Customer Reviews

Shadows of a Down East Summer: An Antique Print Mystery (Antique Print Mysteries)

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I loved this book. It was so good to be "in touch" with Maggie and Will again.

This is an intriguing mystery set in modern day Maine with ties to Winslow Homer, related through a diary written by a young girl in 1890. Maggie's new friend Carolyn has been murdered, leaving the diary and other family papers to Maggie. She has to read the diary to uncover the family secrets in order to solve the murder of her friend.

I have read all of the "Shadows" series, but you can read this book and follow the characters without having read the others with ease. That being said, I highly recommend all of Lea Wait's books. She also writes wonderful historical fiction for young people.

I've read all of Lea Waite's cozy mysteries featuring Maggie Summer, so I've been eagerly awaiting this one, and I was not disappointed. I don't want to give anything away so I'll be careful. Trust me, the mystery will keep you guessing. But that's only part of the charm. This story was beautifully written. I was completely enthralled with Anna's 19th century journal. I was so into those entries that I was surprised every time the story returned to Maggie. The descriptions of the Maine coast were so vivid I felt the breeze and heard the ocean. Finally, I love the relationship between Maggie and Will. It is wonderfully realistic and that makes it extra sweet. Those two still have plenty to share. I sure hope she writes another one soon.

Shadows of a Down East Summer

Author Lea Wait

Publisher Perseverance Press

Maggie Summer had plans spend time in Maine with her boyfriend Will. They had plans to go antiquing together, working a few shows, and just spending alone time working on their relationship. She arrived to find that Will's Great Aunt Nettie already had some of Will's days planned out for him.

Will is one of Nettie's sole relatives and he cares about her very much. He spends a few weeks a year doing maintenance on Aunt Nettie's cottage. Maggie was not aware of this and felt just a little put out. Aunt Nettie also had some plans for Maggie. She wants her to meet her friend Susan Newall's Cousin Carolyn Chase. Carolyn's mother was Helen Chase a well known and highly collectible artist.

Carolyn would like Maggie to help her with some research she was doing into early family history and to go through a box of papers, letters, and diaries that belonged to some recent ancestors.

Maggie (and Will) are going to find themselves caught up, not only in a local murder, but also tracking down family histories to help solve this cruel and vicious crime.

Ms Wait is back stronger and better than ever. I'm looking forward to a lot more stories in her

Antique Print Mystery series. Ms. Wait has a way of virtually dragging you into the pages of her book and enveloping you in the story.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publishers in the hope that I would read and review it.

One of the most erudite mystery series "in print", Lea Wait has exceeded herself this time. The way in which she entwines a first-rate, compulsively readable traditional mystery with a veritable symposium on art, antiquing and 19th century Maine history is simply amazing, and absolutely unique! Immensely enjoyable on so many levels, not only can you smell the salt air of the Maine coast, but SHADOWS OF A DOWNEAST SUMMER has much to say of the works of Winslow Homer, as well as intriguing parallel plots set in Homer's time and today. This is Wait's most ambitious work yet, and that's saying a lot. Slather on some sunscreen (because you won't want to put it down, and you don't want to burn...)and curl up with this book. You'll be so glad you did!

A great read with clever dual mysteries and charming characters. Although the two story lines are separated by a 100 years or so, they resolve around the time that the artist Windsor Homer lived in Prout's Neck, Maine and the effect that he had (or perhaps could have had) on the local people who served as his models and the later generations who remembered him.

As the fifth book in Wait's "Shadows series", the book stands on its own and requires no previous contact with the previous installments. However, the references and allusions to past adventures makes a compelling case to read the earlier ones as well.

I had a good friend who used to say that a good mystery should both entertain and be informative. Shadows of a Down East Summer certainly fulfills my friend's mandate by giving us a glimpse of Homer, what life was like in the late 1800's and what Mid-coast Maine is like in the new century while at the same time offering a wonderful whodunit.

Lea Wait is familiar with Maine history, and she shares that knowledge with us in "Shadows of a Down East Summer." Winslow Homer, the famous painter, lived in Maine, and now Maggie Summer, Wait's main character in her mystery series, has come to the area where he lived, hoping to have a quiet vacation with her new love, Will Brewer. But the vacation is not to be: When a family trove of old papers, including a journal from the 1890s, is found, the community is riled enough so that deaths, thefts and threats develop. Was Homer related to anyone? Was there an untold story somewhere? Maggie delves into the journal, tries to avoid being the next on a hit list, and still have time for Will and his Great Aunty Nettie. Bad weather and an unusual country auction spice up the action.

Wait's antique print business gives her an insight into Winslow Homer's life and art, which adds depth to this fifth entry in her "Shadows" series. She also writes an award winning series of young adult historical novels.

Fans may have been forced to wait six years to hear more from Maggie Summer, but Shadows of A Down East Summer was well worth it. I couldn't put the book down until I had read through to the last page. It was a truly wonderful experience, but then Lea Wait never lets us down. I also loved the Maine setting. It is always a treat when Lea brings Maggie into my home state of Maine. To revisit Maggie and Walt as they work out their blossoming relationship was a side benefit as Maggie poked into yet another mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat. Getting to know more about Walt's family connections was an added bonus. The historic information on Winslow Homer just capped off this exciting mystery.

An exquisite blend of summer, Maine, art history, art facts, Winslow Homer, thefts, intrigue, and murder made this novel well worth the wait for Ms. Wait's latest in the 'Antique Print Mystery' series.

I love how the storyline pulled, us the reader, into the sleuth's mind. Maggie is visiting Will and his Aunt in Maine for a well-deserved vacation. The description of Down East Maine makes you feel you are sitting on the porch with them.

A genealogical search is introduced by the Aunt, and the next thing you know is that you are helping solve a murder and a crime while being intoxicated by the 'diary' of a woman whom lived a great time ago in different circumstances whom found herself in issues still facing women today.

I was enthralled.

Please continue to write novels as I will be here waiting to read them.

I always look forward to another "Shadows" mystery and was not disappointed. Maggie finally has a vacation Down East and stumbles on a murder. This puts a damper on a vacation that she looked forward to with Will.

The murder is over papers that too many people feel are rightfully theirs. They want the right to prove that they are Winslow Homer's relatives.

The descriptions of the Maine Coast are exactly as I remember them and helps keep the beauty alive between the pages of this book. Maybe, since Will is contemplating moving to Maine to stay in Aunt Nettie's home, we will see more of Maggie Summers in Maine.

Hopefully, we will not have to wait too long for another "Shadows" mystery.

Love it Lea!!

Hurrah - The long anticipated 5th book in Lea Wait's Antique Print Mystery Series, Shadows of a Down East Summer, has arrived! College Professor cum antique print dealer Dr. Maggie Summer can't catch a vacation break on the coast of Maine during a visit with her boyfriend and his elderly Aunt. Death and murder surround her per usual and this outing requires her to unravel secrets from the summer of 1890. The impact on present day decendants of several local families could jeopardize the safety of Maggie and everyone she holds dear. Wait's depictions of the antique print business, Maine personalities and locales, as well as the 1890 world of Winslow Homer come alive for us. It's one of those reads that made me sad to see the bookmark get closer and closer to the last page - I never wanted it to end. If you are new to the series, be sure to follow this one with books 1 - 4. If not, join the chant now: We can't Wait for Book 6!