The Ming and I

I recevied a copy of this book from the Early Reviewers of the February batch. I was very hesitant about reading the novel as I am not into this type of book. So I picked the book up and started reading from the middle and found that the author not only weaves an excellent mystery but it is fun to read. There were several exerts I had to read aloud to my husband because they were so funny I had to share why I was laughing out loud. I loved the way the main character interacted with her mom, it reminded me of the interactions between all mother/daughters when everyone has grown up and tried the life lessons on their own. I really enjoyed reading this book from the beginning to end, it kept my interest with the mystery and the very show more colorful descriptions of the people in the main characters life. show less

This is the second Myers' "Den of Antiquity" book I have read and having given the series I try I have decided not to try any more. Myers is a serviceable writer but I find her books utterly lacking as exercises in detection. The plot lurches forward through an unconvincing combination of coincidence and happenstance. They are modern American "cozies" that make the barest wave towards having actual plots, deaths one cares about and detectives who detect.

After trying to sell Abby a hideous old vase, a mysterious woman is killed, prompting Abby to investigate the now missing vase and the history of the old Rosewood Plantation, which harbor deadly secrets

From Amazon:
North Carolina native Abigail Timberlake, owner of the Den of Antiquity, is quick to dismiss the seller of a hideous old vase--until the poor lady comes hurtling back through the shop window minutes later, the victim f a fatal hit-and-run.

Tall, dark, and handsome Homicide Investigator Greg Washburn--who just happens to be Abby's boyfriend--is frustrated by conflicting accounts from eyewitnesses. And he's just short of furious with his ever-loving, when he learns it was a valuable Ming vase, and Abby let it vanish from the show more crime scene. Abby decides she had better find out for herself what happened to the treasure--and to the lady who was dying to get rid of it.

It turns out the victim had a lineage that would make a Daughter of the Confederacy green with envy, and her connection with the historic old Roselawn Plantation makes that a good place to start sleuthing. Thanks to her own mama's impeccable southern credentials, Abby is granted an appointment with the board members--but no one gives her permission to snoop. And digging into the long-festering secrets of a proud family of the Old South turns out to be a breach of good manners that could land Abby six feet under in the family plot. show less