A Killer Collection

Molly Appleby is a reporter for the local Collectible weekly paper and attends a kiln opening where she sees the highest rated collector of pottery in the area die. She's suspicious the more information and interviews she does.

The book is definitely fun, the characters are chatty and I'm looking forward to another in the future. ( )

I enjoyed the book's inclusion of interesting quotes about potmaking and pot collecting, especially of face pots from South Carolina. This is the first in a series which I believe is now 3 strong. I plan on reading the others because I liked the inclusion of so much about pottery and would like to find out what else is included in other books. The weakness of this book is the conclusion. It left me unsatisfied and seemed an easy way out for the author. The several short inclusions of the story from the viewpoint of the clay/pot made the flow of the narration uneven.

The book includes a map of South Carolina with the cities mentioned in the book indicated on the map, a brief article on face jugs, and several photographs of face jugs as described in the story. ( )

Her job as a writer for Collector’s Weekly takes Molly Appleby to Seagrove NC for a pottery sale (known as a kiln opening). She attends with her mother Clara, who buys, collects and sells antiques. Clara introduces Molly to George-Bradley Staunton IV (G.B. to his friends if he had any). The pottery collector is arrogant and obnoxious – the kind of man who pushes little old ladies out of his way to get what he wants.

Before the sale is over, G.B. is dead, the victim of an apparent accidental overdose of insulin. But Molly observes some of the man’s odd behavior in the moments before he collapses and is convinced his death was no accident. She believes someone at the kiln opening injected him with insulin – but so many people dislike the man, Molly’s suspect list is pretty long.

Molly’s editor, excited by the increased circulation Molly’s story ofStaunton’s death means for Collector’s Weekly, assigns her to do a series on Asheboro pottery collectors. That assignment, along with Molly’s association with Lex and Kitty Lewis, an antique seller Clara works for, bring her into contact with many of her suspects.

Although I thought A Killer Collection was an interesting read, I believe the author came within inches of not playing fair with her readers and violated one of the tenets of mystery writing in the final resolution of the main mystery. (To say more would reveal too much.) On the positive side, J.B. Stanley knows her pottery and shares her knowledge with readers without going overboard. I’m betting anyone interested in collecting or pottery or face jugs will enjoy it even more than I did. I’m passing my copy along to a friend who collects pub jugs.

By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library. May 3, 2006 ( )