Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin

 Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 274
Rating: 4 out of 5

Lori decides what she needs is to connect to people again. She becomes a volunteer at the Radcliffe Infirmary, where she meets Elizabeth Beacham. She quickly cares about Elizabeth a great-deal and is upset to learn that she is dying and none of her relatives or friends have been to visit her in the hospital. After Elizabeth dies she sends Lori on a hunt to find her long-lost brother and to learn more about Elizabeth as she was in life.

Aunt Dimity: Detective (Aunt Dimity Mystery #7)

 Aunt Dimity: Detective (Aunt Dimity Mystery #7)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 230
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Lori Shepherd returns from her trip to America, she is shocked to learn that a murder took place in her quiet village of Finch. This is the first murder in over a century and the whole town is full of gossip and questions about who did it. Though no one is sorry that Prunella Hooper is dead. Prunella moved in while Lori and her family where in the States so never meet her. With the help of Nicholas, the minister's nephew Lori unravels this tale of local secrets.

Nancy MacIntyre A Tale of the Prairies

 Nancy MacIntyre A Tale of the Prairies
by Lester Shepard Parker
Pages: 140
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This novel in verse tells the story of a love-lorn cowboy as he searches the West for his true love, Nancy MacIntyre. Nancy and her family have left the small farming community where our hero meets and falls in love with her. The family disappeared in the middle of the night, but he is determined to find Nancy even though it means abandoning his own farm. Written in 1908 by Jefferson City native Lester S. Parker. During his lifetime he was an entrepreneur, painter, poet, author, composer, actor and adviser to city officials. He and his family moved to Jefferson City after losing their home in Chicago in 1871 during the Great Fire. He was also appointed by the governor to be the first superintendent of prison workers. by Gov. Frederick Gardner to the Capitol Decoration Commission in 1917. His historic home is listed in the National Register of Histroic Places and is located at 624 Capitol Avenue.

Beowulf

 Beowulf
Author Unknown
Pages: 213
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I first read Beowulf in college using a side by side translation of the Old English. This modern translation tells the story well, but a touch of the poetic cadence is lost. Still, it is always a pleasure to read this epic tale of Grendel, his mother and the knight, Beowulf.

Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards, Illustrated by David Wardle

Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards, illustrated by David Wardle

If you're expecting something in the vein of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, this is different.

Featuring tales humans and Time Lords alike will recognize, as well as a few original tales, Time Lord Fairy Tales showcases fifteen tales set in the world of Doctor Who.

261 pages.

Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum #13.5)

 Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum #13.5)
by Janet Evanovich
Pages: 166
Rating: 4 out of 5

Stephanie Plum's Grandma goes missing and her mom sends her to find her. Grandma's found a bag of money and decides to go to Atlantic City for her own adventure. Set around St. Patrick's Day and a guy who thinks he is a leprechaun, this adventure is a wacky tale.

Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil (Aunt Dimity Mystery #6)

 Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil (Aunt Dimity Mystery #6)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 247
Rating: 4 out of 5

Lori's twins are walking and talking and getting into mischief but she's going stir crazy. Then her old boss asks her to take a commission for him and travel to Scotland to Northumberland to visit Tarrant Hall to evaluate a book collection. But her exciting vacation turns out to be full of Gothic intrigue.

Aunt Dimity's Christmas (Aunt Dimity Mystery #5)

Aunt Dimity's Christmas (Aunt Dimity Mystery #5)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 214
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Lori Shepherd wants to have the perfect family Christmas and the perfect Christmas party for the whole village. Then a homeless man collapses outside her house and nearly freezes to death. The pastor who runs the homeless shelter thinks the man is mentally unstable and needs psychiatric care but Lori's convinced there's something else causing his unusual behavior. Can she discover the truth behind his behavior before he is sent away?

Aunt Dimity Digs In (Aunt Dimity Mystery #4)

 Aunt Dimity Digs In (Aunt Dimity Mystery #4)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 275
Rating: 4 out of 5

Aunt Dimity's Ghost and Lori shepherd have to track down the culprit when private pamphlet's go missing from the vicarage and a visiting archaeologist threatens to ruin village traditions.

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed (Aunt Dimity Mystery, #3)

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed (Aunt Dimity Mystery, #3) 
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 277
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Aunt Dimity, Lori Shepherd's life has become a fairy-tale. She plans a second honeymoon for herself and her workaholic boyfriend, Bill. Bill has a work emergency but insists she goes on ahead to England and take his father with her. Then he disappears. How can Lori tell Bill that she's lost his Dad?

Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Aunt Dimity Mystery #2)

 Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Aunt Dimity Mystery #2)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 290
Rating: 3 out of 5

This book tells the back story for series lead, Lori Shepherd's best friends and how they became a couple. Emma Porter is a frumpy, amateur gardener going on a garden tour of England when she meets the twin Pym sisters. The sisters and Aunt Dimity send her to Penford Hall
 where she finds a mysterious duke and a handsome carpenter.

Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery #1)

 Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery #1)
by Nancy Atherton
Pages: 244
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Down-on-her-luck Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was a pretend character in her mother's bedtime stories ... until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis offers the possibility of large inheritance -- if she can discover the secret hidden in letters between Dimity and her mother.

This is the first book in sweet, cozy, mystery series.

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

In Elizabeth the Queen, readers are introduced to a young girl who was never meant to be queen. When her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicates the throne to be with the woman he loves, Elizabeth's father is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Now Elizabeth is "heiress presumptive," and her life is drastically changed and highly scrutinized. But Elizabeth would go on to meet all the hallmarks of a normal life during that time: falling in love, repairing army trucks during World War II, struggling to find a balance between motherhood and the demands of her job. With access to never-before-seen documents and interviews with those close to the Queen, biographer Sally Bedell Smith brings readers inside palace doors for a glimpse into the private life of a monarch who has led her country and Commonwealth with heretofore unseen grace, dignity, and intelligence.

663 pages.   

Maigret and the Man on the Bench (Maigret #41)

 Maigret and the Man on the Bench (Maigret #41)
by Georges Simenon, Translated by David Watson
Pages: 192
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

To find a murderer, Inspector Maigret, has to discover who the victim really was. He appears to have a whole other secret life that his family and friends are unaware of. Which version of his life is the one that led him to his death? A quick, read.

Maigret and the Killer (Maigret #70)

 Maigret and the Killer (Maigret #70)
by Georges Simenon, Translated by Lyn Moir
Pages: 168
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Inspector Maigret accompanies his friend and physician on an emergency call and is drawn into a common street crime. Or so it appears at first, but this is not the obvious murder that it seems. Maigret is lead to a mysterious killer who leaves exasperating clues. Translated from the French. First published in 1969. A quick straight-forward detective story. Even though the work is translated French names have been retained for places and addresses.