AUNT DIMITY'S CHRISTMAS

Lori Shepherd lives in England, in the village of Finch, with husband Bill and nine-month twins. She owns her pretty cottage and a considerable fortune besides—a legacy from her mother’s long-dead friend Dimity Westwood, who still gives advice and support via ghostly writing in a blue leather journal (Aunt Dimity Digs In, 1998, etc.). Christmas is near and Lori is deep in elaborate preparations when, one snowy morning, a man is found on the ground outside’skeletal, shabbily dressed, and barely alive. Airlifted to the nearest hospital, he shows few signs of recovery, but Lori is intrigued, not to say obsessed, by the mystery of his appearance and is determined to ferret out his identity. Her interest is shared by Father Julian Bright, a local priest who runs St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter. Christmas plans take a back seat as Lori and Julian track their quarry back through a series of men’s shelters—all near WWII bomber bases. What is the connection to the war medals and ribbons found with the derelict? Finally, research helpers bring Julian and Lori to London and the home of Lady Haverford, daughter of bomber hero Sir Miles Anscombe and sister of Christopher, the ailing tramp. She refuses to help her brother and accuses him of having driven their father to suicide. Back in Finch, Lori finds that her neighbors have done all the work for her Christmas party and that Aunt Dimity is eager to provide answers to all her unanswered questions, leaving Lori to contemplate some major changes in her own life. Interesting ideas narrated in a bright, literate style, but burdened by much treacly preaching and an obsession that remains unconvincing throughout.