Death Of A Rug Lord [Mass Market Paperback]

I absolutely love this series and I couldn't wait for this installment to be published. The world of antique dealer Abigail Washburn is always a pleasant place to visit despite the high murder rate in her vicinity. Even she has noticed it and after a dead body shows up early in this book Abby makes a quip about finding as many bodies as Jessica Fletcher. Despite the murder and mayhem though it is always fun to pay a visit to Abby and her family and friends. This is one mystery series where one just never knows what might happen next.

Despite my enthusiasm for this book or more probably because of it, I found the first half of the book to be a bit of a let down. The dialogue between the characters seems a tad forced and not nearly as crisp as it usually is and the comedic timing that this author usually has down to a science was way off the mark on occasion. The whole bit with Aunt Nanny and the tomato aspic was just way over the top and while the Aunt Nanny side plot is usually entertaining in this case it was just very flat. To be honest a good part of the first half of the book was flat and I found myself struggling to read it. Some of the funniest characters in the series barely make an appearance in this book and their absence is very noticeable.

On the bright side, things really pick up in the second half of the book. Once Abby and her mother hit the road in search of a bunch of Oriental rug counterfeiters the story finds itself and roars to life. Abby and her mother Mozella are the only two recurring characters in this series that play any role at all in the road trip but despite the lack of the supporting cast the author pulls off the second half of the book beautifully. The dialogue becomes crisp again and the laughs just keep on coming. Before the trip back to their hometown of Rock Hill is over the bad guys go down, (It's a cozy so it obviously has a happy ending.) Abby learns that she was conceived in a vehicle on a dirt road outside of town and half the state of South Carolina is put to work catching live chickens that have gotten loose on I-26. Apparently they did a good job too because I just traveled that stretch of road and I didn't see one single chicken.

Despite the strong finish this isn't by any means the best book in this series but I still enjoyed it a great deal. The slow start may have had something to do with how long it has been since the last book in this series came out or it may just be that it is hard to keep the laughs coming like this author usually does. Whatever the reason I do hope that we see the next installment of this series without having to wait so long. I look forward to new books in this series like most people look forward to Christmas.

I've read the entire series and also Ms. Myers' Magdalena Yoder series to date. I'd been unhappy with both series for a while, but I enjoy reading series and seeing characters develop, and didn't want to give these two up. I had to stop reading Death of a Drug Lord. Same old, same old. I'm surprised anyone finds the lame attempts at humor to be funny. It's reach the point where the characters are a bore and the outlandishness stupid. I told my sister I'd given up on the Penn Dutch mysteries and now I'll add this series to the "No Read" list.

I have read all of Tamar Myers' Den of Antiquity Mysteries, but this one really indicates that the series is declining. Abby Washburn, the proprietor of the Den of Antiquity shop in Charleston, South Carolina, becomes involved with some handmade and not-so-handmade rugs. The essence of the mystery is revealed halfway through the book and the second part is a silly and scattered road trip by heroine Abby and her mother. Some of the characters are absolutely over-the-top, such as Abby's Aunt Nanny who has the characteristics of a goat. Need I say more? The series either needs to improve or it needs to end.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  2.7 out of 5 stars