Tiles and Tribulations (Den of Antiquity Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Tamar Myers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Den of Antiquity Mysteries | Publication Date: March 25, 2003

Abigail Timberlake Washburn would rather be anywhere else on a muggy Charleston summer evening -- even putting in extra hours at her antiques shop -- than at a séance. But her best friend, "Calamity Jane," thinks a spirit -- or "Apparition American," as ectoplasmically-correct Abby puts it -- lurks in the eighteenth-century Georgian mansion, complete with priceless, seventeenth-century Portuguese kitchen tiles, that C.J. just bought as a fixer-upper. Luckily, Abby's mama located a psychic in the yellow pages -- a certain Madame Woo-Woo -- and, together with a motley group of feisty retirees known as the "Heavenly Hustlers," they all get down to give an unwanted spook the heave-ho. But, for all her extrasensory abilities, the Madame didn't foresee that she, herself, would be forced over to the other side prematurely. Suddenly Abby fears there's more than a specter haunting C.J. And they’d better exorcise a flesh-and-blood killer fast before the recently departed Woo-Woo gets company.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drenched in Southern charm, this hilarious new installment in Myers's Den of Antiquity mystery series (after Splendor in the Grass) finds pint-sized antiques dealer-cum-amateur sleuth Abigail Timberlake hot on the trail of another murderer. When Abby's best friend begins to suspect that a ghost is haunting her newly acquired mansion, she hires Madam Woo-Woo, psychic to Charleston's well-heeled antique collectors, to conduct a seance. Shortly after the seance, Madam Woo-Woo passes from the world of the living, apparently having been poisoned. At first, Abby is more interested in the cache of 17th-century Portuguese tiles that she finds plastered to a wall inside the mansion than the psychic's demise-until human remains are discovered behind the same wall. Abby's usual entourage-new hubby Greg, ex-hubby Buford, best friend C.J., the gay Rob-Bobs, and Mama, the quintessential Southern Belle-make appearances and infuse the tale with wild antics and witty banter. Fans of laugh-out-loud mystery fare and all things old and rare are sure to find this an exceptional delight.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“A VERY FUNNY SERIES.” Green Bay Press-Gazette (Green Bay Press Gazette )

“Hilarious….Myers is expert at turning the tragedy of murder into comedy in a logical way.” (Charleston Post & Courier )

“WHO DO YOU READ AFTER SUE GRAFTON OR MARGARET MARON OR PATRICIA CORNWELL?…. TAMAR MYERS!” (Greensboro News & Record )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Avon (March 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380819651
• ISBN-13: 978-0380819652
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tamar Myers, who is of Mennonite background, is the author of the Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries and the Den of Antiquity series. Born and raised in the Congo, she lives in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Got Ghosts? Call Madam Woo-Woo!, July 11, 2003

By 

L Smith "acozylover" (Macomb, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tiles and Tribulations (Den of Antiquity Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the 8th book in the Abigail Timberlake mystery series involving an antique dealer who solves crimes, Abigail finds herself at a séance and is skeptical and sharp-tongued as always. It seems her friend, C.J., believes there are ghosts haunting her new mansion, and she hires a medium/psychic to get the ghosts out. Feeling pressured, Abby attends, but when Madam Woo-Woo dies from poison shortly after the séance, Abby must step in and help her friend prove her innocence in the murder investigation. When Abby stumbles on some authentic 17th Century tiles that are worth a fortune on the mansion's walls, she quickly moves to forget the murder and focus on antiques. The fortune hunt is called off, however, when during her search, Abby finds another body buried in the wall. Getting unwelcome help from a group called the Heavenly Hustlers (of which Abby's mother is a member), Abigail must find the murderer before she ends up as a ghost herself.

I have liked each of Tamar Myers' books in this series, and the other involving Magdelena Yoder. Her books are witty (although she reuses many of the same puns in several of the books throughout the series) and have me laughing aloud in many cases. This book was interesting and the mystery engaging. I would recommend reading this book if you enjoy cozy mysteries with a bit of humor.

The first book in this series is "Larceny and Old Lace". Enjoy!

A Cozy Lover

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh so formula!, June 8, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Tiles and Tribulations (Den of Antiquity Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Myers two series are so formula and so predictable, but I had enjoyed the Den of Antiquity series more than the Magadalena Yoder series, but there comes a time when it just gets to be too much. The humour begins to seem forced, the antics frenetic and disjointed, and the bad guys (or gals) more clownish and unrealistic. That is the case here. Abby is on the trail of another killer and it leads her into peril herself, but somehow she manages to get away without suffering many ill effects. And I haven't even mentioned the editing - that is is so poorly done in each of these books. This book is no different in any way than any of the others, but the ending seems more forced and rushed than usual, especially for the books in this series. It made no sense. That's it. I'm done with Ms. Myers books - this was the last straw.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Apparition Americans vs. Madame Woo-Woo, August 29, 2005

By 

Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tiles and Tribulations (Den of Antiquity Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

After Abigail Timberlake Washburn, the heroine of this series moves to Charleston most of her friends from Charlotte follow suit which gives the series a happy sense of continuity. The most recent move is made by CJ who buys an old fixer upper home and goes to work for Abby in her antique shop. Everything seems to be falling into place until CJ discovers that her new home is haunted. So haunted in fact that her construction crews keep quitting. Strangely though, CJ keeps coming home to find that part of the remodeling has been completed and she just assumes that it must be the ghost doing the work. Despite the helpful nature of the spirit however, CJ wants the ghost out of her house and begins to look for a ghost buster. Abby's mother comes to the rescue and finds a psychic in the yellow pages who even offers a money back guarantee and a séance is soon in the works.

When the big moment finally arrives, Abby and Madame Woo-Woo the psychic get into an argument and soon Madame Woo-Woo hits the floor like a sack of wet cement and dies. At first it looks like a heart attack but pretty soon the police reveal that poison was the culprit and Abby once more starts to snoop and the fun begins.

Mrs. Myers has created a wonderful set of regular characters for this series and has once again in this book thought up some superb temporary characters. There is a real estate agent that lives in a flying saucer, a used car salesman who deals in automobiles in which celebrities have died and a former Miss Regional Okra. Mix these characters with the Deep South atmosphere and add a very odd mystery and one gets a very enjoyable book. Just to make things all the more interesting a very old corpse is found in one of CJ's walls and Abby soon puts that puzzle together also. CJ's ghost might still be there but at least now she knows who the ghost is. I know that having that knowledge would make me feel better. On second thought, maybe I wouldn't feel better after all.

As this series progresses Abby is getting better and better at solving these mysteries. In the first books she bumbled around until the guilty party completely startles her by confessing. In this case Abby figures out who killed Madame Woo-Woo and after confronting the killer almost joins the psychic on the other side. Even better than the mystery however are the adventures of Abby's mother who has tried and failed to become a Nun, dresses like June Cleaver and has spent time in a nudist colony. In this episode she has taken up with a Charleston club known as the Heavenly Hustlers whose members are up to their necks in this mystery.

Once again Mrs. Myers has delivered a splendidly funny and enjoyable warm fuzzy mystery. I was afraid that the change of setting from Charlotte to Charleston would cause a drop in the quality of the stories but that hasn't happened. Its not always the mystery that will keep your attention but the side fluff in this instance is a blessing, not a curse.