A reclusive heiress…a loyal servant…a mansion frozen in time.After her husband’s plane goes down in a WWII battle, a poor nurse becomes the wealthiest widow in town.And she never leaves her mansion for 70 years.When estate sale organizer Audrey Nealon enters the Tate Mansion after the widow’s death, she discovers nothing’s been changed since the day the house was built. Why did the heiress and … built. Why did the heiress and her maid eat canned soup and read used paperbacks surrounded by magnificent art and antiques? Why were the house and its contents bequeathed to a small local charity?
Audrey’s idle curiosity soon turns into a desperate need to know. Because someone wants to profit from the Tate Mansion’s secrets. And if others have to die to make that happen, so be it.
Can Audrey outwit a wily con man? Or is she is too smart to live?
Tired of predictable mysteries that you have figured out long before the end? Rejoice! Here is a mystery with a strong female protagonist and plenty of plot twists to keep you challenged. The characters you love–amateur sleuth Audrey, Ty, Sean, and Ethel the shelter dog–are back in another adventure full of antiques, family secrets, and murder. Download now and read all night!
Also available as an audiobook.
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This book is well written in came together in the end. A good story!
A really nice, cozy mystery for curling up with on a rainy weekend (or any other time, for that matter). I’ll definitely be looking for more of this series.
S. W. Hubbard’s books are always good!
Great story and characters. Enjoyed this book very much
If you are curious about majestic old homes, this is a book for you. Throw in a great mystery and interesting characters for a wonderful read.
I love this series and would recommend them to anyone who likes cozy mysteries.
I loved this book right from the beginning. I never realized where it was going until near the end–awesome
do NOT start this book if you can’t stay up late/need to get up early in the morning. the characters and storyline are phenomenal. the whole book is steeped in richness. such a smooth ride. it’s like the rolls royce where you can balance a penny sideways on the engine kind of smooth. so climb in. the seats are leather and you are going to have a fabulous trip. go ahead and sit in the back. you have a driver after all…
This was a really good read. wonderful humorous descriptions of everyday events that just made this book a joy to read.
Kept me turning pages . The characters are entertaining and the ending somewhat of a surprise . Good book for a evening read .
Good story premise. And I loved following Audrey through estates “discovering treasures”. I felt that I needed a scorecard to keep the characters straight. But there were too many people, living and dead, to remember who everyone was.
I thought this would be a cozy cottage read I could pick up and put down….this book is so much more. The characters draw you into their lives, normal lives, but so interesting with estate sale woman, Audrey, with her ex prison helper, Ty. They open up the homes of the well to do and their treasured items as people line up and buy them. You learn what are prized items, how appraisals work but you sneak a peak into the personal lives of the people that lived and loved in these places. And the Tate mansion is one of the biggest, beautiful mansions with a tragic past.
The Rosa parks community center needs money and it’s board is a racial and monetary mix of people with different goals. One goal is sell off the belongings in Tate and use it for the programs at the center. But right away Audrey detects secret agendas and alliances that will affect whether she will sell the items at Tate.
There are some scares, though mild, this book just pulled me into the 1890s and through the Vietnam War detailing the widow and her maid living in the Tate mansion and barely leaving the home. And a secret room. And Donna, a terrific addition to Audrey and Ty, with her own problems but terrific can do attitude and personality
This books is about money, race relations, secret identities, with Ethel the dog and Audrey’s hubby Sean, a cop, adding dimension to her life.
It’s about charities, suicide or murder, and a mystery about people trying to live in glass houses.
Good book.
Loved it – very well written
Great premise but there had to be a different way to tell the story. The first half was repetitious and standing still, leading up to an estate sale that seemed the author would never get to. Many chapters at the end were in narrative so the point of the whole book was in paragraphs and paragraphs of monologue. Tedious reading.
This whole series is well written and entertaining. Great for relaxing and getting immersed in a story.
You just didn’t know who the bad guy was until the end.
Enjoyed the book quick easy read
I’m sad that racist attitudes forced characters to make some of their decisions. Decisions should not be made on the color of one’s skin. Other than that, it is an intriguing mystery.
I couldn’t get interested!