What lies buried in a hoarder’s house— precious treasure or ghastly secrets?One moment of misguided generosity throws estate sale organizer Audrey Nealon’s life into turmoil.She loses a client’s money, cripples her budding romance, and witnesses a murder.Strapped for cash, she accepts a questionable project: clearing out the home of a mentally ill hoarder who may have hidden valuable Civil War … valuable Civil War letters. What really lies at the bottom of twenty years’ worth of collected buttons and antique dolls and stuffed owls and atlases?
As Audrey digs through the hoarder’s obsessions, she unleashes a vengeful response from all sides–the hoarder’s angry neighbors, his alienated family, and the police. The house has destroyed lives in the past. Will Audrey and those she loves–her friends, her father, and even her dog–be its next victims?
As the final twist reveals, secrets can remain buried, but they never disappear.
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I loved this book and will read more in the series for sure.
Hoarding as an archeological “who done it”? Who knew it could be this would be a a”thing”? A heartfelt tribute to small business owners and families of all shapes. No matter how complex!
Each book in this series is better than the last. The author writes the way I read, think, and live.
Love the book and love the characters. I can’t wait to read the next book.
Realistic life turn of events, the difficulty trying to care about everyone while running a business. Ups and downs unexpected twists. Entertaining.
About half way finished but so far I like it.
All the characters were extremely believable and the situation could have really happened. Audrey behaved differently than I would have…but she has a strong sense of running a business which made me relate to her. Engaging story. Well done.
I am currently reading Treasure of Darkness, I had just finished reading book one in the series Another Man’s Treasure. Was so happy I had already downloaded Treasure of Darkness so I could just continue reading. Either book could stand alone but you will just know the characters a little better if you read Another
Man’s Treasure first. The characters are worth getting to know they soon become like old friends and that to me is what makes a good book caring about the characters and feeling like you know them. Besides great characters the story will keep you guessing, you wont want to put it down.
Light fun read. Enjoyed the protagonist. Will read the next in the series
Liked the first book of the series so much, and enjoyed the second one as much or more.
Not my usual kind of fiction reading (i.e., it’s not historical), but entertaining. Protagonist Audrey is the owner of Another Man’s Treasure Estate Sales—”we do the dirty work families don’t have the energy or the courage to do themselves.” Brings to mind the sadness I feel when I go to estate sales and see the things that were once someone’s personal treasures now messily stacked on folding tables with cheap price tags attached. Audrey notes “A ghostly outline of the china cabinet on the flowered wallpaper is all that’s left of countless Christmas dinners.”
Audrey’s business suffers credibility when one of her employees inadvertently gives away cans of soup that didn’t sell to an undocumented day worker. Turns out the soup cans were loaded with cash. While trying to track down the immigrant and retrieve the money, she takes on work clearing the home of a hoarder and finds her life threatened. There is something strange going on with the contents of the house. She makes some decisions that are about as smart as those made by teenagers in dark, empty houses in the movies. A fun, mindless read. First in a series, but I don’t think I’d make the effort to find more of them (since the library doesn’t have them and it wasn’t good enough to pay for. I got this one as a free e-book
Treasure of Darkness – a review by Rosemary Kenny
Another Man’s Treasure owner Audrey is waiting for delayed confirmation of a huge contract, when she’s contacted for help by (regular ‘customer’), Harold the Hoarder’s daughter Nora. It appears that if the local Health Department condemns his home as unfit to live in, due to the vast amount of items Harold’s amassed over many years. As Harold’s not considered a danger to himself or others none of the local homes or hospitals will accept him on a permanent basis.
Why does Jill get involved in clearing Harold’s house? What does she find under the hoard?
What does Ty do with the unwanted cans of soup? When Nora finds out, what happens next?
Who is Ramon? How is he involved? What valuable documents does Audrey look for upstairs?
Why does Ty use Audrey’s car and how does he ‘disguise’ it? What happens between Sean and Audrey? Where does Audrey find George and Phoebe – and what is their long-hidden secret?
S W Hubbard cleverly finds a heady mix of romance, treasure-hunting, death and danger to keep the eager murder-mystery fan completely satisfied and entertained right to the very end!
This book wasn’t as good as the first book. It was too long and the plot was complicated. I kept putting the book down, then skipped to the last few chapters. I really liked the first book because the plot was tied to the protagonist’s family. We cared about her, thus how she solved family secrets. The second book I just didn’t care what happened very much. The romance with her detective boyfriend should have been left out. Thoroughly useless except to get to book three. The romance with her father and lady friend was also just filler. If she’d stuck to the main plot, it would have been a better novel. Sorry.
Never a dull moment. Full of tension & twists.
Loved it!
Well done.
The story is well thought out, but the details needed to be completed. There was money short – how was that shortage covered? Were the negative online reviews of her business corrected? Were Phoebe’s husband and George’s fiance accepting of the great reveal? I did like the characters and Audrey’s relationship with her father fit well. This was a good read needing just some ends tied up for me. Wish I could give it 4 1/2 stars, it was that good.
this is an in between book. the author is kind and shares the story leading up to Audrey and Sean’s wedding. if you have read the Treasure series and love the quirky characters as much as I do, this is a good read with a surprising twist at the end.
Not many books have characters with mental illness, let alone show sympathy for that character. I’m intrigued by the protagonist’s career. It’s a catchy read, keeps one’s interest.
Never knew what was to happen next. Kept me interested to the end