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~Aunt Dimity and the
Duke~
by Nancy Atherton
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Heroine:
plump |
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CompuTech executive
Emma Porter, a
dumped frump abandoned by her lover of 15 years for a blonde sylph 20 years
her junior, is anxious to leave New England for Old England and
a long, relaxing vacation among the finest gardens of the world.
Once
there, a series of odd coincidences lands the amateur gardener at
Cornwall's infamous Penford Hall, where his grace, Grayson Alexander,
insists she is the one meant to restore his grandmother's favorite
flowerbeds. While there she meets the duke's old friend Derek Harris,
widowed earl's son and father of two precocious young children, who
was hired by Grayson to renovate the manor and ferret out a missing
antique lamp in the process. Derek expresses concern to Emma that his
old friend's estate is in terribly fine shape considering that his grace
had been left in penury by the late duke. In fact, the Hall and its
nearby village appear to have undergone extensive expensive
renovations in the very recent past.
But where
did the money come from? Was it possible Grayson was dealing in
illicit funds? And did it have anything to do with Lex Rex, the
punk rocker who met a tragic ending on the duke's yacht, and who
turned out to have been penniless himself at the time of his death?
Perhaps only
Grayson's super-model cousin Susannah knows the answer, but she's not talking--at
least not since an "accident" in the ruins of a nearby castle left her unconscious.
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What worked for me: |
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An avid gardener myself, I'm always keen to read a story that involves
flowers.
The mystery kept me turning the
pages, as did the sweet romance blossoming between Derek and Emma.
I haven't tried it so can't vouch for it, but the strawberry tart
recipe certainly sounds scrumptious.
Size-wise Emma is full-figured, plump in her
own eyes but deliciously
curvy in her hero's. In fact, the men in the book seemed to
prefer the charms of "hippy" women to that of the willowy super-model-in-residence.
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What didn't work for me: |
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I
thought the writing quality fell off a smidge in the middle of the
book.
This is
the second novel, albeit a prequel, in the Aunt Dimity series, yet she
only appeared briefly in the story. In fact, "Aunt Dimity and the Duke" seemed more like "Emma Porter and the Duke's
Friend".
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Overall: |
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A good read for fans of British cozies who like a gardening theme, a
hint of romance, and a dash of the paranormal in their stories.
If you liked
"Aunt Dimity and the Duke" you might also enjoy
"Thornyhold" or "The
Dancing Floor". |
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Have you read
this book and have a comment to
make on it? Join a discussion about the book at the Dangerous Curves
forum
or submit a review
to this website. |
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