Customer Reviews

The Tartan Sell (Lovejoy Mystery)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.