The Tartan Sell [Hardcover]

Jonathan Gash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1986

185 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The English antique expert Lovejoy tells of his latest escapades in Gash's 10th novel. The fun and frights are nonstop from the moment the foxy dealer scarpers from home in East Anglia to Scotland. He's evading police who have questions about a dead lorry driver and his missing cargo, a bureau which had been sent to Lovejoy by Shona McGunn of a little Scottish town. Shona takes Lovejoy to Tachnadray, crumbling manor house of the clan McGunn, gutted by the late laird, a spendthrift. Posing as Ian McGunn, a helpful kinsman, the dealer proposes a money-making scam to Elaine, the laird's crippled daughter, who is firmly in charge of the dwindling family on the estate. While Lovejoy makes his canny plans for a grand felonious coup, he's in constant danger of dying at the hands of thieves who had killed the lorry driver, and other lurking enemies among the McGunns. The perils, however, don't interfere with his amorous affairs whenever a willing woman catches his libidinous eye. The mystery involving a prisoner at Tachnadray is the final surprise in the lusty entertainment starring the picaresque hero, who will be featured in a BBC-TV series.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (May 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031278614X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312786144
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,949,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where have I been that this is the first time I've encountered the delightful Lovejoy?, February 23, 2011

By 

Michael Edward Mitchell "who reads a lot of b... (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tartan Sell: A Lovejoy Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I haven't had this much fun with a mystery in AGES! I love the way Lovejoy so casually rips the seamy underbelly of the antique business open and lays bare its secrets for all to see. I love that he is a total dastard (and a bastard to boot!), but still has his own code of honor and scruples. I love that he shoots straight and calls BS when he sees it. And I love that, despite all the messes he gets himself into throughout the course of the book, he lands on his feet--skin and dignity intact. I'll definitely for more Lovejoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Choice for Your 1st Lovejoy Mystery, May 11, 2010

By 

observer22 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tartan Sell: A Lovejoy Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Another quality Lovejoy tale, and with a bit fewer characters than most other Lovejoy adventures, a great introduction (though not the 1st Lovejoy book) to the shadowy world of occasional violence and near non-nonstop scams by Lovejoy and rivals. Entertaining and informative about antiques and British culture. Not up to "Spend Game", the best Lovejoy book, yet very good.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Lovejoy!, January 14, 2005

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tartan Sell (Hardcover)

I can't believe that I'm the first to review this book. It is absolutely wonderful! I've been reading the Lovejoy series, and so far, this is arguably my favourite of this great series. Lovejoy is very lovable in this book. When he sets out to help someone, he does it in a big way. While on the trail of killers again, he finds himself in northern Scotland at a manor house called Tachnadray. It's a mouldering mansion with not an antique in sight, but that doesn't stop the irrepressible Lovejoy from arranging a big auction sale. What he does is called "papering" in the antiques trade. It means you have an auction where you let it be known that you're auctioning off a family's antiques, and then you bring antiques in from everywhere and pretend they're from this family's store. That's what I mean about a Lovejoy book - you find out so much about the antiques trade (both legal and illegal). Lovejoy is at his best in this one. It's quite hilarious how hard he has to work to achieve his objectives. The part of the book where he earns his keep by being a carney is quite hilarious. This is a great addition to the Lovejoy series, and I can't wait for more.