Scan barcode
tribefan33's review
4.0
I have discovered yet another author to add to my list. Just what I needed! LOL This is a wonderful start to a new series for me. I love that fact that one of the main characters has a debilitating social illness. I too have the same illness just not the that extreme, thank God!!! Plan to read more by this author!
justasking27's review
4.0
A perfect cozy mystery, complete with likeable characters, an exciting plot, beautiful descriptions, and just enough information about antiques to keep this novice interested without getting bored. I will definitely be looking for others in the series!
dontmissythesereads's review
1.0
Book #25 read in 2008
I found this book very uninteresting. The topic of antiquing is unfamiliar to me, and I don't think I followed a lot of the details of the practice very well. While I liked the main character, I was confused by some of the secondary characters. Also, the reveal made me say "huh?" and I had to look back in the story to see if I missed something. There were no clues or leads to help me, as a reader, solve the crime. I will not read any more by this author.
I found this book very uninteresting. The topic of antiquing is unfamiliar to me, and I don't think I followed a lot of the details of the practice very well. While I liked the main character, I was confused by some of the secondary characters. Also, the reveal made me say "huh?" and I had to look back in the story to see if I missed something. There were no clues or leads to help me, as a reader, solve the crime. I will not read any more by this author.
phoenixemerald's review
3.0
I love cozy mysteries but I'm not a huge antiques buff. Still, this was a good story with interesting characters. I was even caught off guard by the resolution :)
krisrid's review
1.0
I thought this might be a good way to try something different with the cozy genre, as it is a male main character and narrator [I listened to this as an audio book]. Unfortunately, this did not work for me at all, and I DNF'd it at the one-third point.
Mainly, I gave up on this because it was slow-moving and dull to me. At the point where I gave up the murder had just happened, and while I understand some set-up is required, if you need a full third of the book to set the scene in a cozy mystery, you need to tighten things up a bit.
And a smaller complaint that really irritated me was the fact that the narrator apparently did not know how to correctly prounounce Mackinac [as in Mackinac Island, which is an amazing place in Michigan and a great setting for any book - I have been there]. There are several points at the beginning where it is prounounced "Mack-i-nack" and others where the narrator says it correctly as "Mack-i-naw". Aside from the fact that if you are a professional narrator you should find out how to properly say the name of the location of a book, it is even worse when you pronounce it two different ways multiple times. I may be the only person who would notice this, but I did notice it and it annoyed me a lot.
Overall, though, I gave up on this because I found it boring. The mispronunciation was just the icing on the cake that eventually made me give up on this.
Mainly, I gave up on this because it was slow-moving and dull to me. At the point where I gave up the murder had just happened, and while I understand some set-up is required, if you need a full third of the book to set the scene in a cozy mystery, you need to tighten things up a bit.
And a smaller complaint that really irritated me was the fact that the narrator apparently did not know how to correctly prounounce Mackinac [as in Mackinac Island, which is an amazing place in Michigan and a great setting for any book - I have been there]. There are several points at the beginning where it is prounounced "Mack-i-nack" and others where the narrator says it correctly as "Mack-i-naw". Aside from the fact that if you are a professional narrator you should find out how to properly say the name of the location of a book, it is even worse when you pronounce it two different ways multiple times. I may be the only person who would notice this, but I did notice it and it annoyed me a lot.
Overall, though, I gave up on this because I found it boring. The mispronunciation was just the icing on the cake that eventually made me give up on this.
moondance120's review
3.0
It was something you didn't often see on the expressway: a factory-condition '48 Chevy woodie, glossy black-it had, easily, twenty coats of paint-with gleaming wooden side panels from which came its nickname, and whitewalls like new ivory.
Usually a sentence like that will keep me from reading a book. I'm so glad it didn't. Jeff Talbot is a former FBI agent now working as a professional picker for antiques. Frank Hamilton is Jeff's chief rival. Frank is obnoxious and seem to turn up like a bad penny. Jeff learns that a rare tea set, a cabaret, that was commissioned by Napoleon for Josephine is to be auctioned at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. He has been looking for this piece for some time for Blanche Appleby. The set once belonged to Blanche's family and she would give almost anything to have it returned to her. Jeff sees Frank on Mackinac arguing with a woman and then finds his body the next day in a fountain.
I really enjoyed this book! I have a major addiction to all things tea. I collect tea ware and have a couple of cabaret sets. (The cabaret is intended as a tea for one. It has a pot, creamer, sugar dish, a cup and saucer and a tray) The setting at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island made me swoon. I would so love to visit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the characters, the clothing and the hotel. Jeff was an intriguing character. His agoraphobic wife was an interesting twist. The plot was good, the characters well balanced and a lovely mystery.
Usually a sentence like that will keep me from reading a book. I'm so glad it didn't. Jeff Talbot is a former FBI agent now working as a professional picker for antiques. Frank Hamilton is Jeff's chief rival. Frank is obnoxious and seem to turn up like a bad penny. Jeff learns that a rare tea set, a cabaret, that was commissioned by Napoleon for Josephine is to be auctioned at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. He has been looking for this piece for some time for Blanche Appleby. The set once belonged to Blanche's family and she would give almost anything to have it returned to her. Jeff sees Frank on Mackinac arguing with a woman and then finds his body the next day in a fountain.
I really enjoyed this book! I have a major addiction to all things tea. I collect tea ware and have a couple of cabaret sets. (The cabaret is intended as a tea for one. It has a pot, creamer, sugar dish, a cup and saucer and a tray) The setting at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island made me swoon. I would so love to visit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the characters, the clothing and the hotel. Jeff was an intriguing character. His agoraphobic wife was an interesting twist. The plot was good, the characters well balanced and a lovely mystery.
More...