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housekeeper’s suspicious demise coincides with Avery’s discovery that many of the Duke’s most priceless heirlooms have been replaced by fakes.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