. But Lori discovers that it's not all pageantry and play.A sinister figure is stalking the angel-voiced madrigal singer. A jealous rival has sabotaged the Dragon Knight's weapons. And an evil assassin is trying to murder Good King Wilfred. With Aunt Dimity's otherworldly guidance, Lori races to save her dear village and risks her neck to keep the medieval revelry from ending in tragedy.Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon is another gem in Atherton's perennially beloved cozy series, sure to enchant her many loyal fans and attract new ones.

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.

The eleventh cozy mystery featuring everyone's favorite phantom-detectiveNancy Atherton 's Aunt Dimity novels have enchanted thousands of readers, and this new addition to the series is likely to broaden the spell. A series of death threats sends Lori Shepard to a remote island off the Scottish coast and to a fabulous castle restored by an eccentric friend of her husband's. But she finds herself drawn into an elaborate whodunit that may involve smuggling—or worse. Why has a human skull washed up on the beach? Is a desolate island really the best place to hide from a murderer? As Lori draws once more on Aunt Dimity's supernatural aid, Atherton whips equal measures of whimsy and suspense into an irresistible confection.

Nancy Atherton's delightful "Aunt Dimity" series continues to capture mystery fans across America with each new installment. This newest one finds Lori Shepherd overtaken by the blizzard of the century. Fortunately, she's soon safe and dry with two other stranded backpackers in Ladythorne Abbey, the fabulous home of the late Lucasta DeClerke. Or is she? In the abbey's cloisters and passages there still lingers the haunting presence of Lucasta, a mysterious madwomananot to mention the danger posed by an unstable caretaker.

When Lori Shepherd's husband, Bill, is summoned to the reading of a will at the resplendent country estate of Earl Elstyn, Lori jumps at the chance to come along. She didn't expect, however, to find herself entangled in a messy—and dangerous—family dispute. The aristocratic earl has called together the entire Elstyn family to disclose the beneficiaries of his fortune, and all present will be affected. But someone has a grudge against the Elstyns and will stop at nothing for revenge.A burning topiary, a suspicious maid, family secrets, and threatening notes lead Lori to seek her phantom Aunt Dimity's help in identifying the culprit before he or she can torch the whole house—with the guests in it

Fiction, Ghost story, Setting - England

"When a strapping young Australian named Jack MacBride arrives in Finch to wrap up his late uncle's affairs, heads turn in the sleepy English village. But when Lori volunteers to help Jack clear out his uncle's overgrown garden, they discover something even more shocking than a stranger turning up in Finch. After Lori laughingly tosses a coin into the garden's old well and makes a wish, she is baffled to find that the wish seems to have come true. Word spreads, and the villagers turn out in droves to make wishes of their own. But as they soon learn, one person's wish is another person's worst nightmare and the village is thrown into chaos. As more and more wishes come true, Lori resolves to find out what's really going on. Is handsome Jack somehow tricking his neighbors? Or are they fooling themselves? With Aunt Dimity's otherworldly help, Lori discovers that the truth is even more marvelous than a magical wishing well"--

Overseeing her baby, a family wedding and her own approaching 40th birthday celebration amid rumors that a developer has unwanted plans for Finch village, Lori bonds with a warmhearted inventor only to discover his true intentions.

"In the 23rd installment of the bestselling Aunt Dimity series, a dark and stormy night kicks off a ghost chase in rural England On a dull and dreary October day, Lori Shepherd and her husband Bill set off for the historic town of Rye, on the southeast coast of England, for a quiet weekend together without the kids. Bill must first pay a visit to a reclusive client--but after Lori drops him off, a powerful storm drives her off course and leaves her stranded in an ancient, rambling inn called The King's Ransom. When Lori is spooked by ghostly noises in the night, Aunt Dimity reminds her rather tartly that not all ghosts intend to harm the living. But the longer Lori is stuck at the inn, the stranger things seem. She learns that the inn was once a hangout for smugglers, and that it's riddled with secret tunnels the smugglers used to reach a network of hidden caves. Then there's the inn's cook--a brawny, gruff ex-con--who seems to have a beef with a mysterious French guest. Are the noises Lori hears made by the spirits of long dead smugglers? Or should she be more worried by the inn's living inhabitants? Joining forces with her new friend Bishop Wyndham, and guided by Aunt Dimity's wise counsel, Lori sets out to discover once and for all who--or what--is haunting The King's Ransom"--