Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Longest Yard Sale is the 2nd installment in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series.
Sarah Winston is a divorced, ex-military wife who has earned a great reputation for helping people to organize and hold their own profitable garage sales. As a result of her success she has been hired by the Town Council to organize and run New England's Largest Yard Sale in her hometown of Ellington, MA. The only naysayer in town is her ex-husband CJ, current Chief of Police, who believes that the influx of attendees will cause nothing but problems.
CJ was right. Traffic in town has been brought to a standstill both in and out of town when the fire sirens start blaring. It seems as though four separate fires in different parts of town have broken out. Local police and fire department members are successful in getting the fires out only to discover that all have been set by an arsonist who triggered them with timers.
Wondering if the fires will damage both her reputation and that of the town, Sarah is startled to find her best friend, Carol pounding on her front door. Carol owns Paint and Wine, an art studio located across the town square. Carol drags Sarah to her shop and points to the body of a dead man lying on her floor strangled with one of Carol's picture frames hanging around his neck.
In the melee that follows Sarah learns that not only was Carol commissioned by an anonymous client to recreate the famous Revolutionary War painting "Battled", but that the painting Carol was working on has been stolen. The original painting which hung in the Town Library has also been stolen during the Town Yard Sale and replaced by none other than Carol's reproduction.
In an effort to clear her friends name Sarah sets out to uncover the identity of Carol's anonymous client, more details regarding the dead body in the shop and who stole both the original and reproduction paintings. Sarah soon discovers that her landlord, Stella is dating none other than Dave "Bubbles" Jackson. Bubbles is not only one of CJ's military friends but also the business partner of the dead man, Terry McQueen. It appears that both Bubbles and Terry had been receiving threatening notes in regards to their lives and financial business.
Oh, and did I mention that Sarah is also still trying to evaluate the status of her relationship with Seth, Massachusetts' most eligible batchelor? After a steamy one night fling Seth is trying to win Sarah over but she is still conflicted over her feelings for ex CJ. You see CJ was wrongfully accused of having a relationship with one of his platoon subordinates and then murdering her. This accusation led to their divorce but Sarah stood behind CJ in an effort to clear his name **read all about it in the first book of the series "Tagged for Death".
With the help of CJ, Stella, friend Laurel, and Rosalie and Angelo the owners of DiNapoli's restaurant, Sarah unravels the intricate but devious lives of her fellow townsmen. Even though you think everyone knows everyone else's business in a small town do they really?
A great tale of art fraud, investment schemes and an eBay scam. While it isn't absolutely necessary to read the series in order, I recommend starting with the first book in order to understand the backgrounds of the main cast of characters. A quick and fun read, I can't wait for the next one to see what new adventures are in store for Sarah and her friends.
**Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley. I am under no obligation to write this review but loved it so much I wanted to share it with and recommend it to all of my "cozy" friends.
Sarah Winston is a divorced, ex-military wife who has earned a great reputation for helping people to organize and hold their own profitable garage sales. As a result of her success she has been hired by the Town Council to organize and run New England's Largest Yard Sale in her hometown of Ellington, MA. The only naysayer in town is her ex-husband CJ, current Chief of Police, who believes that the influx of attendees will cause nothing but problems.
CJ was right. Traffic in town has been brought to a standstill both in and out of town when the fire sirens start blaring. It seems as though four separate fires in different parts of town have broken out. Local police and fire department members are successful in getting the fires out only to discover that all have been set by an arsonist who triggered them with timers.
Wondering if the fires will damage both her reputation and that of the town, Sarah is startled to find her best friend, Carol pounding on her front door. Carol owns Paint and Wine, an art studio located across the town square. Carol drags Sarah to her shop and points to the body of a dead man lying on her floor strangled with one of Carol's picture frames hanging around his neck.
In the melee that follows Sarah learns that not only was Carol commissioned by an anonymous client to recreate the famous Revolutionary War painting "Battled", but that the painting Carol was working on has been stolen. The original painting which hung in the Town Library has also been stolen during the Town Yard Sale and replaced by none other than Carol's reproduction.
In an effort to clear her friends name Sarah sets out to uncover the identity of Carol's anonymous client, more details regarding the dead body in the shop and who stole both the original and reproduction paintings. Sarah soon discovers that her landlord, Stella is dating none other than Dave "Bubbles" Jackson. Bubbles is not only one of CJ's military friends but also the business partner of the dead man, Terry McQueen. It appears that both Bubbles and Terry had been receiving threatening notes in regards to their lives and financial business.
Oh, and did I mention that Sarah is also still trying to evaluate the status of her relationship with Seth, Massachusetts' most eligible batchelor? After a steamy one night fling Seth is trying to win Sarah over but she is still conflicted over her feelings for ex CJ. You see CJ was wrongfully accused of having a relationship with one of his platoon subordinates and then murdering her. This accusation led to their divorce but Sarah stood behind CJ in an effort to clear his name **read all about it in the first book of the series "Tagged for Death".
With the help of CJ, Stella, friend Laurel, and Rosalie and Angelo the owners of DiNapoli's restaurant, Sarah unravels the intricate but devious lives of her fellow townsmen. Even though you think everyone knows everyone else's business in a small town do they really?
A great tale of art fraud, investment schemes and an eBay scam. While it isn't absolutely necessary to read the series in order, I recommend starting with the first book in order to understand the backgrounds of the main cast of characters. A quick and fun read, I can't wait for the next one to see what new adventures are in store for Sarah and her friends.
**Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley. I am under no obligation to write this review but loved it so much I wanted to share it with and recommend it to all of my "cozy" friends.
