Rambling About.. The Antique House Murders by Leslie Nagel

Leslie Nagel

The Antique House Murders

Publisher: Alibi (May 30, 2017)

I absolutely loved Leslie Nagel's first Oakwood mystery, The Book Club Murders, so I jumped at the chance to get the second one as soon as I saw it on NetGalley! Of course, since I've been reading an advanced copy any quotes may be different in the final version ... and the fact that I received my copy for free has had no influence over whether or not I enjoyed it.

And oh boy did I ever enjoy it!!!

"The house reeked of death."

That's how it starts and how great of a first line is that?!?

The house in question is Mulbridge House -- the once grand and stately home in a secluded wooded area of Oakwood. Augusta Mulbridge died 18 months ago and the house is being cleared out and much of its contents auctioned off by a close friend of Charley's family, Calvin Prescott. The heirs want to knock the house down and turn it over for a new housing development. The local preservation society wants to turn it into a museum. Charley just wants the vintage clothes and accessories to help stock her shop, Old Hat Vintage Fashions.

When Charley and her good friend (whom I quite fell in love with in the first book) Dmitri go to Calvin's to pick up her auction winnings, they find Calvin dead. Because of the events from the first book, Charley is all gung-ho about putting her detecting skills to use again to find out who killed her friend ... and her boyfriend, police detective Marc Trenault, is all gung-ho to keep her out of it (and out of danger). She promises not to get involved, but doesn't really mean it and is soon uncovering potential motives and suspects and pulling her friends along for the ride.

[from the 33% mark of the uncorrected proof -- final copy may differ]

A sure-fire way to my nerdish little mystery-loving heart? Toss in good Scooby references. (I just want to be Velma!)

I probably don't have to tell you how frustrated Marc gets with Charley. Even without reading either book you can probably imagine. I totally get it, too. I love cozy mysteries. I've been reading them for years and will probably continue to do so until I can read no more. The heroines (as the main character is almost always female) frustrate the bejeebers out of me, too, more often than not. They never seem to consider the danger they're putting themselves and their loved ones in by getting involved and sometimes I just want to grab one by the shoulders and shake some sense into them! Charley seems to be worse than most just because of the sheer multitude of people who seem to flock to her in support as potential innocent bystanders. 

I still pretty much adore her and her cohorts and her family and this series in spite of my urge to shake some sense into her. Leslie Nagel makes it difficult not to become part of Charley's gang, sifting through the red herrings attempting to uncover the truth ... and I still want to be Velma.