The Sayers Swindle

Vera Van Alst, the wealthy book-collecting recluse of Harrison Falls, New York, is furious. Her first-edition Dorothy L. Sayers novels have been stolen, and to make matters worse, they landed in the hands of a local book dealer, who sold them to someone else, unaware of their provenance. It’s up to Jordan Bingham to retrieve the books. This proves to be easier said than done, as a social call to the new owner of the books lands her in the middle of a dangerous scheme, with bodies piling up and nefarious elements afoot. Whose body? We hope not Jordan’s.

I enjoy this series, written by mother-daughter team Mary Jane Maffini and Victoria Maffini. It is not terribly gritty by most mystery standards, but it feels grittier than the cosy show more packaging might lead you to believe. Harrison Falls and the neighbouring town of Burton are populated with plenty of colourful characters, including Jordan’s army of uncles (who are probably my favourites). Sometimes Jordan’s crime-solving techniques stretch the bounds of credulity, but overall it is simply fun to read. This installment was fairly action-packed as well; it will be interesting to see what the fallout is in the third installment, The Wolfe Widow. show less

Once again the mother-daughter writing team that call themselves Victoria Abbott have crafted a book with a strong plot, plenty of humor, and a cast that's oh-so-easy to fall in love with. Top all this off with clever mentions of the rare book biz and Lord Peter Wimsey, and-- like me-- you're well on the way to becoming addicted to this Book Collector cozy series.

The path to solving this mystery isn't a straight one. (The good ones seldom are.) A couple of the subplots are more easily guessed than others which remain a surprise until the end, but they all blend together into a very satisfying read. For that we have to thank a sterling cast of characters.

Jordan herself is a perfect blend of sass, savvy, and slapstick. She loves books, show more she doesn't know when to quit, and she is a kind and generous person. She also knows more about the shadier side of the law than the heroines of most cozy mysteries, thanks to her uncles, and it's Jordan's use of her uncles' nefarious training while trying to do the right thing that beings about so many of the laughs in the book.

Jordan's best friend is off in Africa doing good works, and Jordan misses her. In the mean time, she's become close with Karen Smith, the owner of the Cozy Corpse mystery bookstore. Karen is still recuperating from her injuries sustained in the first book in the series, The Christie Curse, and as Jordan works with her, her recovery adds depth to the story and to the characters.

There's also some romantic sparks throughout the book. A local police officer always seems to be in Jordan's vicinity, and she wishes he'd stop simply because of her uncles. Besides, there's a very hunky librarian that she's had her eye on for quite some time....

This book... this series... is a cozy lover's dream. A good laugh-laced plot, knowledge nuggets about the rare book business, and characters that make you smile and want to invite them over for coffee. Hmm... I don't think I'm on my way to being addicted to Victoria Abbott's Book Collector series-- I already am! show less

Jordan Bingham is trying hard to be the only member of her family who doesn't engage in criminal activities and in order to do so would like to hold onto her job working for Vera Van Alst even if Vera is not the easiest person to work for. Jordan is desperate to find Vera’s missing collection of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey books but it is not going to be easy. Not only are the Wimsey books missing but several people go missing including one of Jordan's uncles. When a dead body turns up Jordan fears it may be her uncle or someone else she cares about. Can Jordan solve the mystery of these disappearances or will she be the next to disappear - permanently?

“The Sayers Swindle” is the second book in Victoria Abbott’s A show more Book Collector cozy mystery series - a series I like more and more with each book. Abbott has put together a great cast of characters - Jordan, her less than lawful uncles, her friend Karen, Vera, Signora, and Officer :Smiley - that make this book a delight to read. Another nice aspect is Jordan's job - which I'd love to have! - I actually learned quite a bit about Dorothy L. Sayers from reading this book and bought one of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries when I finished reading this book. There is a wonderful sly sense of humor throughout the book - not laugh out loud funny but more of a wink and a nod from the authors to the reader. As for the mystery itself – it is very well plotted with more than a few twists and turns and red herrings - the word “swindle” in the title applies more than once in the book.

“The Sayers Swindle” is a nicely done cozy mystery. show less

If in book one Jordan Bingham was trying to imitate Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, this time she's trying to imitate her fictional crush, Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey.

Jordan is still working for collector Vera Van Alst, who probably wouldn't know how to be charming if her life depended upon it. This time she has to track down the eight Sayers mysteries that were stolen from Vera's collection (see book one, The Christie Curse).

Remember Karen Smith, the nice bookseller who was attacked and left for dead? She's still having memory problems from her head injury. She'd bought and sold the Sayers books in good faith. If only she could remember the buyer. If a currently unreliable memory isn't trouble enough, Karen's new next-door show more neighbors are deeply unpleasant. I really hope the husband gets the book thrown at him for an almost unbelievable thing he does later.

Jordan's Uncles Mick and Lucky Kelley are still taking care of Karen's pug, Walter. They don't want to give him up when Karen will be well enough to care for him again. That could be a problem.

Eddie McRae, the mailman who has loved Vera since high school, is trying to solve his beloved's need for a gardener by taking care of her lawn. Vera is not appreciative. Is that his problem?

The Kellys have a more immediate problem and his name is Kevin Francis Kelly. Uncle Kev is a walking disaster waiting to happen -- to others. He's on the run and driving Mick and Lucky crazy. So far they haven't managed to fob him off on Uncles Bill, Connie, Danny, or Tiny.

Jordan has plenty of misadventures trying to get those books back ('helped' by Uncle Kev). Officer Dekker is back in the picture, as is handsome librarian Lance DeWitt. Jordan's best friend, nurse Tiffany 'Tiff' Tibeault, is currently working where Jordan can't keep in touch with texts. A policewoman seems interested in becoming friends, though.

I really enjoyed this book and regret that I don't know when my local library will get a copy of The Marsh Madness.

Notes:

Interesting that Jordan says she collected photos of Craftsman houses while other kids collected My Little Ponies in chapter two. Her My Little Pony collection is mentioned more than once in book three, The Wolfe Widow.

Chapter two is where we find out that the World War I flying ace Billy Bishop is one of Uncle Kev 's heroes.

Chapter four: I watched 'The Addams Family' when I was a kid. If you didn't see the show's first run or somehow missed the reruns, Lurch was the Addams' butler. It's a fun show and the theme is well worth a listen. You might also want to see the books reprinting Charles Addams' magazine cartoons that led to the show.

See chapter eight for the kind of Simpsons pajamas that Tiff gave to Jordan.

Chapter 13: 'Shazam!' was a comic book wizard's name, the shouting of which transformed a boy named Billy Batson into the 1939-1953 Captain Marvel. (The wizard's name had to be used for the title of the 1972 revival comic book because Marvel Comics had had their own Captain Marvel since the late 1960s. I believe that I bought the first issue I owned of the latter in 1968.) If you enjoy superheroes, you might wish to check out reprint books of the original and revival issues. I wasn't a fan of the live-action TV series, but it did well enough.

See chapter 16 for what the Kellys consider the best of their traditional cuisine. One of the uncles is serving baloney and formerly frozen French fries earlier in the book, so consider yourself warned. I laughed at Jordan's reassurance to Vera and the Signora's reaction to one of the items on the menu.

Cat lovers: Vera's blue-point Siamese, Good Cat and Bad Cat, are in fine form. They even have a role in solving Vera's need for a new gardener/handyman.

Dog lovers: Not only has Walter the pug stolen the cover spot from the Siamese, we get introduced to a large, shaggy mutt named Cobain (called 'the spare dog' in one chapter).

The recipes in this book are 'Pollo Ai Peperoni' (Chicken With Peppers), 'Zuppa Rustica' (Rustic Italian Soup), and 'Maionesa' (Homemade Mayonnaise). show less

The Sayers Swindle is the second in the Book Collector Mystery series by Victoria Abbott, and relations haven't much changed between Jordan Bingham and her employer, Vera Van Alst: the latter is still rude and demanding, the former still forbearing and resourceful. Unfortunately Vera's 11-book collection of first editions of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novels has been stolen and book seller Karen Smith has inadvertently sold them to another collector, and of course Vera wants them back, now. Karen had recently suffered serious head trauma, however, and she can't quite remember the name of the collector or where he or she might be. While Jordan tries to help Karen remember, she learns that there might be other people looking for show more the books, for different reasons than Vera's - reasons that might well lead to murder.... As with the first novel in this series, The Christie Curse, this entry is a quite delightful cozy, with a number of asides in which our first-person narrator muses about Sayers' work and her great sleuth, on whom Jordan has of course developed a quite understandable crush. One need not have read the first novel to enjoy this one, but certain events and relationships are much more clear if one has. Recommended! show less

Jordan Bingham works for Vera Van Alst, living at her estate while helping to maintain the extensive book collection. Her main task at present is to recover the Sayers collection, eight Sayers mysteries that were stolen from Vera's collection before her employment. The local book seller, Karen Smith, had sold the books to another collector, not knowing they were stolen but she is unable to remember the details because of an attack which left her severely injured with a head injury resulting in memory loss. Jordan has been trying to help Karen jog her memory so that the new owners can be contacted to try to retrieve the books. When the buyers are located, their actions seem to be a bit strange and Jordan draws on her family to help show more determine what's happening and how she can get the Sayers collection back.

The twists and turns are accompanied by the less then lawful antics of her uncles, bringing a smile more than once. The characters still need some fleshing out, but the story was entertaining. show less

A disappointing follow up to a first that, while it wasn't excellent, showed a lot of promise.

Let me start by saying Ms. Abbott has the right ingredients for a great cozy series: Jordan is hired to hunt down rare and collectible books for a very wealthy recluse. I want her job - I mean, how much fun would that be?!? Getting paid to search out books to buy...heaven.

She's from a 'colourful' family with a flexible relationship with the law and she's determined to be the first in the family to go straight. Hailey Lind did an excellent job with this in her Art Lovers Series, but Ms. Abbott's attempt falls flat with me. Jordan's uncles sort of come across as an older, more Irish Jay and Silent Bob, only not funny. The introduction in this show more book of a third uncle, Kevin, doesn't work either; he comes across as a middle aged, manic, ADHD teenager for most of the book and the role he's meant to play is as clear as mud.

I *think* Jordan is supposed to have two men vying for her affections. The first, a cop, Tyler Dekker, felt stalker-ish in the first book and he's not much better in this one, although he doesn't play a huge part for most of the story. And yes, I'm about to show my extreme shallowness when it comes to the men on the pages of my books: he's described as "slightly pudgy but adorable". NOT the kind of description to up my pulse rate. In real life, men (and women) should be judged on their merits, but on the pages of my books, I'd prefer an absence of "pudgy" in my romantic heroes. Sue me. In addition, Tyler has no concept of playing hard to get - I'm not suggesting he should toy with Jordan, but there's a complete lack of subtlety in his pursuit.

The second man is Lance who's described as one of her best friends. Either he flirts to the point of harassment or Jordan is a congenital idiot. Again, there is absolutely no subtlety here and Jordan acting ignorant just comes across as ludicrous. Either she needs to accept and return his affections or call him out on his overly flirtatious behaviour.

Jordan is trying to recover a complete set of Lord Peter Whimsey books, and l'm going to go out on a limb here and say Victoria Abbott LOVES Lord Peter Whimsey. Who doesn't?, you may be saying, and I agree. But she LOVES LOVES LOVES LPW and she waxes rhapsodic a bit too much throughout the book, summarising the plot of each full length LPW mystery and writing dream sequences and fantasies involving Jordan, Lord Peter and/or Harriet Vane. Cozy-mystery-calibre fantasies but still weird because they were used too much and too often.

The plot. Sigh. It's an out-there one, for a cozy, and it could have been done better. I applaud the author's sense of adventure and I think the plot could have been an inspiration, if it had been treated better. But the whole thing felt clunky, un-graceful. It lacked flow.

Overall, I was really bummed that I didn't like this book more. I *want* to like this book and this series. But the writing and plotting needs to be tighter and I'm not sure I'll continue to a third book. show less