Aunt Dimity & the Lost Prince by Nancy Atherton
Synopsis:
It’s a cold, dreary February in the sleepy village of Finch and Lori Shepherd has two stir-crazy seven-year-old boys on her hands. So when her good friend Bree Pym suggests an outing to Skeaping Manor, the bizarre Jacobean-house-turned-museum, Lori leaps at the chance. There she meets Daisy Pickering, a sweet (if a little odd) nine-year-old dressed in a shabby pink parka who regales Lori with a wild tale about the Russian aristocrats who once owned the priceless silver pieces on display.
A few days later, when a finely wrought silver sleigh figurine turns up in the pocket of a shabby pink parka at her thrift shop Lori recognizes it instantly as the object that mesmerized Daisy at Skeaping Manor. Hoping to avoid any real commotion, Lori tracks down Daisy’s mother, only to find that the Pickering family has disappeared without a trace. Stranger still, it seems that one of Daisy’s imagined Russian princes may be very real—and in desperate need of help.
With Aunt Dimity’s otherworldly guidance, Lori’s search for the sleigh’s true owner and the fate of the Pickering family begins to unravel a tangled web of secrets stretching from England’s finest country estates back to the blood-drenched soil of the Russian Revolution.
Review:
Lori Shepherd seems like a caring mother and a great friend. Their visit to the creepy Skeaping Manor is more for her boys and Bree. And the series is named after Lori’s deceased Aunt who communicates with Lori through a blank journal. This is the first I’ve read in the series and was actually expecting a bit more of the paranormal. But it’s a good standalone mystery novel. Fans of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple should enjoy.
The mystery of the Lost Prince takes Lori and Bree on a journey around various historic homes in the area. They’re searching for the truth behind little Daisy’s story about the prince and for more information on where Daisy and her mother went suddenly. Aunt Dimity & the Lost Prince is an unpredictable, quick read with colorful characters. It’s a fun and entertaining mystery that kept me guessing. I’ll most likely be checking out more episodes in this mystery series.