Part of Aunt Dimity Mystery, book 5
First published 2000
Lori looks forward to her best Christmas yet. Hard times have passed, her cottage inherited from Aunt Dimity grows more lovely each day, and her nine month old twins Will and Rob flourish alongside her marriage to Bill. She throws herself into holiday preparations, cutting holly and baking angel cookies while fat snowflakes drift past her windows. Then she discovers a nearly dead tramp beneath her snow covered lilac bushes. The village of Finch continues its Christmas Eve Nativity play rehearsals, but Lori abandons her holiday plans. She partners with Julian Bright, an attractive Roman Catholic priest, to uncover the stranger's identity. Their search leads them through abandoned World War II airfields and homeless shelters, places where Christmas light barely penetrates. As Lori unravels the tragic circumstances that brought this man to her door, she faces difficult truths about herself and learns what makes a truly perfect family Christmas.
Genres: romance, christmas, mystery, cozy-mystery, family-drama
Vibes: cozy, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Finch, World War II Airfields
Period: Christmas Eve, World War II
214 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Penguin Books