Customer Reviews

The Big Steal (Sterling Glass Mysteries)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.]

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!

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

The book started out good, but, in the last 20 pages went downhill and abruptly ended without all the ends being tied up ! Can't figure out why she didn't make it a little longer and "finish" it better where all the questions were answered !

I haven't read the first Sterling Glass novel, but it wasn't necessary. You miss a little of the background between Sterling and her two love interests, but it doesn't take much to catch on. She gets a lot more than she bargained for when she accepts a job appraising the value of some antiques following a robbery. In fact, she does very little appraising, becoming more caught up in the politics of the foundation that owns the home and the intricacies of the unusual home itself. Sterling also writes a column where she answers questions about antiques, and there's a question and answer at the start of each column. I felt like I learned quite a bit about antiques just by reading those questions.

The mystery itself is almost unnecessarily complex, and there's a twist of sort at the end that I didn't real understand the purpose of. Regardless, I liked the story, and I would definitely read the first book (and any subsequent). But I have to confess... I found the name "Sterling Glass" *way* too kitschy.

What happens when a real-life antiques appraiser decides to write a mystery novel? You get a life-like, well-developed protagonist in the form of Sterling Glass, that's what. Sterling is a southern woman (that says it all) of a certain age who solves mysteries in the course of her work. Sterling has been referred to as Miss Marple wears Prada, and that is a pretty accurate description.

Emyl Jenkins's sleuth, Sterling Glass, makes her second appearance in The Big Steal and it is big! There's been a burglary at Wynderly, a Virginia mansion that has been turned into a museum. It's not clear at first what is at the bottom of things, but as Sterling meets the staff, board members and others, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. There are fake pieces scattered throughout the museum. Who is behind it? The Wynderly's (who loved to travel, but are a long time deceased) wouldn't have dealt with fakes. Or would they? As Sterling unearths Wynderly's history layer by layer, she learns some startling facts.

I absolutely love Sterling Glass. She's smart, has southern charm down pat and uses facts and logic to solve the crime. Jenkins's knowledge of antiques adds greatly to the novel, but it's her well-developed characters, the twists and turns and the plot that makes her novels winners!

Read Stealing with Style, the first Sterling Glass mystery and then follow up with the delightful A Big Steal.

Armchair Interviews says: These books will bring you hours of entertainment.

After having read "The Big Steal" I was looking forward to seeing what Sterling Glass' next adventure would be. Yes, New York City is a big mystery, but what can be a bigger mystery than what you can find in your grandmother's attic. "The Big Steal" opens with Sterling up in the attic of a gracious home in Orange County, VA. The mansion had been turned into a museum filled with wonderful antiques from around the world by the family who owned it, after their death. Sterling is looking for documents, papers, receipts, and diaries, anything about these items. There has been an unsolved burglary and the insurance company has some questions about the value of the items left, those taken and what to pay. The fun part about this book to me is that you not only get to meet and know the people who are involved in the mystery today but you get to know the people who were involved in the start of the mystery years ago. You also learn a great deal about the fine line the appraiser has to walk in doing her job. The book is fun, interesting and, I think, a new twist in the mystery field.

This book was great for the first 90%. Often about halfway through a book I flip to the last pages, see how it ends and set the book aside. This book kept me reading. Then I came to the disappointing end. What the heck happened? It was like the author realized she had hit some work count limit, threw in a few vague, concluding sentences and ended the book. As I read the book, I planned to look for other books by this author. Now I don't know - I hope her other books have a complete conclusion.

A lover of books, I still tended to enjoy my mysteries on TV rather than on the printed page. Sterling Glass changed that. After reading "Stealing with Style," I couldn't wait for "The Big Steal." It did not disappoint. This mystery has as many twists and turns as the roads winding through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Wynderly. The author does an excellent job creating a refreshing, lovable sleuth who is smart, tough as nails, but always a lady. I love this character- I want Sterling as my good friend and next door neighbor. The use of antiques as catalysts for deception and fraud is extremely clever, especially with the added information about antiques that begins each chapter. I love that an antiques appraiser is the crafty heroine. It means that people of any occupation may one day find themselves in the center of a mystery. Sterling also shows that age (as a number) is not a factor in what makes a woman desirable. Intelligence, wit and charm win every time! Meanwhile, the TV is off as I wait for book #3. I highly recommend this book. It is a fun, exciting read.

Excellent book. I have found both books in the Sterling Glass series to be superior reads. I read 4 to 5 books per week and I would place Emyl Jenkins at the top of my list. Anxiously awaiting the next Sterling Glass mystery.