by Tamar Myers
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Product Description
For Whom The Bell Pulls Tolls As owner of the Den of Antiquity, recently divorced(but never bitter!) Abigail Timberlake is accustomed to delving into the past, searching for losttreasures, and navigating the cutthroat world of rival dealers at flea marketsand auctions. Still, she never thought she'd be putting her expertise in mayhemand detection to other use -- until crotchety "junque" dealer, Abby's aunt Eulonia Wiggins, was found murdered! Although Abigail is puzzled by the instrument of death -- an exquisite antiquebell pull that Aunt Eulonia never would have had the taste to aquire -- she's willing to let the authorities find the culprit. But now, Auntie's priceless lace is missing,and somebody's threatened Abby's most priceless possession: her son, Charlie.It's up to Abby to put the murderer "on the block."
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Average Customer Review:
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 Aunt Eulonia Meets Her Maker, 2005-05-09
To be perfectly honest, I picked this book up because I liked the cover. I was looking for another mystery series to start and this one simply caught my eye. I was not disappointed.
Being the first book in the Den of Antiquity series much of this book is taken up in introducing the reader to the cast of characters and the setting. The setting being an antique district in Charlotte, North Carolina and the heroine's hometown of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Having been to both locations on several occasions I didn't need much of an introduction here. The heroine in question is Abigail Timberlake, a mid-forties divorced mother of two who owns an antique shop from which the series takes it's name. Among the other characters are Abigail's Aunt Marilyn, who claims that Marilyn Monroe stole her persona and a cop whom Abigail lusts after through the whole book. Her fellow antique dealers include a retired Army Major who has a pair of Hitler's pajamas for sale, a lady who blames all crimes in the area on the swarms of Yankees that have descended on the South, a Bible thumping Pentecostal who can't stand Abby's Episcopalian Faith, and a gay Jewish guy who's sister dresses like a woolly worm.
The mystery begins when Abigail's elderly Aunt Eulonia is murdered and only gets deeper when Abby finds out that her aunt was hiding something very valuable. One of the beauties of this story is that the main character does not consider herself an amateur sleuth at all but only butts in to defend a friend that is charged with the murder. Unfortunately she almost gets killed in her effort but she does find the real killer. She makes the discovery by pure accident and the solution came as a huge surprise to her and to me also for that matter.
Myers does a wonderful job of giving this story the flavor of the South and if your not careful you may just start craving grits. There is even a discussion of that great nemesis of all Southerners, kudzu. If you have ever been in the South you have seen kudzu, whether you knew it was kudzu or not. If you have stood still in the wrong place for more than ten minuets this vine from Hades has probably swallowed you up. There is a lot of humor in this book, like the dissertation on kudzu and I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. The writing is clear and crisp but I did get lost in the dialogue a time or two.
I think that I have found a series that I am going to like very much but I would suggest to the author that Abby stop calling people Buster. I have never ever heard a Southern woman call someone Buster, unless of course that was his real name.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Love it, humor and a mystery!, 2004-10-15
This is a new series I will have to read. I love Abigail and the crazy cast of characters in this book. Yes the mystery is light, but it is a good and enjoyable read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Funny Cozy, 2004-02-09
I started reading "Larceny and Old Lace " after finishing all of the books in the Pennsylvania Dutch series.
Although Magdalena and Abigail are as different as night and day, both have spunk, are funny and make great heroines for these cozy reads. Tamar Myers' style is definitely present in all its glory.
The only thing I was struggling with is the fact that one of the characters seems to change names about three quarters through the book: The slightly annoying, numbers crunching fellow antiques dealer Gretchen is suddenly referred to as Heather. Did I miss something or is this a serious oversight on behalf of Tamar Myers' proofreaders?
Despite this little flaw, I loved this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Highly recommended to cozy mysery fans.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 Good Beginning, 2003-09-03
I was already reading Myers' Penn Dutch Inn Series when I began this one. The Den of Antiquity series begins with Larceny and Old Lace. After reading this first book in the series, I was hooked and almost lost interest in the other series. I do not have a whole lot of knowledge or interest in antiques. I was not too sure if I would be able to keep up with that aspect of the story. As it turns out, you don't have to have either to enjoy this book. For antique buffs, you should enjoy the references and descriptions of the many antiques mentioned in Larceny and Old Lace. For those of us with little or no interest in antiques, Myers does an excellant job of not talking over our heads and bogging us down. The only complaint is that there are just a few too many characters so it is hard to get to know some of them. This is not all that uncommon with books that are the first in a series. If you continue to read the series, you will become more familiar with and, I think, grow to love the characters that are the major players in Abigail's life. So just be patient with this first book. The best thing about Larceny and Old Lace and the others in the series is the sense of humor. If you are like me, I enjoy mysteries that are not very complex and that will make you laugh. I have read many different series by various authors and have found Tamar Myers has the best sense of humor out of all of them. When you are done, you will remember the wonderful main characters, interesting story and laugh-out-loud humor. This is a series that only gets better as it goes. Start with Larceny and Old Lace and move ahead to Gilt By Association.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Abigail Timberlake is Funny!, 2003-08-07
This is starting out to be a funny series. I laughed out loud quite often. The mix of Southern belle with tough cookie that Abigail is is quite refreshing. Yes there are holes in the plot and some of it doesn't make sense at times, but the book is still funny. I think I may enjoy this more than the Magdelena Yoder series. We'll see. In this book, Abigail's old aunt who also sells antiques is killed with an antique bell pull (by the way there are lots of antiques strewn throughout the book). Abigail sets out to find a killer, and almost gets killed herself. Lots of laughs.
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