384 pagesAbigail Timberlake Washburn understands the antiques game is a gamble -- so she doesn't know what to expect when she wins the bidding for the contents of an old locker that has been sealed up for years. It's a delightful surprise when she discovers inside a collection of exquisite old walking sticks -- and a not-so-delightful one when she pulls out a decrepit gym bag containing . . . a human skull!
The last thing the diminutive South Carolina antiques dealer needs is to be suspected of foul play. So she grabs her chatty assistant (and future sister-in-law), C.J., and heads out to search for a killer they can stick it to. But this cane case will be no walk in the park -- with its arcane clues hinting at poaching, counterfeiting, smuggling . . . and homicide, of course. And when a fresh corpse turns up, things are about to get really sticky for Abby and her staff of one.
336 pages
Charleston antiques dealer Abigail Timberlake Washburn is thrilled by her recent estate auction purchase of a spectacular bejeweled birdcage from India, but not so much by its occupant, a mouthy mynah named Monet. Still, her customers at the Den of Antiquity seem charmed by the insufferable birdbrain, so Abby figures she's stuck with him. That is, until she finds a stuffed starling resting on his usual perch with a ransom note demanding a real Monet (the painted variety) in exchange for her purloined pet.
Since she doesn't happen to have a priceless masterpiece on hand -- and since a mynahless existence isn't all that distasteful a prospect -- Abby figures she'll let the thief keep the annoying avian. But when her mama Mozella is abducted by the craven birdnapper, Abby must leap into the fray to rescue mater and mynah alike ... before the feathers really start to fly!
These books were light, enjoyable reads. They were just perfect to read while sitting up with a toddler that has insomnia. ;-)
2009 total: 3
pages read: 1,088
