The Big Steal (Sterling Glass Mysteries) [Paperback]

Emyl Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2009 | Series: Sterling Glass Mysteries

Hired to assess the value of broken and missing antiques following a suspicious burglary at a Virginia manor house, intrepid appraiser and amateur sleuth Sterling Glass finds that her job is more complicated than she’d anticipated. The antiques, she realizes, are not always what they seem: some are worth tens of thousands, others are well-done replicas.

Whether the well-traveled and well-heeled couple who once owned Wynderly could have been trafficking in fakes is what Sterling must unravel from the secret rooms, hidden treasures, uncovered diaries, and convoluted trail of paperwork and provenance. As our sharp-witted heroine sifts through details doled out by the museum's curators, board members, and the town's local residents, she discovers that objects, unlike people, do not lie.

The Big Steal is a delightful mystery that enhances readers' antiques acumen and provides an easy guide to identifying the most popular styles and periods in an illustrated appendix.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the behest of an insurance company, Sterling Glass investigates the aftermath of a museum robbery in Jenkins's intriguing second mystery to feature the antiques expert (after 2005's Stealing with Style). Located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, Wynderly, a museum teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was once the baronial home of Mazie and Hoyt Wyndfield, a wealthy couple who died childless. At first awed by the vast number of antiques in every room, Sterling begins to doubt the authenticity of a collection of Tang horses and suspects other items are merely replicas. As she gets to know members of Wynderly's board of directors and discovers secret rooms and diaries, Sterling unravels long-hidden deceptions. Jenkins, an antiques appraiser, is also the author of a number of nonfiction titles, including The Book of American Traditions and From Storebought to Homemade. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In her second book, following Stealing with Style (2005),  real-life antiques appraiser Jenkins again imbues her sleuth, Sterling Glass, with knowledge and curiosity in equal parts, making this story as informative as it layered. Glass, who writes a question-and-answer column about antiques, is sent by a (handsome) insurance adjuster to sort out the value of what has been stolen from a Virginia estate. But Wynderly is not the sort of gracious country home for which rural Virginia is noted. Built by a devoted couple, it is more of a curiosity, filled with antiques and collectibles from their many trips and open to visitors since their death. But now the house is closed, and funds are scarce. Sterling is soon up to her ears in antiques (real and fake), board members (wise and annoying), and questions, plenty of questions. The mystery is thoroughly involving, but the real fun is the characters: both Sterling and the supporting cast are well drawn and engaging. That Sterling, divorced and middle-aged, is still juggling men with panache adds an extra fillip of je ne sais quoi. And don’t forget the fascinating question-and-answers, drawn from Sterling’s antiques column, that begin each chapter. If you like light and breezy (but not silly), this one’s for you. --Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565124464
• ISBN-13: 978-1565124462
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As an antiques appraiser, I began writing non-fiction to help people properly identify and value their possessions. But antiques are more than just things. Long ago I learned that, just like the clothes we wear, the things we choose to have around us tell much about us. These days I've turned to fiction with the Sterling Glass mystery series. I write these books because I love antiques, people, and stories. Like my protagonist, Sterling Glass, I live in Virginia, where, at every turn, there's a story waiting to be told.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing, satisfying suspense; well-drawn characters, July 17, 2009

By 

Janice Campbell "Freedom is not in doing what... (VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Steal (Sterling Glass Mysteries) (Paperback)

I recently spent a delightful cross-country flight rummaging through the dusty attic of a crumbling Virginia mansion with antiques appraiser Sterling Glass. Of course, it was all in the pages of The Big Steal, the second volume in Emyl Jenkins' Sterling Glass mystery series, but I really felt as if I'd spent the evening with an old friend. Jenkins' has peopled her mysteries with a deftly-drawn cast of characters who are growing, developing, and becoming more interesting as the series moves forward.

Sterling said "yes" a bit too quickly when asked to do an appraisal in Orange County. Instead of finding herself in sunny Southern California, she ended up in rural Virginia, dealing with an overly possessive curator, the varying agendas of a board of directors, and an enormous collection of antiques that isn't entirely what it seems. Add a secret room, hidden diary, and a generous dash of suspense, and you can see why I didn't want the plane to land before I finished the book!

Jenkins' experience as an antiques appraiser lends depth and credibility to Sterling's experiences. Each chapter opens with a newspaper-column-style question and answer about a specific antique, from Stafforshire spaniels to slipper chairs, that provides context and helps to orient the reader in the antiques world. If you're a fan of Antiques Road Show or This Old House, Sterling Glass is the Miss Marple you've been waiting for!

[This review first appeared on my blog.]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Steal Will Not Disappoint, March 7, 2010

By 

Christal L. Presley "Cpresley" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Steal (Sterling Glass Mysteries) (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Stealing with Style, and held my breath as I began the second in the series. I was nervous that it wouldn't be as grand as the first.

I am thrilled to say, though, that The Big Steal exceeded all my expectations. Main character Sterling Glass once again does not disappoint! From mystery to romance to the world of old money and what it can buy, author Emyl Jenkins takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of antiques and the people of all types who come in contact with them. As The Big Steal unfolds, Jenkins masterfully weaves together the story of three women from different generations, and explores how their worlds connect through an old Virginia manor where nothing is as it seems.

I always learn so much from reading Jenkins' books--and it's such a pleasure to read a mystery these days where the quality of writing is as exceptional as the story!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Craft of Stealing, November 13, 2009

By 

Story Circle Book Reviews - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Steal (Sterling Glass Mysteries) (Paperback)

Everyone loves a mystery, especially if you just fractured your ankle and need to sit awhile. Even if you have not broken your ankle, pick up The Big Steal, by Emyl Jenkins, and grab a comfy chair. Jenkins' detective story includes all the quirky characters you would hope to find; such as, the professor, Frank Fox, or Worth Merritt, elderly, well-heeled and candid. There is a burglary, an intricate fraud, drug smuggling, and counterfeiting; all wrapped around valuable antiques, a rambling old house, a long ago love story, and a modern romance as uncertain and twisting as the roads throughout western Virginia where the crime takes place.

When the insurance firm of Babson & Michael want to know the value of antique pieces stolen from the massive Wynderly estate hidden in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, they hire appraiser and antique columnist, Sterling Glass. Sterling prides herself at being competent in her investigations, admitting, "Good appraisers are, by nature, detectives." Sterling does not disappoint, even when crawling around a dark and dusty cold attic searching for documents to provide clues to the theft; or being pursued by two men while driving mountainous, narrow roads on a black night.

Place is deftly revealed again and again in Jenkins' narrative. First, the tangible place, the baronial homes secluded in the Virginia countryside. Second, the upper crust of society, a place often secured for generations to come. Third, Sterling is in a place where directions are distorted like pretzels and cell phones are useless. The tools of cyber space are a long way off.

Jenkins has prepared a guide to popular antiques with drawings at the end of the book. In addition, she provides a question and answer clip at the beginning of each chapter regarding a particular antique that will have prominence in the chapter. If you like The Big Steal, as I did, you have only to reach for the first Sterling Glass mystery, Stealing with Style, or wait for the third.

by Diana Nolan
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women