May 28, 2018
Atherton’s genial 23rd paranormal cozy (after 2017’s Aunt Dimity and the Widow’s Curse) finds American Lori Shepherd and her husband, Bill, setting off from the English village of Finch for a romantic getaway from their three children. Plans go awry before they reach their destination of Rye when a coastal storm maroons Lori in an unfamiliar town miles away from Bill. Taking refuge in a dimly lit church, Laurie fears for her life when a strange man garbed in dark clothing approaches her. So begins a series of quick judgments and mishaps that lead Lori and her new friend, a retired bishop, on a quest to discover why the local King’s Ransom Inn is haunted. The inn—filled with stranded travelers, including Lori—was once a smugglers’ haven. Is the cook, a surly ex-con, using the inn’s tunnels and secret passages for criminal pursuits? Is a particularly unpleasant guest a criminal, too? And is the inn truly haunted? Aunt Dimity, a ghost who communicates with Lori through a journal, assists in the sleuthing. Fans of sweet mysteries will be well satisfied. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency.
June 15, 2018
Plans for a quiet romantic weekend go badly wrong when Mother Nature strikes.Lori and Bill Shepherd's life with their three children in the charming Cotswold village of Finch is lovely but so busy that Bill thinks Lori's a bit burned out. He suggests she join him on a visit to a client near Rye and then spend some time at The Mermaid Inn, a great historic accommodation with all mod cons and fantastic food. Lori drops Bill off at Blayne Hall and heads for Rye, where Bill will soon join her courtesy of his client's chauffeur. The typical English rain turns into a fierce storm that forces Lori to take shelter at St. Alfege's church in Shepney, where she makes the acquaintance of Christopher Wyndham, who, as it turns out, is a bishop and her guide and companion when the flooding forces her to remain in Shepney. Unfortunately, a whole tour bus is also stuck there, leaving only one room available for Lori in a dusty attic at The King's Ransom. Undaunted, Lori pitches in to help. Soon she's peeling veggies for Steve, the cook, who, despite his size and tattoos, is a marvelous chef. When Lori hears footsteps, children laughing, and creaking doors during the night, she's comforted by the blank book in which the spectral Aunt Dimity writes sage advice in times of trouble. After hearing tales of ghosts and smugglers, Lori resolves to figure out who or what is making the mysterious noises. With the help of the bishop and various locals, she tries to determine where the inn's name came from. Was there really a king involved? She comes up with several theories that are rather more theatrical than either the mysterious sounds or the inn's name would seem to require. But all is revealed in the end.Fans of the series (Aunt Dimity and the Widow's Curse, 2017, etc.) will find this tale less mysterious than previous installments but equally heartwarming and filled with all kinds of interesting people.
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June 1, 2018
Lori Shepherd and her husband, Bill, leave for a romantic, long-weekend getaway in Rye, East Sussex. Lori drops off Bill, who will join her later, at a client's home, but she gets stranded in Shepney on her way to Rye due to flooding. Lori meets kindly Bishop Christopher Wyndham at a church where she has taken refuge from the storm. Unfortunately, the only space available at the King's Ransom Inn is a bed in a crowded attic, which Lori gratefully takes. While in the attic, Lori hears strange noises in the reportedly haunted inn, and she decides to find their source as well as determine the story behind the inn's name. With the help of her ghostly friend, Aunt Dimity, she investigates, along with the bishop, while lending a hand as the community comes together to weather the disaster. An appealing series lead surrounded by quirky, well-drawn secondary characters and a lovingly described village setting make this coziest of cozies a good bet for those who miss Dorothy Cannell's Ellie Haskell mysteries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)