Stealing with Style (Sterling Glass Mystery S.) [Hardcover]

Emyl Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005 | Series: Sterling Glass Mystery S.

Sterling Glass has built a nice appraisal business in her small Virginia town. She's sought after to examine antiques, research their history, present her clients with approximate values, and help them distinguish good antiques from not so good ones. And when family skeletons are unearthed among the heirlooms, she is the soul of discretion. It's a world she navigates with ease.

But that's before she's called in to examine a diamond brooch found tucked inside an oven mitt over at the Salvation Army thrift store. And before the appraisal of an extremely modest estate turns up a tea urn—hidden inside a basket—worth at least fifty grand.

Things aren't adding up, and Sterling, never one to let go of loose ends, starts asking questions. It's not long before she uncovers an intricate plot involving a slew of antique pieces, the oldest families in Leemont, some sophisticated scammers, crooked antiques dealers, and shifty people at the best New York auction houses. Add to that one elderly man who's just trying to preserve his family's treasured collection of bronze and ivory Art Deco sculptures, and suddenly Sterling finds herself ensnared in a mystery laced with greed, deceit, and danger.

Stealing with Style, the first in the Sterling Glass series, introduces a writer of great wit who has a grand sense of the mystery hidden in our most treasured possessions.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Jenkins, a well-known antiques appraiser, puts her knowledge to excellent use in this elegant little mystery. Not surprisingly, the heroine is also an appraiser, Sterling Glass, who mostly spends her time examining heirlooms in the vicinity of her Virginia home. She pines for Peter Donaldson, a former minister now working at the local Goodwill, and it's through Peter that she learns that valuable antiques have been found hidden in items at the store. Her investigation into the Goodwill antiques coincides with other appraising business and takes her to New York, where heirlooms collide. A subplot set in Brooklyn and involving an old man who wants to preserve some treasured figurines adds a bit of Semitic spice. The glamorous backdrop of New York auction houses is enticing and the mystery intriguing. But it is really Sterling Glass herself who makes this so special. Hats off to a heroine of a certain age with plenty of smarts and a healthy longing for a gentleman caller. Add this sparkling series debut to other antique mysteries by Lea Wait, Sharon Sloan Fiffer, and, of course, Jonathan Gash. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A highly entertaining tale of thieving, mystery, and fraud....Delightful."
—The New York Times (The New York Times )

"Hats off to a heroine of a certain age with plenty of smarts."
—Booklist (Booklist )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565124456
• ISBN-13: 978-1565124455
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,715,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As an antiques appraiser, I began writing non-fiction to help people properly identify and value their possessions. But antiques are more than just things. Long ago I learned that, just like the clothes we wear, the things we choose to have around us tell much about us. These days I've turned to fiction with the Sterling Glass mystery series. I write these books because I love antiques, people, and stories. Like my protagonist, Sterling Glass, I live in Virginia, where, at every turn, there's a story waiting to be told.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new star in the mystery genre!, May 20, 2005

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stealing with Style (Sterling Glass Mystery S.) (Hardcover)

I enjoy Southern novels and writers almost as much as I enjoy chocolate. It is nirvana for me to be introduced to a new Southern novelist. Stealing with Style is Emyl Jenkins' debut novel. And a stunning debut it is. The storyline is interesting, the characters are inviting and the information about antiques is absolutely intriguing. I will be extremely disappointed if there isn't another Sterling Glass novel. I particularly enjoyed the bright, knowledgeable and interesting middle-aged heroine, Sterling Glass.

Sterling Glass is a divorced antiques appraiser from a small town in Virginia. Her life has a certain simple rhythm that is satisfying. But when several rare and valuable items begin appearing at the local Salvation Army store, she uncovers an intricate plot involving old Virginia families, their valued treasures, and some people of dubious character in and out of the antique world. And if that isn't enough, she finds herself helping an elderly New York man preserve his family heritage. But to help him she must enter the world of greed and danger.

Sterling Glass is savvy when it comes to antiques. But that skill doesn't always transfer to people, especially dishonest people with hidden agendas. It's that part of her character that makes her all the more interesting and special. There is also the small promise of a future romance. But I'm not sure at this point if the obvious romance choice is so obvious.

If you want an extremely satisfying read, this is the book. You will enjoy it. Mark my words, Emyl Jenkins is going to be a star!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Antiques Mystery Full of Wit and Style, September 30, 2005

By 

L. Kelly (Lakewood, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stealing with Style (Sterling Glass Mystery S.) (Hardcover)

"Stealing with Style" introduces antiques appraiser Sterling Glass, as we follow her trying to solve the mystery of a number of missing items from a large estate. Sterling is a genuine and likable appraiser based in the mythical small town of Leemont, Virginia. Author Emyl Jenkins is an antiques appraiser herself, and her knowledge of the subject of antiques shines through, making the story informative as well as very believable. Sterling travels back and forth between her Virginia home and the famous antiques auction houses of New York City, trying to find the culprit who stole the antiques, and also to reunite the precious objects with the heirs of the family.

Along the way, Sterling gets involved with a delightful older gentleman in Brooklyn who has some amazing family treasures of his own that he wants to sell for top dollar. Jenkins skillfully weaves all the story lines togeter to make an elegant and intelligent story. I'll be looking forward to the next case of stolen antiques that Ms. Glass takes on.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mystery written with style, June 16, 2005

By 

J. B. Wilburn (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stealing with Style (Sterling Glass Mystery S.) (Hardcover)

The antiques market is a lot like the stock market.Glamorous on the surface. Sizzling and seething just one layer down. (p.2) Emyl Jenkins writes a hard-to-put-down novel that shows the reader both layers of the antiques world. When I started reading Stealing With Style, I wantd to hurry and find out what was going to happen next. At the same time, I wanted to read slowly to appreciate how well-written it is. Each chapter begins with a question sent to Sterling Glass, an antiques advice columnist and the book's main character. Her response is a clever way to give background information that is helpful to the reader who might not have knowledge of antiques. The questions and answers are also a foreshadowing of things to come so the reader can play detective. They are educational in a fun way. Jenkins pays close attention to detail and description. Both give important clues to the personalites of her characters. For example, her southern characters use idiomatic expressions that are amusing and can be heard on the streets of any small southern town. We know that Jenkins has been to the places she is describing and has met people like those in the book. Jenkins has skillfully intervowen truth and fiction and leaves the reader wondering, "Did that really happen?" The middle-aged main character in Stealing With Style is constantly reminded of advice from her now-deceased mother which helps us know and understand Sterling. Just as antiques are a reflection, a mirror, of our lives and the lives of those who have gone before us (p.74) so are the words of wisdom that we inherit from our parents. It is obvious that Jenkins is as well-educated in literature and other areas as she is in antiques appraisal. She frequently quotes well-known literary figures such as Milton, Yeats, Hemingway, Bacon, Dante, and Tennyson. "...when you know antiques, you know everything--history, technology, culture." (p.74)That mixture of knowledge from many different areas makes this book more than a mystery. It's important to read this book now because I'm sure this is only the first of many in a series of Sterling Glass mysteries. Jenkins hints at that when she introduces interesting minor characters like Barefoot Bagman who is homeless but might have a very valuable antique book in his possession. Readers will want to know more about Matt Yardley from the insurace company. He wants to hire Sterling as a consulting appraiser-adjuster in remote areas of the world and he might have a romantic interest in her. Read this book now because I predict more are coming!