Shadows on the Ivy (Antique Print Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Lea Wait (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Agatha nominee Wait's third enjoyable antique print mystery (after 2003's Shadows on the Coast of Maine), professor, antique print dealer and part-time sleuth Maggie Summer gets embroiled in an on-campus murder. Somerset County College, thanks to wealthy benefactors Dorothy and Oliver Whitcomb, is experimenting with a new dormitory designed to house single parents and their children. During a party at the Whitcombs' house, one of the students is poisoned, and as student adviser for the dorm residents, Maggie takes great interest in the case. When another student is murdered, Maggie digs even harder to get at the truth. Who could possibly have a motive to harm these struggling students? Are the Whitcombs as benevolent as they seem, or do they each have ulterior motives that could prove sinister? Maggie is hard put to juggle her teaching duties (during lectures she uses antique prints to illustrate American history) with her detecting. While it has little to do with the plot, Wait's knowledge of antique prints and American culture will entertain and educate readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Maggie Summer, widowed, late thirties, owner of a house in Somerset County, New Jersey, history professor at the local junior college, and dealer in antique prints, is also the advisor to a house of single parents on campus. A wealthy local couple has endowed the house and the students so that they can live together, care for their children in a campus day-care center, and attend classes. When two of the young mothers are poisoned, all hell breaks loose. The president of the college thunders about the college's reputation, the donors' lives don't bear a lot of scrutiny, and Maggie is increasingly pressed to balance her work, her teaching, and her emotional isolation. Although the plot regularly veers into melodrama, Maggie is an extremely attractive protagonist. Descriptions of her antique prints head each chapter and have engaging connections to the content. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 402 KB
• Publisher: Scribner (August 24, 2004)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000NY12UU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,140 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I've been writing fiction (traditional mysteries for grownups, and historical fiction set in Maine for young people) since I left corporate America in 1998 and moved to Maine, a state I've always loved. Right now I'm working on a contemporary mystery for my young fans. I earned my B.A. at Chatham College and did graduate work at New York University. I've also owned an antique print business, MAH Antiques, since 1976. I adopted my 4 wonderful daughters when I was a single parent. They're grown now, and I have eight perfect grandchildren. (Aren't all grandchildren perfect?) In 2003 I married Bob Thomas, a man I've known and loved since 1968 .. sometimes life moves in slow but steady ways. Bob is not only a photographer and a partner in my antiques business, but is immensely supportive of my writing. (He even does all the errands and cooking so I have no excuses to leave my desk!) I'm very lucky to have achieved so many of my goals in life, and to have had fun doing it. My favorite quotation is "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan wrote that, but I think it defines my life. For more information about me, check my website, http://www.leawait.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reader is caught up in her world and eager to continue, August 15, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadows on the Ivy: An Antique Print Mystery (Antique Print Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Shadow on the Ivy is a Maggie Summer Antique Prints mystery. Set on the campus of Somerset County College, Shadow on the Ivy presents the dilemma of attempted murder of a young single parent, resident of a newly established residence for single parents at Somerset, Whitcomb House. Another successful murder of a Whitcomb House resident plunges Maggie even deeper into the mystery needing to be solved. Struggling with ongoing personal issues of loneliness, further enhanced by her recent widowhood and unwelcome knowledge that her spouse had been unfaithful to her, Maggie ponders the possibility of becoming a single parent herself. Facing two demanding careers, one teaching American History as illustrated by antique prints and cartoons, and the other selling antique prints on the antique circuit, Maggie is caught between factions in the college and private interests in the wealthy founders of Whitcomb House. When she begins to suspect the murder may take her to high places in the college hierarchy, she finds that even her job is in jeopardy. While the local police and detective are not exactly bumbling, they are finally only able to solve the mystery with the full and endangered assistance that Maggie alone can give. Throughout her efforts, Maggie maintains her email relationship with close and friend and antique colleague, Will. Will this relationship blossom into something more enduring? Will Maggie find the solution to the problems that eat her heart as well as the solution to the murder of young Tiffany? The reader is caught up in her world and eager to continue with every page and chapter.

One of the loveliest trademarks of the Maggie Summer mysteries is that each chapter is headed by an actual description of an antique engraving or print, appropriate to the subject of the chapter. Author Lea Wait educates her readers effortlessly in American History, antique prints, and art appreciation, along with masterful suspense. There is not a single false step, tone or move in the flawless narrative. Shadow on the Ivy flows and entices.

Nancy Lorraine

Reviewer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining academic mystery, July 28, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadows on the Ivy: An Antique Print Mystery (Antique Print Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Maggie is a professor of history at Somerset County Community College, but she toils during her time off working on her antique business where she specializes in rare prints. Right now Maggie is attending a social function being given by Dorothy and Oliver Whitcomb, major contributors to the college and the moving force behind Whitcomb House, a dormitory for unwed single parents and their children. The six lively students have their fees, book and any incidentals including childcare paid for.

The six students are also at the party but Sarah becomes ill and falls into a coma; she is rushed to the hospital where the doctors discover she was poisoned. They believe there was nicotine in the spicy drink she was having. A couple of days later another student is poisoned and is found in the House by one of the children. Tiffany was wilder than Sarah was and some of the mothers believe she was blackmailing someone. The case becomes personal when Maggie's office is trashed and someone tries to break into her home. To save Whitcomb House Maggie decides to see if she can discover who the killer really is.

SHADOWS ON THE IVY is very different from the other "Antique Mystery" book because this story concentrates on the heroine's life as a professor while the other works showcased the protagonist as an antique print dealer. Thus, this novel displays a completely different side of Maggie that readers will like. Lea Wait has written an exciting and entertaining academic mystery that provides a whole different meaning to study time.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars prints and poisons, January 13, 2006

By 

Linda Pagliuco "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shadows on the Ivy: An Antique Print Mystery (Antique Print Mysteries) (Hardcover)

A college dorm especially for single parents and their children - an intriguing concept. And it seems to work until someone starts poisoning some of the single moms. Maggie, of course, as advisor to the house, becomes embroiled at the center of the tragedy. Besides doing her utmost to identify the killer, Maggie attempts to work her way thru several personal dilemmas. Should she have a child? Should she get married first, or will her experiences at the dorm give her the courage to become a single mom herself? What about her relationship with Will, which doesn't seem to meet many of her emotional needs?

None of these dilemmas is solved in Shadows/Ivy, but the killer is found and 2 mothers and daughters reunited. "Cozies" tend to lack suspense, and this is no exception. Otherwise, it's an OK mystery story.