Review - Death in D Minor

     Hallmark has filmed Gethsemane Brown in the new Haunted Harmony Mysteries staring Tamera Mowry-Housley.  So far there is just one movie, but I'm hoping for more as Ms Mowry-Housley brings a bubbly aspect to heroine Gethsemane.

I reviewed the first book in the series Murder in G Major (click here).

Author: Alexia Gordon

Copyright: July 2017 (Henery Press) 238 pgs

Series: 2nd in Gethsemane Brown Mystery series

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Paranormal Cozy, Amateur Sleuth

Main Character: Gethsemane Brown, African-American famed classical musician and conductor now teaching classical music and orchestra at boy’s school

Setting: Modern, town of Dunmullach on Southwest Ireland Coast

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb:  "Gethsemane Brown, African-American classical musician and expatriate to an Irish village, solved a string of murders, led a school orchestra to victory in a major competition, and got used to living with a snarky ghost. She can rest easy over the Christmas holiday. Right? Wrong. 

The ghost has disappeared, her landlord's about to sell her cottage to a hotel developer, and her brother-in-law is coming for a visit—with one day’s notice. She scrambles to call her spectral roomie back from beyond and find a way to save the cottage from certain destruction. But real estate takes a backseat when her brother-in-law is accused of stealing a valuable antique. 

Gethsemane strikes a deal with a garda investigator to go undercover as a musician at a charity ball and snoop for evidence linking antiques to a forgery/theft ring in exchange for the investigator’s help clearing her brother-in-law. At the party, she accidentally conjures the ghost of an eighteenth-century sea captain, then ends up the prime suspect in the party host’s murder. With the captain’s help, she races to untangle a web of phony art and stolen antiques to exonerate herself and her brother-in-law. Then the killer targets her. Will she save herself and bring a thief and murderer to justice, or will her encore investigation become her swan song?"

My Thoughts:

    Gethsemane never gives up, as she has to deal with complications from all parts of her life in this outing. She shows her metal and her emotional stamina throughout everything.

    Gethsemane is joined by her brother in law, Jackson Applethwaite.  But many of the familiar villagers from book one aren't revisited and the potential romantic interests aren't advanced any with this addition.  If you don't care much for the romance aspects of cozy mysteries then this will likely suit you.  I will be moving on to the third book in the series in short order to see if any likely suitors make any headway.

     This outing has music, murder, art of various kinds, and a new ghost-Captain Lochlan, Captain of The Hesperus, all interwoven with charm and humor throughout.

     The dramatic climax on board a train is harrowing and shocking (a quick death is a bit horrible, but not dwelled on).  It was a great tense climax as I like them, so kudos.  

Overall an easy and entertaining read with a solid mystery and suspenseful moments highlighting the capable heroine.

Rating:  Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Thank you for reading this blog and please recommend to friends and family who will enjoy it.

     Here is the trailer for the Hallmark Movie adaptation of the first book in the series.

Review - Peril at Pennington Manner

When I read "Perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Ellery Adams" I knew I had to read this new series filler with anitiques and artwork.  Author Tracy Gardner is also writing mystery books for Hallmark  now, too.

Author: Tracy Gardner

Copyright: December 2011 (Crooked Lane Books) 304 pgs

Series: 2nd in Avery Ayers Antique Mysteries

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy mystery, amateur sleuth

Main Characters: Avery Ayers, appraiser at Antiques and Artifacts Appraised

Setting: Modern day, Lilac Grove

Obtained Through: Netgalley-Publisher for honest review

Book Blurb: "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?"

My Thoughts:

This is the second book and I hadn't read the first.  It is explained well and I understood the issues from the first book that carried into the second without any problems.  Avery Ayers runs the family's appraisal business and is level headed and mature. She doesn't plan on investigating, she is just observant and puts pieces together.  Her sister Tilly is back from college for a spell and clearly there is something troubling her.  Aunt Midge is a treasure and I love her and am looking forward to more of her character.  Detective Art Smith is the romantic interest and is a law enforcment person.  

A large part of the story takes place at Pennington Manor and it is a great setting.  I love the artwork descriptions sprinkled throughout.  The plot initially involves the theft of many artifacts and pieces of art, then a murder occurs and things get dicey.  The killer reveal has some good tense moments and the wrapup is satisfying.  I'm hoping to fit in the first book between books to catch up.  

Rating:  Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list 

Review - The Art of the Decoy

I love art related mysteries and this one involves the sort of items you would find on "Antiques Roadshow".  Although not the world of paintings and sculptures, the art of hand carved hunting decoys was still very interesting.

Author: Trish Esden

Copyright: April 5, 2022 (Crooked Lane Books) 320 pgs

Series: 1st in Scandal Mountain Antiques Mysteries

Sensuality: some allusions to intimacy 

Mystery Sub-genre: Amateur Sleuth, Art Mystery

Main Characters: Edie Brown, antiques dealer

Setting: Contemporary, Scandal Mountain Vermont-just south of Canadian border

Obtained Through: NetGalley for honest review

Book Blurb: "After her mother is sent to prison for art forgery, Edie Brown returns to Northern Vermont to rebuild her family’s fine art and antiques business. She’s certain she can do it now that her mother is gone. After all, butting heads with her mom over bad business practices was what drove Edie away three years ago, including a screwup that landed Edie on probation for selling stolen property.

 

When Edie scores a job appraising a waterfowl decoy collection at a hoarder’s farmhouse, she’s determined to take advantage of the situation to rebuild the business’s tarnished reputation and dwindling coffers. In lieu of payment, Edie intends to cherry-pick an exceptional decoy carved by the client’s renowned Quebecoise folk artist ancestors. Only the tables turn when the collection vanishes.

 

Accused of the theft, Edie’s terrified that the fallout will destroy the business and land her in prison next to her mom. Desperate, she digs into the underbelly of the local antiques and art world. When Edie uncovers a possible link between the decoy theft and a deadly robbery at a Quebec museum, she longs to ask her ex-probation officer, and ex-lover, for help. But she suspects his recent interest in rekindling their romance may hide a darker motive.

 

With the help of her eccentric uncle Tuck and Kala, their enigmatic new employee, Edie must risk all she holds dear to expose the thieves and recover the decoys before the FBI’s Art Crime Team or the ruthless thieves themselves catch up with her." 

Edie, has a lot of anger towards her mother, still remembers her grandparents death in a plane explosion, and is a mixed bag. At times I related with her, and at other times I felt she had impulse control problems and was reckless.  Tuck is her uncle, a dear man who loves african violets.  Kala Acosta is an intern who lists items online for sale, handles social media, computers, and research.  Shane Payton as Edie's former parole officer and former lover.

The plot is figuring out who stole the decoys under an extreme timeline, then murder strikes and the pressure is on to untangle the net quickly closing around Edie. I felt things picked up once the murder occurred. 

My Thoughts: I love paintings and sculptures, so the decoys didn't really interest me albeit I'm sure they are culturaly significant. I found myself frustrated a few times with Edie for her taking extreme risks (it was something like yelling during a horror movie not to go in the basement!)  But overall the characters were good, in particular Kala stole the show as an auxillary character.  The potential romance with Shane didn't work for me and I didn't feel anything there. No chemistry.  This is solidly an amateur sleuth as it isn't a cozy. A smidgen darker than a cozy while still being in a small town, and thus it has touches of a literary novel mixed in, which some may like.

Rating: Good - A fun read with an interesting premise and more literary, troubled character style.