Aunt Dimity and the Summer King (Aunt Dimity Mystery)

Wonderful writer. Highly recommend reading all books in the series if you have not done so. As you read Ms. Atherton's work, you are transported into the community of Finch and all the wonderful adventures created by the author.

Aunt Dimity books are always winners and I certainly enjoyed this one. Of course, you have to accept a llittle paranormal ( a ghost who stays in touch by writing in a journal) and a mature woman who jumps to wildly inaccurate conclusions. Still, there's no gore and while there is love and affection among the characters, no graphic sex.

Aunt Dimity books are always winners and I certainly enjoyed this one. Of course, you have to accept a llittle paranormal ( a ghost who stays in touch by writing in a journal) and a mature woman who jumps to wildly inaccurate conclusions. Still, there's no gore and while there is love and affection among the characters, no graphic sex.

Three and a half stars. The writing has much improved over the last handful of books in the series, and harkens back to the charm of earlier works. Cottages in Finch are sitting idle, and Lori is determined to discover why. She's also stumbled onto a generations-long feud between two villages, which she is determined to end once and for all. Very few false notes in the telling, but a glaring one for this reader was the depiction of the great aunts who come from Boston to visit. No one of their class and well-established social standing would dream of acting the way they did in such a loutishly rude manner, and they certainly would not use language more suited to a Victorian drawing room farce. In my experience, hard-drinking, fun-loving debutante party girls grow up to be hard-drinking, fun-loving old bats, not prim, insufferable sticks in the mud who would quite happily see the lower classes done away with.

Readers who are not enchanted by all things baby, be warned: barely a page is turned without encountering Lori checking a diaper, changing a diaper, soaking a diaper, washing a diaper, drying a diaper, folding a diaper, packing a diaper, carrying a diaper, waving a diaper (yes, waving), or carrying a diaper bag, packing a diaper bag, digging into a diaper bag, opening a diaper bag, or searching a diaper bag. Enough already. She has a baby. We get it.

Note to author: Any one who has spent even the briefest time in England would know that Kings are addressed as "Your Majesty, " not "Your Highness." Having spent about a decade living in England, Lori surely would know this. A small thing, but glaring. Fact checkers/researchers dropped the ball here.

Still, all in all, a very cozy, cozy that will hold your interest if you are a fan of the author's earlier works in the series.

Why does Lori stick her nose into things that are none of her business? That is what I was thinking throughout this entire book. She is becoming a character that is more annoying than endearing.

Early in the series, she was zany and found herself in one madcap adventure after another but now she has either become a stale characters or I have become bored with her. Nancy Atherton needs to broaden out this series and focus on the side characters more. Not necessarily lose Lori all together, but bring the people of the village more into the forefront.

A great deal of this book rehashes who each of the villagers are and their odd quirks. If you have been reading this series, all nineteen previous books, you already know who they are and there is no need to repeat what has already been said. Her twin boys should be about eight years old, but Lori constantly treats them as if they are four. Lori and Bill have recently become parents to a daughter and the weary reader will be told repeatedly how singularly fantastic this child is. By the way, thank goodness the word “diaper” was not being used in a drinking game since it would have involved taking approximately sixty-two shots.

Lori takes it into her own nosey ways to find out why two cottages in the village have not been sold. She is determined to find out whom or what are driving the buyers away. As she tries to unfold this mystery, she is also stressing over the arrival of her husband’s dreaded aunts. They are coming to Finch for the upcoming wedding of Willis, Sr., and their arrival is putting a damper on the festivities. Apparently, these women are awful, but by the end of the book, the table will be turned on these two and it does not involve extra strong martinis.

Deciding to take her daughter on a jaunt up a craggy trail, Lori meets the elusive Summer King. Arthur Hargreaves, the owner of Hillfont Abbey comes to her aid when the wheels literally come off the pram. They spend time together and this Hermit of Hillfont Abbey and his hoard of children and grandchildren that inhabit his family’s home enchant Lori. The Hargreaves have stayed to themselves ever since a feud began a century ago between Finch and neighboring Tillcote and Lori is finding out how deep this feud went and how Quentin Hargreaves, the original owner of Hillfont, was the puppet master behind the village of Finch.

Lori’s eyes may have been opened, but she loves Finch and its people so maybe she will be able to forgive what has happened in the past and love the Summer King for what he has created.

This book, about and American family living in the Cotswold in England, is the fourth one I have read in this series, which normally have well- written story lines and are about a town full of loving and quirky people, and I have liked the least. Although the likeable main character, very wealthy with a wonderful family, loving friends and the perfect life, in the book is hard to relate to, almost everyone else is likeable and relatable. The story line of this book flows nicely, but it is based on a bunch of conspiracy theories by the heroine of the book and it gets really strange and tiresome at best. Also the ending of the book is a letdown. This is not as good a book like some of the other books from this series but still an entertaining read. I guess Lori’s blissful and ideal life without any problems of any kind is what everybody yearns, making the book a good escape from reality.

Long ago, I read Aunt Dimity’s Death, which despite its inauspicious title, is a lovely story about love after loss. It’s a wonderful, simple story that will warm your heart much like the Jan Karon Mitford books do. However, these differ in that they don’t really ascribe to any religion and have a tiny paranormal element that is simply divine and make them a “cozy” in more than just the name. They simply make you feel cozy–or at least they do me!

New mom Lori Shepherd has been basking in the sweetness of her delicious fifteen-month old baby Bess. She’d had a difficult delivery after a month’s bed rest mid-winter–at the advanced motherly age of forty-one–and everyone’s agreed that she’s allowed to take her time recovering. So she’d insulated herself inside during the cold of winter and only recently ventured out when it became seasonably warm, adventuring with Bess on sunny, spring days. In the opening chapter, while following a trail advised by a friend, they came across a strange and wondrous place–the land of the Summer King! She meets a new and wondrous family, the Hargreaves, headed by an eccentric grandfather named Arthur–and she’s confused about why she’s never met them before and why they don’t know any of the villagers of Finch. And why they don’t know her father-in-law, William Willis, Sr., since his property borders on theirs. It’s so strange! It’s like two separate fiefdoms and never the twain shall meet. Lori has found a mystery and is determined to solve it.

When she arrives home and starts talking to her neighbors about the Hargreaves and Hillfont Abbey, she finds out about an old feud that she’s never heard of before. Apparently the villagers of Finch have something against the neighboring villagers of Tillcote–and the Hargreave’s ancestor Quentin was involved. So the villagers of Finch don’t like him either. Lori must decide whether to test her friendships in the village as a relative newcomer from America and stand up for the Hargreaves or else keep the friendship in secret. Of course she can’t do that! She decides to investigate why the feud started and what she can do to bring the two sides together.

There’s also another mystery going on in her beloved village that may or may not have to do with the feud. Two lovely cottages in the village still haven’t been filled with new families, and Lori becomes concerned. Is her precious little village of Finch about to become one of the latest casualties in the urbanization of England? Is there a nefarious plan afoot by an unscrupulous developer? And why is it so hard to get an appointment with the seemingly very nice yet slightly mysterious real estate agent?

With the capable aid of Aunt Dimity and Reginald, Lori and Bess manage to delve into the twin mysteries with surprising results for all involved, at the same time holding close all the love and friendship one can find in this delightful series. While more sophisticated readers might find these books lacking in sex appeal and the more overt violence that appears in other more action-driven mysteries, these light, comfy books filled with family, friends and wonder have earned a forever place on my bookshelves. For one always needs a comfort read, and these books are that in the finest sense. Read one today–it’s like getting a hug from a close friend. You will appreciate it.

This is a book a little outside my typical review genre but I loved the cover and the premise sounded interesting…..besides, anytime someone write 20 books in a series….there has to be something ‘good’ that brings people back. So I decided to expand my reading horizons and go for it.

I really liked Lori, she was no BS and a bit of a busy body mixed in one. I loved her. I was a little taken aback when I discovered this book was set in the modern age, but I think it worked well because the setting was more of the star of the book than the period. The setting added a lot to the story for me. Can I buy a cottage in Finch please?

I actually thought this was going to be a murder mystery…..because correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t a lot of cozy mysteries murder mysteries? Well, after 60% I gave up on the murder mystery and just enjoyed getting to the bottom of the empty cottage situation.

I liked the slight ‘magic’ twist with the Aunt Dimity character. It was unexpected and charming. It could have been ‘hokey’ but Lori only consults her on a few occasions….if she constantly consulted Aunt Dimity then I think it would have gotten hokey and weird.

While not a lot happened in the book (murder mystery, missing person etc), I still enjoyed my time with this book. It sucked me in and I was not expecting that. The characters were warm and fun and the setting just made it for me. I love books set in the English countryside and this book totally suited me.

I feel like I need to read more Aunt Dimity books so I can have the full experience with her cozy mysteries.

And on a final note….I adore this book cover. It’s whimsical and totally fits the fun and easy nature of this story. If you like cozy mysteries you should give this series a go!

I read and enjoyed a few Aunt Dimity books nearly 20 years ago, so when I found "the Summer King" as an audio book, I thought it would be a fun listen. I found it to be pretty stupid. Lori goes on and on about breastfeeding and about her children, and how many times does she have to describe Aunt Dimity's flowing script on the page? Those alone don't move the story forward or add flavor after the first couple mentions. And the narrator did the different voices in fake British accents which I found really cliché and so unpleasant. Why not get a native British speaker and if necessary, fake the one American accent. So, I didn't think the story was well written and didn't like the audio performance.

I really enjoy this series. Rather than having a lead character who stumbles over dead bodies every time she turns around, Lori Shepherd finds puzzles and mysteries she needs to figure out and/or solve, and it's a refreshing change! Lori's puzzles this time are several empty cottages in her village of Finch and a long standing feud with a neighboring village. It's a fun ride and I especially loved Lori's visits with the Hargreaves. These are Lori's stories, so her husband is usually at the office and the twins at school and I would have enjoyed seeing more of them, but it's Lori's puzzle to solve so it make sense we see it through her eyes. (One nit-picky thing, I got a little tired of hearing descriptions of Lori's breastfeeding of her daughter, Bess. Breastfeeding is great, I just don't really need repeated descriptions of it or reminders that she's nursing! It would be like telling me over and over that Lori has brown hair.)

I listened the audio version of this one and honestly, it isn't great. While Teri Clark Linden has improved from her first efforts with this series and she does okay with the Americans, she still speaks excruciatingly slowly when dealing with British accents. She precisely pronounces each word and it ruins the rhythm of the speaker.

So to sum up, good story, mediocre narrator!

Fun quick read.

Once again Lori is off investigating. She wants to find out why cottages are not selling in Finch. This time she has the new baby Bess, in tow.

Willis SR and Amelia are getting married so family is coming in to Finch. This includes "the Aunts," a couple of miserable rich nasty women who Will detests. They are very uppity and make nasty comments about all all the time.

Lori takes a walk on a path Emma has recently discovered. The pram breaks it's axle and "the Summer King," Arthur saves the day. When Lori mentions him to the villagers it is clear they hate him and all the folk from the town he resides in. Seems a feud has been on between the two villages for decades.

Since Lori really enjoys Arthur she adds solving the feud to her list of duties :).

I really love the twist at the end. I hope you all do too :).

I enjoy reading the Aunt Dimity books, but I have to agree with other reviewers that Lori is rather obnoxious. I understand thinking the baby is wonderful. Everyone thinks their child is the best. But Lori is condescending to everyone, including her husband. I remember how in previous books she used to drool over other men and I found that troubling too. I love the cozy little "mysteries" in these books, but I find myself wishing I could "murder" Lori. Then I feel awful, but I would still love to tell her off.

BOOOORRRRING! Very little plot development, uninteresting, tons and tons of filler about baby Bess. I'm tired of her already and she's just been introduced. Sorry to say, the last three or four books have been just as boring. I'm throwing in the towel on page 99. Sorry to do it, the first ten or fifteen books were really fun. Maybe it's time for the author to throw in the towel as well.

i love this delightful series of wonderful cozy mysteries set in the English village of Finch. Lori Shepard is a new mother getting used to her new daughter. While walking down a cattle path near her Father in laws home she meets a very unique older gentleman. She begins to develop an interest in him when the villagers in her village get upset when his name is mentioned because of a long standing fued between the Villages.
She discovers that the gentlemen in fact owns all the land in and around their small village of Finch.

Good read if you like "cozies"!!! Enjoyable book in series. Up to par with other books in series. Get to know the characters in book and presents a nice, comfortable view of village life in countryside village. Not a great mystery, nor a complicated crime, but a cozy book to settle into, keeps your interest and a quick read!!!

You can also read my review on my blog - tomesdevotee.blogspot.com/2015/04/aunt-dimity-and-summer-king.html
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

I just loved this wonderful cozy! This was my very first cozy and what a great way to start one. Aunt Dimity And The Summer King was delightful. Each character was so vibrant it was as if they were standing in front of me. What a lovely writing style Nancy has, smooth and descriptive without being tedious. As someone who really enjoys psychotic thrillers, this book surprised me and has me wanting more.

Lori Shepherd has been very busy. Her new baby girl, young twin boys, her father in law is getting married and his snotty wicked sisters are coming from America. Add empty cottages in her beloved town to her list of worries and she starts digging into the mystery as to why no one wants to move to her sweet Finch. A bit of snooping uncovers an ancient feud between Finch and the neighboring town of Tillcoate that all have been privy to but her. In the middle of this mix is the mysterious Arthur Hargreaves Lord of Hillfont Abbey who just may have a hand in keeping buyers away. Lori is on the case with some solid advice from the beyond in her departed Aunt Dimity.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book! If you need a break from hard core thrillers, love quirky funny characters, and a bit of mystery do read Aunt Dimity And The Summer King!

This one is so fun and charming. There are mysteries that don't involve murder or bloodletting - although there are a couple of snobbish relatives that might deserve it. Then there's this feud - it's a well over 100 year old feud. That. Read this and be happy.

Nice short story, too little plot for a novel. Perhaps a three-month old infant should NOT be a central character. An updated fairy tale with stereotypical characters who over react does not require so many diaper changes to get to "and they lived happily ever after."
Patricia Herrington -

I always enjoy Aunt Dimity stories and am thrilled when a new one comes out. This one was just as enjoyable as I expected - light, easy reading, likeable characters and a pleasant setting, and just a touch of mystery to keep me reading.

Although the Summer King character is good, Lori Shepherd is so irritating. She jumps to conclusions with very little evidence for proof and then spends the rest of the book trying to prove it AND SHE'S ALWAYS WRONG! I know the village likes gossip, but she needs to get a life and mind her own business.