Nancy Atherton is a good writer, technically--all the "stuff" is in the right place, right tense; but, dialogue is a bit "invented" and plot doesn't seem to move anywhere. Characters? Well, I wouldn't invite any of them for Tea, drinks, or dinner-not because I didn't like them, but I just didn't care and I'd be bored to death. ( )

A very cozy mystery. I picked this up because I'd read one other in this series and enjoyed it, but I wasn't as thrilled with this one.
In this episode, the main character, whose son has just started school, is worried and stressed about having her kid away from her. Based on stories that get back to her (and no actual evidence at all), she becomes convinced that her son is being stalked either by some kind of pervert or - a vampire. Through the course of the book, she must learn to get over it and not be an over-protective psycho mom - and to re-appreciate the joys of living in a small town where everyone knows each others' business. While I appreciate the former message (if not for myself), I disagree with the latter, but messages aside, the book was rather dull, with no actual crimes to be solved, only misapprehensions and misunderstandings. I thought more supernatural elements in the story might spice it up a bit, but was also disappointed in that regard. ( )

An American living in the English countryside, Lori, her husband and their 5 year old twins have dramatic lives. They've survived various attempted murders, but now the boys are in school and take riding lesson at a nearby manor. When her children draw a picture of a vampire and tell everybody that they saw him, Lori takes it seriously and goes looking for the neighborhood vampire.

This is my first of the Aunt Dimity series, and I believe it's around the eleventh of the series, so not the best place to start. There are some good things to say. Some of the characters are interesting, and her conversations with long-dead Aunt Dimity, via book just like Harry and Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, are a good way to inject an adult voice next to Lori's, who behaves like she's barely older than her children. This is the problem I had with the story; I didn't like the main character. I know it's fantasy and not meant to be taken seriously, but it irked me right from the beginning that Lori wrings her hands over a meeting with the school's headmistress, she talks to a toy and she immediately believes that her 5 year olds really saw a vampire. She's immature, yet I think she's suppose to be charming or quirky.
I have two or three more from this series on my shelf already. While I didn't hate it, I don't think this series is for me ( )

What a ninny. ( )

Not really vampires, because, well, there is Aunt Dimity to consider and she's as "spiritual" as you can get. Again, nice cozy mystery. ( )