Wordy Wednesday

Well, I am back and I have a book review for you! My reading goes in spurts. I've been on one of my reading spurts lately.For some weeks, I'll read 3 books per week and then I can go several more weeks without reading anything.

The book I have chosen for this review is Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton.  Sounds perfect for the season-huh? This was the 13th book in a series. I've previously read the first book, Aunt Dimity's Death and the 12th, Aunt Dimity Goes West.

The series has kind of a weird premise. The main character, Lori Shepard is an American living in Britain. She inherited a cottage and fortune from her "Aunt" Dimity-a friend of her mother's whom Lori has never met.  In fact, Lori didn't even know that Aunt Dimity was a real person. She thought she was just a character in stories her mother used to tell. The weird part is that Lori can communicate with the dear, departed Aunt Dimity through an old journal. Lori talks to the journal and Aunt Dimity responds by writing in it.

In this installment in the series, Lori is certain that a vampire is lurking in the forest near the riding school her twin sons attend. The twins insist they have seen Rendor-a vampire in a comic book. Lori and Kit Smith (her friend and the boys' riding instructor) helps her hunt down the mysterious monster.

In their investigating, they stumble across a 40 year-old murder, a newcomer who is camping out in the rain, and a cranky old woman who seems to know a lot about the unexplained events in the village's past. Through it all, Aunt Dimity helps out by offering explanations and acts as a sounding board for Lori's speculations.

The story wraps up a little too neatly and predictably, but I still liked it.  It's a cute, cozy mystery that's quite entertaining. I'm always amazed when I finish one of Atherton's books. I fully intend to dislike them, but they seems to hook me with their likable characters and fun plotlines.