Sandra (mycatscanread) -
Helpful Score: 6
Very good first mystery in a new series on collectibles. This one takes place in North Carolina's pottery-making area and has a lot of details on art pottery-making and auctions, a few photos included.' Molly Appleby is a writer for Collector's Weekly magazine and her new assignment is to cover the kiln opening of a new rising star in Southern pottery-making. George-Bradley Staunton is the most obnoxious collector around, and at the kiln opening, he drops dead. His death is ruled an accident, but Molly has ideas of her own that make her believe it wasn't an accidental death, and she sets out to prove it.
Helpful Score: 5
Great cozy and first mystery in the colectible mystery series with background on the Seagrove pottery area of North Carolina. A little romance and information on the antiques and auction business as well as a good mystery. When George-Bradley drops dead at the kiln opening sale of a Southern potter-maker there were plenty of suspects with reasons to kill the agressive, obnoxious collector.
LeAnne G. (Gracious-Granny) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 137 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Great first book of a series. A lot of info on clay pots, and potters. Good mystery too! hope there is more coming!
Dena (Suzie) C. (DsuzieC) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 159 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book first attracted my attention since I love cozies. I clicked to find more details and was also very attracted that the mystery is set in the vicinity of North Carolina's Seagrove area potters. My husband is from N.C. Thirty-one yrs ago, when he and I became engaged, my future Mother-I-L sent me NC some pottery pieces as engagement and welcome-to-the-family gifts - I still cherish them and have been trying to collect more ever since. We've also started to buy pieces when we visit NC, to give as holiday gifts to family&friends here in Fla. Their pottery is AMAZING and the author does a great job describing the wares, as well as giving a site that shows photos and more info. This book includes succint info on the history of NC pottery & other facts that was new to me and that was the VERY BEST part IMO! One of the best cozies....or books of any genre I've read. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 3
Great first mystery!
goddesslovingbookworm -
Helpful Score: 3
I knew nothing about Southern Face Jugs before reading this book; they are still not my choice of collectible but I certainly learned a lot about pottery. The mystery was wonderfully written as well. I will certainly look for more of this series and hope she highlights a different antique each time.
A quick, cozy read!
A quick, cozy read!
Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
Helpful Score: 3
I liked this story very much. The pottery elements were very interesting, especially the kiln sales, the numbering system and about some of the old pieces. I especially enjoyed the parts of talking about the clay being alive when made and handled properly, the little rabbit was a prime example. Easy read and very enjoyable. First in the series. Unexpected twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and a good resolution for me.
Penny T. (iluvmysteries) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 431 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is the first book in a new "collectibles series" and I thought it was very good. Looking forward to more.
Helpful Score: 3
I enjoyed this first book in the new series. Hope there are more coming!
Helpful Score: 3
Excellent first in a new series. Very well thought out, lots of background details on the world of Southern art pottery, interesting characters. I'll be looking forward to reading the next one!
Michelle R. (atammcreation) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 41 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A Killer Collection by J.B. Stanley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is based on pottery collecting, it is a cozy mystery wrapped in Southern, rural North Carolina pottery making and collecting. There is a great deal of information about the history of pottery in North Carolina, the pottery making itself and the history of different types of North Carolina pottery.
I found myself really drawn to the descriptions of the pottery pieces, and wanting to find some of these and look at them myself. The receipes for the glaze and the clay were interesting, and I found myself more entranced by it than the mystery itself, probably because i just couldn't relate to the characters that well. There were some i understood and believed and wanted to read more about, but most were so far from anything i had ever meet that I just couldn't understand or get into them.
I did like the book, not sure if there is another, it says first in the new series, but I haven't heard of any others, although i think I will look. I would probably read a second to see if I could relate more to the characters before passing judgement on the series.
View all my reviews
Lisa P. (FamFatale) -
Helpful Score: 2
First in a new series, this well-written cozy mystery has an easily liked protagonist and secondary characters. The Carolina setting is described in a captivating fashion, and the background details as relate to pottery making, collecting, and history bring wonderful color to the mystery.
Nancy P. (mamahomeschools) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
J.B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley and Ellery Adams are all one and the same author and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of her books. She has an ability to draw a reader in quickly and then keeps her engaged and entertained through to the end.
This is the first book of one of her first series...you would have never known. Her writing is quick witted and she keeps the pages turning well into the evening! I was also so interested in the topic of face pots I did further investigation...!
I encourage fans of the above names to seek this series out...and am sad that it only includes 3 titles. If you have not read any titles by the above authors...what are you waiting for??
This is the first book of one of her first series...you would have never known. Her writing is quick witted and she keeps the pages turning well into the evening! I was also so interested in the topic of face pots I did further investigation...!
I encourage fans of the above names to seek this series out...and am sad that it only includes 3 titles. If you have not read any titles by the above authors...what are you waiting for??
Joyce C. (joycesreadingroom) reviewed A Killer Collection (Molly Appleby, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I found this mystery very enjoyable. Will read the collection.
I really enjoyed this cozy! The information on pottery woven into the story just enhances it more!
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Originally published in 2006 under the name J.B. Stanley, A Killer Collection is the first book in the three-volume Collectibles cozy series. The author has completely revamped each book to have them reissued under her pen name Ellery Adams. What I enjoyed most about this first book in the series were the behind-the-scenes action at an auction and all the good information about Southern folk art pottery-- and A Killer Collection absolutely glows whenever Adams describes the creative process as a potter sits at the wheel.
I was slightly less satisfied with the characters and the mystery. As a journalist Molly has the right training to ferret out the perpetrators of crime and to provide readers interested in collecting with plenty of good information. However, I didn't find enough there to make her stand out from all the other amateur sleuths available today. And for all the readers who prefer justice to prevail and all their plot threads neatly tied up in bows by book's end... they may be left feeling a bit dissatisfied. I have to admit that I didn't particularly care for the way Molly dealt with the information she had.
All in all, the book is enjoyable in its depiction of folk art pottery, its history and traditions as well as in showing us the evolution of a writer.
I was slightly less satisfied with the characters and the mystery. As a journalist Molly has the right training to ferret out the perpetrators of crime and to provide readers interested in collecting with plenty of good information. However, I didn't find enough there to make her stand out from all the other amateur sleuths available today. And for all the readers who prefer justice to prevail and all their plot threads neatly tied up in bows by book's end... they may be left feeling a bit dissatisfied. I have to admit that I didn't particularly care for the way Molly dealt with the information she had.
All in all, the book is enjoyable in its depiction of folk art pottery, its history and traditions as well as in showing us the evolution of a writer.
I was really impressed with the writing style and story line of this book. It had a wealth of details regarding pottery making and a most believable theme thruout. It is plain that the author really knows her subject matter and I am so glad that she managed to end it all in a very upbeat way. I am looking forward to future books in this series.
average mystery, took a while to get into.
A good cozy mystery about collectors and auctions. Also a good history lesson is pottery making and information on face jugs.
