Aunt Dimity Beats The Devil (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
When this book came up in a reading group, I was sure that I had read it, I love this series so when I went looking for my review, I could not find it anywhere. I was beginning to wonder if I had unwittingly skipped it. As soon as I finished the first chapter I knew the story, well, I thought I did. The beginning was familiar, the middle was a mystery, but the ending relit the dim bulb that I am now calling my mind and I am glad that I had reread it to remind myself how far Lori has come.Lori will always be attracted to men other than her husband, that does not mean that she would have disavowed her marriage, but what is a woman to do when there are attractive men coming to her aid and young (and old) love is in the air.Lori has been called in to evaluate a rare book collection at Wyrdhurst Hall located in the middle of nowhere Northumberland. Knowing Lori’s sense of direction and driving ability is sketchy at best; the reader is not surprised to find Lori leaping out of her yellow Hummer just as it is being washed away in a torrent of water. What does surprise is that as Lori stumbles to safety and passes out just as she find a cabin, we next find her waking up naked in a strange man’s bed. Being a Nancy Atherton book, we know that whatever Lori has gotten herself into is somewhat chaste. Lori does have a tendency to find perfect gentlemen that would never take advantage of the situation, but does not mean that she will not have some explaining to do.Newlyweds Nicole and Jared Hollander own Wyrdhurst Hall, a hall that is bound by mystery and ghosts. What at first blush appears as unsettled spirits looking for a little excitement is actually much deeper, and much more dangerous. Lori find letters dating back to World War I that spell out a doomed love affair. An affair that was manipulated by a mentally deranged man that would have done anything to keep an unworthy suitor from his daughter.As the story plays out, with the help of Aunt Dimity, Lori finds the secrets and in a netherworld conclusion, doomed lovers are reunited and a family haunted by its tragic past can now rejoice in a new and growing love.
I inhaled this whole book in one day! Any sentence by Nancy Atherton is uplifting. I savour her for when I need an emotional boost. Her mysteries are exciting and always exceptionally original. There has been a small paranormal presence, conversing with Dimity through a journal. It was all right because I adore Lori’s family and always-varying friends. It is high praise that this is my favourite so far! THIS is more like the paranormal I yearn for in adult books! We don’t see a ghost but at last: a spookier entity effects the emotional behaviour of hall occupants....Lori’s mystery involvement is always established neatly. She spends a week with the poorly-matched owners of Wyrdhurst Hall to assess their book collection, a job she enjoyed in Chicago, USA. The older husband seems to be a bossy creep to a loveable wife. Readers don’t know who is responsible for overall unease, trespassing, and lies that surface frequently. My sole suggestion is that a vehicular mishap was unnecessary to meet Adam Chase, the hall’s temporary neighbour. Lori is glad to confer with someone outside the hall, when she and the mistress feel threatened by human disturbances. The paranormal, Lori can handle and I love the examination of wartime letters, leading to a much older story that it is important to unravel. I am always far more enraptured with long dormant mysteries than modern nuisances!I seethed over unjust, criminal treatment and stupidity of a Father disapproving of an heir’s lover. However the unearthing, understanding, and consequences of this situation are of the most paramount kind. What the revelations signify for some in the present day is staggering, life-changing, and the most emotional ending any reader could wish for in any novel. I was enthralled with every page, from stem to stern!
What do You think about Aunt Dimity Beats The Devil (2001)?
This is one of my favorite books so far in the Aunt Dimity series. I'm glad that Lori's "passionate nature" and "roving eye", as Dimity calls it (pg. 148) are finally discussed. I was wondering why in many of the previous books Lori finds herself attracted to various men ( cousin Gerald in Aunt Dimity's Good Deed, both Julian Bright, the Roman Catholic priest, and Kit Smith, the homeless man, in Aunt Dimity's Christmas, and Adam Chase in this book). I was wondering why this happily married woman was attracted to someone other than her husband in each of the books. It seemed as if it was part of the plot in each book, and I didn't really relate to this aspect of Lori's character. She always remains faithful to her husband, but she seems to find, and then place, herself in compromising situations. I think she's playing with matches and that if she doesn't want to get burned, she should stop. This book discusses this character trait more openly. I am interested to see whether it continues in the series. I hope not. It was getting a bit predictable.
—Sandy
I admit, it was the 'Devil' in the title that got me reading this one! This is one of a long series of 'cozy' supernatural mystery novels. Unlike some I've read in this genre, the supernatural plot elements are 'real.' 'Aunt Dimity' is a ghost who communicates with the rather ordinary Lori Shepherd through messages in an old diary, giving her warnings when needed - and helping her solve mysteries, of course. In this episode, Lori reluctantly leaves her toddlers alone with their father and takes an assignment to evaluate a rare-book collection, located in a Gothic mansion in a remote corner of England. But what seems like a straightforward job becomes more complex when first, Lori needs to be rescued by a temptingly handsome stranger, the couple who are the new owners of the rare books library are hardly acting like newlyweds... and warnings are coming from Dimity to 'Leave, Now.'Entertaining light reading.
—Althea Ann
Number 6 in the Aunt Dimity series was a Gothic (actually Victorian/Edwardian) mystery set in an old recreated castle in Northumberland near the Scottish borders. This was a story about young lovers, Claire and Edward, that was thwarted by Clare's father, Edward's death in World War I and Claire s death in childbirth. Lori is asked to assess the books in the house's library and ends up solving the mystery. This story was scarier than most of the others in the series, but i enjoyed it nevertheles
—Carlin
