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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Art Appreciation, Mozella Style, August 11, 2005
Abigail Timberlake has gotten married to Greg Washburn who quit his job as a policeman in Charlotte to become a shrimp fisherman. Since there aren't a lot of shrimp in Charlotte that haven't already been breaded and fried the newlyweds move to Charleston. Abby has always wanted to be a South of Broad resident and she buys a house that does indeed make her a SOB (South of Broad). The people who live there always refer to themselves this way, and very proudly I might add. She leaves her Charlotte antique shop in the capable hands of her assistant and opens her second shop in the Holy City. No, not Rome, Charleston has so many churches that it has gained that nickname. The Rob-Bobs soon make the move themselves and Abby's mother has moved in with Abby and Greg so most of her old crew is still around for Abby's adventures. To make it all the more cozy, CJ is in Charleston for a visit.
Of course to have any social standing at all in Charleston one not only has to live South of Broad but also has to have had three hundred years worth of Charleston ancestors. Abby, like the other newcomers is referred to as being from "off" but at least she's not a Yankee. They are referred to a s being from "way off." That being the case, Abby is thrilled when she is invited to have tea with the grand matron of Charleston society. She's even more thrilled when she finds that the lady in question has a priceless glass collection that she wants Abby to sell for her, but the thrill dies quickly because the owner of the collection is poisoned shortly after Abby's visit. The death of any little old lady that Abby visits seems to be a recurring theme in this series. This is of course the key to the whole plot for if Abby weren't a suspect in these murders she would have no reason to poke around in an attempt to clear herself.
As usual, Abby's investigation almost gets her killed and she fingers the killer almost by accident, but the mystery in this book is a much better one than in some of the previous books. As is also normal for these books there are laughs a plenty; most of which come from CJ and Abby's mother Mozella. One never knows from book to book just what Mozella will come up with next and in this book she becomes an art aficionado. At least she becomes an aficionado of velvet art and has her eye on a new painting for Abby's living room. It is a velvet depiction of Jesus and Elvis riding a horse and is entitled, "Two Kings." Chasing the horse on foot are the Three Stooges with Marilyn Monroe bringing up the rear waving a Confederate flag.
Mrs. Myers has a wonderful sense of humor and these books are a great deal of fun. The characters are always one of a kind and the endings are often a great surprise. This entry in the series is no exception. On the other hand, this author was able to lend a deep sense of atmosphere to the previous books but fell a little short with this one. Charleston has so much atmosphere though that I'm sure that this will improve in the next book. I do wish that Abby would stop wailing so much but in this book almost every sentence out of her mouth was wailed. I also wish that Mrs. Myers would stop advertising her "Magdalena Yoder" series within the text of this series. This has happened before but was particularly a problem with this book. We all know about Magdalena Mrs. Myers, there is no need to wave her in front of our face like a giant red flag. That is unless you are planning on chasing after Elvis and the Three Stooges.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as Splendid as others..., July 28, 2003
In the 9th book in the Abigail Timberlake mystery series by Tamar Myers, we find Abigail has moved to Charleston to be closer to her shrimp boating husband, Greg. She sets up another antique store, and with help from CJ, she begins to settle in nicely. However, she wants desperately to fit into Charleston society, and she gets invited to tea by one of society's grand dame's, Mrs. Amelia Shadbark. Mrs. Shadbark asks Abigail to broker the sale of her priceless Lalique glass collection, but after she is found dead Abigail realizes that the collection was not everything that it seemed. When Abigail finds herself as the prime suspect (having been the last one to see the victim) she sets out to prove that she may be short on height, but not on innocence. Tamar Myers writes both the Abigail Timberlake mystery series and the Pennsylvania Dutch mystery series with recipes. She tends toward witty humor and uses quite a few puns in her writing, many of which she repeats in each book. I have enjoyed many of the previous books, but am a bit tired of some of the "stale" puns that she overuses in each book (the jokes about CJ are reused too much for example). However, I enjoy cozy mysteries (mysteries with little "on-stage" violence, no overt savy, and little gore) and I enjoy those with a bit of humor. These are excellent examples of the genre and probably would be a bit too silly or trite for those that enjoy police procedurals or intense mysteries (i.e. Patricia Cornwell). If you like cozy mysteries and want a bit of a change, I would recommend giving Tamar Myers a try. The first book in this series is "Larceny and Old Lace". Enjoy! A Cozy Lover
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Abby starts over in Charleston, sort of, August 14, 2002
Abby Washburn has moved to Charleston with her new husband the former homicide detective. He now runs a shrimp boat with his cousins. The RobBobs and Mozella have also relocated and CJ is visiting. Abby has just about given up being accepted by the very exclusive society of the city when she is invited for a business tea by Amelia Shadbark. Amelia has a fabulous collection of Lalique glass and wants Abby to broker the collection for her. Unfortunately, she is murdered that very night and the collection destroyed. Abby relies on a nosy neighbor to help her, but that neighbor is murdered also. Amelia has a very disfunctional family, each accusing the other of greed and illegitimacy. Abby will solve the mystery as usual with the help of her friends. Nothing has really changed in this series. Greg Washburn has become a nonentity, her mother is even more annoying and CJ's Shelby stories are worse than ever. The mystery was pretty good, although we could have done with more of a description of her new home town, and new life. Overall, not bad, but this author has done better.
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