Aunt Dimity Down Under

New Zealand serves as the alluring backdrop for Atherton's thin 15th paranormal detective mystery to feature Lori Shepherd (after 2009's Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon ). At the request of dying spinster twins Ruth and Louise Pym, Lori heads down under to find out what happened to their older, disinherited brother, Aubrey Pym. In New Zealand, Lori discovers Aubrey is dead, and his son, Edmund, soon follows Aubrey to the grave. As a result, Lori must deliver the vital message the Pym sisters entrusted to her to Ed's 18-year-old runaway daughter, Bree. As Lori tours such scenic sites as Waipoua Forest and Tongariro National Park in her hunt for Bree, Aunt Dimity's journal provides otherworldly encouragement. Since Peter Jackson is filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy during Lori's visit, Tolkien references abound. What starts as a missing person's case turns into a travelogue, charming but not very mysterious. (Feb.)