Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Allan's lively third antiques mystery (after 2007's Antiques Maul), divorcEe Brandy Borne and her eternally glamorous if somewhat annoying mother, Vivian, are busy preparing for the Christmas rush in the small Midwestern town of Serenity. Then Walter Yeager, a fellow antiques dealer, dies of cyanide poisoning soon after it becomes public knowledge that the WWII veteran owned a valuable first edition of Tarzan of the Apes, which disappears from the crime scene. Walter's 20-year-old British goth granddaughter, Chaz, becomes the top suspect due to her prison record, but Brandy and Vivian believe she's innocent. Told primarily from Brandy's viewpoint with Vivian sneaking in quips for extra pizzazz, this bubbly tongue-in-cheek cozy also includes flea market shopping tips and a recipe. Allan is the pseudonym of the husband-wife writing team of Barbara and Max Allan Collins. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Serenity, IA, is anything but, while the Borne females (mother Vivian and daughter Brandy) stick their noses into the death of an old classmate of Vivian's and look for a missing first edition of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A fast-paced plot, plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, and tips on antiques collecting will keep readers of this third entry in Allan's charming cozy series (Antiques Roadkill; Antiques Maul) engaged. Allan is the pseudonym of Barbara Collins, best known for her excellent short stories, and best-selling mystery novelist Max Allan Collins. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Prozac-popping daughter and her schizo-affective mother (Antiques Maul, 2007, etc.) return to their amateur sleuthing. Divorced following a few moments of careless passion at a high school reunion, Brandy Borne has moved back to the usually quiet Mississippi river town of Serenity, where she and her mother Vivian share a booth at the local antique mall. When elderly Mr. Yeager plans to sell a rare edition of Tarzan of the Apes for very little money, Vivian sticks her nose in and quashes the sale. Mr. Yeager promptly turns up dead, his British granddaughter Chaz is arrested and the book disappears. After Vivian hires a lawyer who gets Chaz released on a technicality, Brandy's college friend Joe, off his meds for Desert Storm-related stress, becomes another likely suspect. In her spare time, Brandy volunteers as a surrogate mother for a longtime, equally shopping-obsessed friend who has cancer but desperately wants a child. Meanwhile, an anonymous letter provides Brandy with a startling revelation about her wealthy, snobbish sister. Amazingly, the duo manage to solve the murder mystery before anyone strangles them in a fit of pique. The wildest soap opera has nothing on this strained, forgettable tale. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
