Aunt Dimity Down Under

November 2, 2009
New Zealand serves as the alluring backdrop for Atherton's thin 15th paranormal detective mystery to feature Lori Shepherd (after 2009's Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon
). At the request of dying spinster twins Ruth and Louise Pym, Lori heads down under to find out what happened to their older, disinherited brother, Aubrey Pym. In New Zealand, Lori discovers Aubrey is dead, and his son, Edmund, soon follows Aubrey to the grave. As a result, Lori must deliver the vital message the Pym sisters entrusted to her to Ed's 18-year-old runaway daughter, Bree. As Lori tours such scenic sites as Waipoua Forest and Tongariro National Park in her hunt for Bree, Aunt Dimity's journal provides otherworldly encouragement. Since Peter Jackson is filming the Lord of the Rings
trilogy during Lori's visit, Tolkien references abound. What starts as a missing person's case turns into a travelogue, charming but not very mysterious.

January 1, 2010
Lifelong residents of the English village of Finch, the elderly Pym sisters, Ruth and Louise, are dying, so they ask their neighbor, Lori Shepherd, to find their long-lost brother, Aubrey, who was banished from the family in their youth. Lori discovers that Aubrey relocated to New Zealand, so she and her aunt Dimity travel there to find out what has become of him. Lori, along with companion Cameron Mackenzie (a native New Zealander and an old school friend of her husband), learns that Aubrey is dead, but his teenage granddaughter Bree is alive. The two travel from city to city, always one step behind Bree. Fans of the long-running series will enjoy catching up with Lori, her family, Aunt Dimity, and the residents of Finch. They will also enjoy the nicely described New Zealand setting, the hopeful ending, and the fairy tale wedding that closes the book, but there is very little mystery here. More of a gentle read than a crime novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)