Estate of Mind (Den of Antiquity) [Mass Market Paperback]

Tamar Myers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Den of Antiquity | Publication Date: December 8, 1999

A Faux Van Gogh

When North Carolina antique dealer Abigail Timberlake makes a bid of $150.99 on a truly awful copy of Van Gogh's The Starry Night, she's just trying to win Mama's approval by supporting the church auction. Hopefully, she'll make her money back on the beautiful gold antique frame. Little does she expect she's bought herself a fortune...and a lot of trouble.

A masterpiece to kill for

When her ex-boyfriend shows up and offers ten bucks for the ugly Starry Night, Abby pops the frame and is stunned to discover hidden behind the faux Van Gogh canvas a multi-million dollar lost art treasure. Suddenly she's a popular lady in her old hometown, and her first visit is from Gilbert Sweeney, her schoolyard sweetheart (according to him), who claims the family's painting was donated by mistake. But social calls quickly turn from nice to nasty as it's revealed that the mysterious masterpiece conceals a dark and deadly past and some modern-day misconduct that threatens to rock the Rock Hill social structure to its core. Someone apparently thinks the art is worth killing for, and Abby knows she better get to the bottom of the secret scandal and multiple murders before she ends up buried six feet under a starry night.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Abigail Timberlake is back and better than ever!...Myers' charming sense of humor lightens the darkness of her subject (murder, of course!) and her superior skill as a writer makes The Ming and I an engaging read." -- Rock Hill, South Carolina Herald

"Blending mystery with a dash of romance, the witty Tamar Myers has come up with a southern mystery that will delight fans." -- Mystery & Intrigue

"Funny and full of quirky characters." -- I Love a Mystery

"Myers' tales are absorbing and delightful, sweeping the reader along on a rip tide of action." -- -- The Herald

"Myers' tales are absorbing and delightful, sweeping the reader along on a rip tide of action." -- The Herald

About the Author

TAMAR MYERS is the author of fifteen previous Den of Antiquity mysteries: Larceny and Old Lace; Gilt by Association; The Ming and I; So Faux, So Good; Baroque and Desperate; Estate of Mind; A Penny Urned; Nightmare in Shining Armor; Splendor in the Glass; Tiles and Tribulations; Statue of Limitations; Monet Talks; The Cane Mutiny; Death of a Rug Lord; and Poison Ivory. She is also the author of the novel The Witch Doctor's Wife and the Magdalena Yoder series. She is an avid antiques collector, and lives in the Carolinas.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon (December 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380802279
• ISBN-13: 978-0380802272
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,191,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tamar Myers, who is of Mennonite background, is the author of the Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries and the Den of Antiquity series. Born and raised in the Congo, she lives in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, April 19, 2000

By 

Gary E. Edgette "springvallee" (Aloha, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Estate of Mind (Den of Antiquity) (Mass Market Paperback)

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this book. Tamar Myers has a wonderful sense of humor and a writing style that kept me interested in the mystery that was unfolding. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a lighthearted whimsical farce. But my enjoyment was eroded by the heroine's and her mother's wailing. I counted twenty instances where this word was used perhaps with the intent of providing a sound effect that was inappropriate or as a more colorful way of complaining. In either case, it didn't work; it distracted me from the story and made me want to scream "Shut up!" I blame the editor for this. An author who has been through several rewrites is bound to overlook word usage, especially when it seems correct to her. That wouldn't have been so bad but there is one glaring instance where the painting she had left in an oven at home suddenly appears under her arm. I had to go back and read where she left it in the oven again just to make sure I didn't miss something. But no she left it there. The painting under her arm was probably a remnant of a rewrite. The editor should have caught that. It weakened the story tremendously. And how many times do you have to hear that the heroine slept through the turning off of her alarm clock to explain why she slept late? I still liked the book. There is one interchange between the heroine and an author about humor writing which I found quite clever. Three stars could have easily jumped to five if not for the editing goofs.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another satisfying read, January 17, 2000

By 

Jennifer Calfa Groh (North Babylon, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Estate of Mind (Den of Antiquity) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a big fan of Tamar Myers. I eagerly snap up all of her books, both the Den of Antiquity series and the Penn Dutch mysteries. As usual, this book is superb. The characters are richly drawn and the story is a twister. A must read. It won't let you down.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to the others in the series, October 31, 2000

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Estate of Mind (Den of Antiquity) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book, like the others in the Den of Antiquity Series, is a quick, light read. Yet, it seems that something is missing in this one. The plot sort of meanders and it plays for laughs instead of being a coherant whole. Abby and her mother go to an auction at her mother's church. Since the proceeds are to go towards a van for the youth of the church, Abby decides to participate. She buys a painting which she knows is a cheap imitation, but she likes the frame that it is in. She pulls the picture out of the frame in order to sell it to her ex-boyfriend and in doing so, she discovers a VanGogh masterpiece underneath it. There are a few shady characters who show up wherever Abby is, but no clear-cut suspects. Also, there are not the usual red herrings and twists and turns of the plot which Myers usually delivers. Her mother becomes almost a caricature in this novel and the humorous CJ is just a minor player. Also, she has used about as much mileage out of the character of Hooter as the law allows.