aunt dimity's christmas

Lori Shepherd's plans for a perfect family Christmas are derailed when a mysterious, charismatic stranger collapses on the driveway of her cozy English cottage. While the nearby village of Finch prepares to celebrate the season with a nativity play on Christmas Eve, Lori teams up with Julian Bright--a disturbingly attractive Roman Catholic priest--to search for the stranger's identity.

Their journey takes them from hospital wards to homeless shelters to insane asylums, places where the Christmas star shines dimly, if at all. As Lori unveils the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, she confronts painful truths about herself and discovers the real meaning of a perfect family Christmas.

Here is a rarity: a book with a Christmas theme that is an engagingly well-written literary work. ---The Rocky Mountain News