Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Aunt Dimity Mystery, #2)

by Nancy Atherton

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.

• ISBN10: 0670849642
• ISBN13: 9780670849642
• Publish Date: 24 November 1994
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 25 October 2004
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Viking
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 290
• Language: English

Reviews

[Shreela]

Don't get distracted early on, or you'll find yourself confused later - like when learning the periodic table in Chem 101. I'll try one more of this series.

[Mystereity Reviews]

I enjoyed the book, the characters were easy to like and the writing was enough to put you right in the middle of the gardens with Emma and the rest. I thought the mystery itself was a little too neatly tied up at the end, but I guess I don't feel is was the focus of the plot as much as the relationships were. I could have done without the overly cutesy epilogue, though. I didn't bother reading all of it, it became too maudlin to stand. Overall, an enjoyable read and I'll probably try other books in the series.

[MurderByDeath]

This is probably my favourite book in the series - it was released second, after Aunt Dimity's Death, but actually takes place a few years before Aunt Dimity's Death. It's the story of Lori's neighbours, Derek and Emma Harris and how they met. It's a perfect cozy - with just a hint of supernatural. The story line is outrageous enough to be highly entertaining and the characters are all immediately individual, and likeable. It would be great to hear from this cast of characters again, although probably isn't likely.