Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge ,from Crooked Lane Books, via #Netgalley for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. All opinions are my own.
Perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Ellery Adams, the second volume in Tracy Gardner’s antiques-themed mystery series finds appraiser Avery Ayers sleuthing a murder in a castle.
Synopsis:
Thanks to Aunt Midge’s unlikely friendship with Nicholas Pennington, the Duke of Valle Charme, Avery Ayers and her associates at Antiques and Artifacts Appraised head off to their most glamorous assignment yet—cataloguing and appraising the contents of a castle-like mansion on the Hudson River. But regal splendor becomes a backdrop to mayhem when the precious Viktor Petrova timepiece disappears—and housekeeper Suzanne Vick plummets from a parapet to her death.
Avery, her dad William, and colleagues Micah Abbott and Sir Robert Lane soon learn that Suzanne’s predecessor also met with an untimely end. Further, the housekeeper’s suspicious demise coincides with Avery’s discovery that many of the Duke’s most priceless heirlooms have been replaced by fakes.
Detective Art Smith lends his expertise, but the suspect list encompasses the Duke’s entire retinue—including his family. Could the killer be someone intimately familiar with the Pennington estate, such as caretaker couple Ira and Lynn Hoffman, the Penningtons’ chauffeur Roderick, or even one of the heirs to the Pennington fortune?
Then the duke himself is injured in an inexplicable riding accident, and the clock swiftly ticks toward a reckoning with a cold-blooded killer. A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches…can Avery bring the culprit to justice before her time is up?
Review:
This is the second book in the series (following Ruby Red Herring). I had not read the previous book, but it was easy to jump in and deal with just this book. Some prior history was discussed, but in a natural way, so you can still go back and enjoy the first book. The book takes us to what was American royalty- the robber barons of early last century and a look at not only their home, but their legacies, while still giving a tidy little mystery that Agatha would approve of! With just the right amount of rom-com and police procedural, it's a fun quick read, perfect for vacation!
About the Author:
Tracy Gardner, a Detroit native, is a cozy mystery and women's fiction author. A registered nurse and the daughter of two teachers, Tracy lives with her husband and best friend of thirty years, their three great kids who come and go between college schedules, and a menagerie of spoiled rescue dogs and cats. She is a strong believer in the power of family, friends, music, and baked goods as staples to a happy life.
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