Aunt Dimity & the Village Witch by Nancy Atherton *****

Finch is a idyllic village in the English countryside with a 350-year-old mystery. Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch by Nancy Atherton (the 17th in the series) is a delightful mystery/treasure hunt with only loud voices for violence and courting rituals (that would be recognizable to Austen) for sex.

When the Sunday church services are invaded the by a horde of undesirables,  the minister dispatches them with a long boring sermon. Unruly boys are scolded for peeing in an inappropriate place - quite a scandal. Priorities include getting enough sleep, regular meals, and tea (this is the English countryside), and most important: good gossip.

Lori Shepard, our protagonist, is aided in her quest for the the pages of a 350-year-old manuscript by Reginald - a stuffed rabbit with a pink nose and black button eyes, who is a good listener and always keeps secrets - and by Aunt Dimity - who is long gone from this world, but who communicates by writing in an enchanted journal.

If you like you mysteries without murder, this is one of the best.