Customer Reviews

Antiques Bizarre (Trasn 'n' Treasures Mysteries)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
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After a horrible winter, the residents of the Midwest town of Serenity are rejoicing that spring has arrived. Unfortunately though the temperatures rises, the warmer weather leads to melting of ice and snow further north and the Mississippi is overflowing its banks. Serenity is flooded and as the river overflows its' banks and certain streets remain under water. Help the flood victims are septuagenarian Vivian Bourne and her thirtyish daughter Brandy who will host an auction at the Catholic Church.


They visit wealthy Madam Petrova to ask her to donate a Faberge egg although they expect a no from her. Instead she agrees to give them the last one commissioned by the Czar. Art expert Louis Martinette authenticated it decades ago and apparently wins the bidding with a million dollar offer. However, before the gavel comes down to end the bid, people fall to the floor ill. Both Madam Petrova and Louis Martinette are dead and the egg is missing. The cause of the sickness is the Mulligan stew made by Mrs. Mulligan, who commits suicide while Father O'Brien is stabbed to death. Vivian feels responsible as the deaths are related to her auction so with Brandy at her side; she investigates who the serial killing thief is

The latest Trash `N' Treasures mystery (see Antiques Flee Market) is an amusing whodunit with less of the cute asides than the previous tales as the mother and daughter team get down to investigative business almost from the onset. Off her Prozac, surrogate pregnant Brandy struggles to keep her bi-polar mom in line during their inquiry, which Brandy's boyfriend the police chief objects to their investigation for safety reasons. Vivian is over the top with her interrogation methods while Brandy deals with morning sickness and her madcap mother's mayhem.

Harriet Klausner

This book is great fun!! I have read her entire series Wonderful characters! I look forward to her next book

Another cozy mystery in the Trash and Treasures Mystery series(#4). Brandy Borne is a surrogate mother for her BFF. Brandy's mother Vivian arranges an auction for the relief of the Serenity Iowa flood victims. A Russian Faberge egg is the hot item up for bid. As a result of this auction there are several deaths. The Chief of Police has a soft spot for Brandy. Of course, Brandy and Vivian are hot on the trail of the thief and murderer. Funny read.

Following her divorce, Brandy Borne moved back in with her mother, Vivian, in her hometown of Serenity. Since then, the Borne girls have become amateur sleuths of a sort, investigating murders in their formerly quiet little Midwestern hometown and generally causing havoc of one sort or another while getting in the way of genuine police investigation. (For a more thorough history, read my review of Antiques Flee Market, the third book in the series.)

Antiques Bizarre is the fourth in this increasingly entertaining series by married collaborators Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins writing under the pseudonym "Barbara Allan." The action picks up a few months after the events of Antiques Flee Market.

Brandy is now three months pregnant with the surrogate child of her best friend Tina (who is unable to bear due to cervical cancer) and experiencing a remarkable bout of morning sickness when she needs to drive Vivian to an appointment with Madam Petrova. Vivian plans to ask Nastasya to donate her Fabergé egg (the last one ever made) to be auctioned at an upcoming charity antiques bazaar with the proceeds going to local flood victims. (As a side of "friendly" competition, the group who raises the most money will be profiled in a regional magazine.)

By the end of the auction, both the owner and the high bidder will be dead, dozens of other poisoned, and the egg missing. But at least Vivian's team will be the ones in the magazine, and isn't that what's really important? In any case, given Brandy's state, she intends to stay away from any of her mother's attempts to solve the murders -- though she does hesitate to let her "shrewd Nancy Drew-like detective's mind" lie fallow.

Like the devoted mystery readers they are, they first decide whether to approach the investigation like Agatha Christie or Rex Stout. Vivian eventually gathers all the suspects together like Christie while making surprise pronouncements like Stout, therefore offering the best of both worlds.

Though the authors have chosen the most obvious of motives for their killer -- making this the most traditional entry so far in terms of the actual "mystery" -- Antiques Bizarre still has a lot going for it. The Collinses work well together as "Barbara Allan." With this, the couple's sixth novel together in total, the division between their individual voices is all but indiscernible. It all comes through in a uniform, shared voice.

The Trash 'n' Treasures books have to be the funniest mystery series going. The humor of Antiques Bizarre comes from Brandy's and Vivian's somewhat skewed points of view. (Brandy's off her Prozac due to being pregnant, and both of them find this an improvement.) This makes for a genuinely funny read, with the authors mining the proceedings for all the humor they can get out of it. The jokes aren't all gems but they come at such a rapid-fire pace that you hardly notice. One could say the Collinses are the Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker of the cozy mystery.

Like the previous books, Antiques Bizarre ends on a soap-opera-inspired cliffhanger that carries the continuing saga of Brandy Borne's parentage into the next book. And each chapter ends with a piece of advice on some aspect of antiquing. "Barbara Allan" has come up with another winner, and I'm already looking forward to their next, currently being written and tentatively titled Antiques Knock-Off.

This series is just plain fun. Nothing deep just a little mystery to pass the time with. The characters are fun and you seem to be able to relate to their little quirks.

I just love the comedic stylings of mother-daughter, Vivian and Brandy Borne. So much fun solving a mystery, especially with their sidekick, Sushi, a blind, diabetic shitzu along for the ride.

Who could get into more trouble than Vivian and Brandy? They are very likeable characters. A really funny book with mystery and suspense woven into the story. I am eagerly awaiting the next book.

I like Shushi, not raw fish, but the diabetic Shih Tzu that lives with Vivian, a thrifty red hat Jessica Fletcher type, and her pregnant, off-her-Prozac daughter Brandy. Since the book has been discussed in depth by my fellow Amazon critics, I will refrain from restating the cute, cozy, and killer plot, but I will encourage you to immediately purchase this gem and savor each odd character, twisiting plot development, hidden humor, antique hunting tips, and an overall masterful mystery. Once you become involved in the Trash 'N' Treasure series, you'll be hooked, adding Antique Roadkill, Antique Maul, Antique Flea Market, Antique Knock Off, and future series entries to your collection. Heck, you might even find yourself trying to find a blind and diabetic dog to adopt.

You can't go wrong with anything written by Max Allan Collins, his lovely wife Barbara, and/or the "Barbara Allan" team!

If you want perfect & bland, look elsewhere. Barbara Allan's Trash 'n' Treasure Mysteries are whimsical and whacked. This Muscatine husband-wife writing team knows how to have a good time telling stories and readers who tag along will come back eager for more.Antiques Roadkill: A Trash 'n' Treasures MysteryAntiques Maul (Trash 'n' Treasures Mysteries, No. 2)Antiques Knock-Off (Trash 'n' Treasures Mysteries)Antiques Flee Market (Trash 'n' Treasures Mysteries)You Can't Stop MeBombshellMurder-His and Hers: Short Stories (Five Star Mystery Series)Too Many Tomcats and Other Feline Tales of Suspense (Five Star Mystery Series)

I found the first copy of this series at a dollar store and bought it because-hey-it was only $1.00! I read it and loved it and looked on Amazon to see if it was a series. I have gotten all the books so far in the series. There is mystery, humor, and a good story each time.