Sandra Orchard

What a wonderful beginning to the series! With the characterization of Serena Jones, recently graduated and new member of the FBI's Art Crime Team, the reader tags along on Serena's first undercover assignment. On arrival back in St. Louis, we meet best friend Zoe that needs Serena's expertise as it appears paintings have been stolen from in-house storage at the local art museum. This leads introduction to Serena's family that includes her worry-wart Mother, university professor Dad, and show more outrageous and sleuthing Aunt Martha. Serena lives in Aunt Martha's former residence with her cat Harold. The retired English professor Sutton who makes it his mission to help everyone in the neighborhood expand their vocabulary adds another fun element. There's also a host of male characters that add a sparkle in various ways to Serena's life but especially FBI supervisor Tanner and apartment building superintendent Nate.

As some of the characterizations progressed I thought of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich particularly thinking of the outrageous "ready-for-anything" Grandma Mazur who in this series is definitely Aunt Martha. The age old question whether Stephanie would be happier with Joe Morelli or Ranger now has me asking about Serena with Tanner or Nate.

A light fun beginning that leads me to wanting more. show less

Wow. Gobsmacked is a good word for what I'm feeling right now. I initially wasn't super interested in this book, but saw some of my GR friends reading it, and it was free on Amazon kindle, so I thought, why not?

And boy am I glad I did! This is pretty high up there with my favorite mystery series!

For me, I find it especially hard to find clean, innocent, 'light-hearted' mysteries that suit my standard of "cleanliness". And this one totally did. I even handed it off to my little sister with show more no hesitation. There wasn't anything overly violent, no sexual content, romance was EXTREMELY low-key, and there is zero swearing.

I think what makes Orchard's novels is her fantastical characters. I know that's what made the book for me. Serena Jones, the MC, is completely unlike any other character or person I have ever known. With so many hilarious and endearing quirks and idiosyncrasies, I just couldn't get enough of her! Everything from her claustrophobia, to her ignorance of any romantic attention given her just makes her character so amazing. Even the secondary characters. Was there any cookie-cutter secondary characters for Orchard? No. From crazy Aunt Martha, to tough FBI agent Tanner, to apartment super Nate, to Zoe, head security at an art museum. All are so unique and fascinating.

Sandra Orchard's writing style is the other thing that makes these books for me. Incredibly witty and hilarious in her dialogue and descriptions, I found myself in stitches more than once! I could happily lose myself in a million books like this one. She balances humor, action, and heartwarming story lines all in an intriguing, captivating way.

All in all, I am so glad I picked this up, and can't wait to finish the series! I'd gladly recommend this to ages 14-15 .

CONTENT NOTE: While I would gladly recommend this for mid-teens and up, there is some things that would make me hesitate to hand this to a younger child or suggest it as a family read. Serena is an FBI agent, so there is a fair-to-middling amount of violence, gunplay, not-described-barely-mentioned murder, etc, etc. Also there is technically a love triangle throughout the series, but really, the romance is SO on the back burner, it's really not an issue. And as I said previously, even the violence isn't described hardly at all. show less

I really love a cozy mystery — a puzzle to keep me guessing, fun characters, and a plot that often combines drama, romance and more than a few chuckles. I got all that and more from Sandra Orchard’s novel, A Fool And His Monet, book 1 in the Serena Jones Mysteries. If you are fan of this genre, you’ll love investigating along with kick-butt FBI agent Serena!

Serena Jones is a newly minted FBI agent on the Art Crime Team. Charged with investigating stolen art, Serena takes her job show more seriously even as she has to contend with a nosy great-aunt, a mother who just wants grandchildren, suspects determined to throw her off the chase and a phobia involving elevators. Two hunky men, co-worker Tanner and building super Nate, create a bit of confusion as well. But Serena is determined to get her man!

I loved the characters in A Fool And His Monet. Serena doesn’t shy away from dangerous situations even though she hides her fears. Motivated by the unsolved murder of her grandfather, Serena is tenacious to uncover the truth. A few of her family members and their friends offer a bit of quirkiness to give this mystery a definite cozy feel. Potential romantic interests are introduced, and I look forward to finding out which man will win Serena’s affections. The crime — a museum theft — kept me guessing. There were lots of suspicious characters in this book! The pace of the novel with Serena’s first person commentary was quick, making this book an enjoyable diversion. The case is wrapped up in book 1, but there’s more to come from Serena, Aunt Martha, Tanner and Nate in upcoming books, including a Another Day, Another Dali due out in the Fall.

All in all, I enjoyed A Fool And His Monet and look forward to more from Serena.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Revell for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

Okay, it's official. I am in love with these books. Wow! They only got better! This one was definitely my favorite with a perfect mix of suspense-filled action, heartwarming scenes, and even a few heart wrenching scenes.

The ending of book two made me so mad. Kate's missed opportunity at forgiveness had me really worried for what this book would bring. But thankfully, that was wrapped up relatively quickly in this one. I loved the progression of Kate and Tom's relationship. Just perfect! The show more romance is so sweet and not at all in-your-face. I loved all the characters in this book - well, most of them. While I didn't like some, they were still great characters. Jarret, Patti, Zoe, Kate's father . . . There's also the reappearance of characters from previous books, such as Edward Crump and Molly.

These books definitely keep you guessing and on your toes. There's also a lot more action in this one than the first two, which I loved. It also had some very sweet scenes, especially towards the end, between Kate and Tom, and Kate and her father. And that plot twist with Kate "dying". Ugh! Poor Tom! He totally broke my heart.

All in all, a fantastic ending to the Port Aster series! I will definitely be purchasing paperback copies to go on my shelf of treasured books! Recommended!

Recommended for ages 15 for romance and violenceaction. show less