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Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1)
Shadows at the Fair - Antique Print, Bk 1
Author: Lea Wait
Local antiques dealer, dead in a one-car accident on his way home from an antiques exposition in Columbus, Ohio Two Scranton, Pennsylvania, antiques dealers dead of smoke inhalation...Massachusetts antiques dealer dead of substance abuse at an auction in Sharon, Connecticut...Antiques dealer dies in his booth at the Westche...  more »

Ignorance is truly bliss for recently widowed Maggie Summer, owner of Shadows Antiques, when she arrives at the prestigious Rensselaer County Spring Antiques Fair. Sadly, she won't remain ignorant of the suspiciously high mortality rate among her fellow antiques dealers for long.

Rumors are everywhere. The most recent victim, John Smithson, died of poison at a show just last week, and many of the same dealers are here at Rensselaer. They make the identical circuit year after year, so they know each other well. Or do they?

Murder is still far from Maggie's mind as she arranges her Shadows booth: some Currier & Ives prints here, Winslow Homer wood engravings on the hack wall, other prints arranged on tables and easels by category. With eleven years' experience, she knows her stock. So far the worst thing that has happened was putting the wrong price tag on a Homer engraving and having to sell it for $170 instead of $1,700.

Maggie doesn't intend for that to happen again, and she doesn't intend to worry about murder. This show's security is tight. But she can't help observing her colleagues with fresh eyes. Some, Eke Gussie White in the booth next door, are dear friends, and Gussie's assistant, her twenty-year-old nephew, Ben, who has Down's syndrome, is a delightful new acquaintance. Others, however, even peopleshe's known for years, suddenly seem suspect.

The opening night wine has hardly stopped flowing when death claims another victim. Maggie will still sell a few antique prints, but she'll spend most of her time looking for a killer and trying to save a vulnerable young friend. Will Maggie herself become a potential victim? The answer may be in one of Maggie's prints, but she has hundreds in her booth. Where should she begin?

With its riveting behind-the-scenes glimpse of antiques shows and its revealing data on antique-print values, "Shadows at the Fair" introduces a captivating new series that unveils the powerful mysteries of antique prints even as it entertains.
ISBN-13: 9780743225533
ISBN-10: 0743225538
Publication Date: 7/23/2002
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 8

3.4 stars, based on 8 ratings
Publisher: Scribner
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Spuddie avatar reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 412 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
First in the Maggie Summers "antique print" cozy mystery series set on the east coast. Maggie is a college professor but also has an antique prints business called Shadows on the side. A recent widow, she does the antique show circuit and this story takes place at one such show. When one of her fellow dealers ends up murdered and her good friend Gussie's nephew Ben, who has Down's Syndrome, is accused of the crime, Maggie knows she needs to look more deeply at the situation than the police seem to be doing and sets out to ask a few questions of her own to clear Ben's name.

I figured out the bad guy way ahead of time and after a few clues were dropped, even figured out the motive well before the end of the book, too. This was an okay first entry in a series. I liked Maggie well enough, though I felt she was rather two-dimensional. The dialogue was kind of stilted and didn't seem very realistic, and the whole package just didn't work well for me--something about the whole book just felt "off." I did enjoy learning about antique prints and the whole "antiques fair circuit" but it really wasn't enough to maintain my interest; I rate the book a C grade and highly doubt I'll continue reading more in the series.
reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 108 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy going to Antique shows, and this book depicts some of the things that go on "behind the scenes". I plan to read the rest of the series
reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 46 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Interesting character, and I hope she is developed in future books. I really liked the blips on antiques at the start of each chapter.
ladycholla avatar reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 2081 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Very nice cozy, good 1st in series, looking forward to the next one. Great story and minor characters nice to read about. Watching them develop will be fun.
reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A very enjoyable book. The background, antique prints and fairs, adds interest (but never overpowers) the plot. This is the first in a series and I look forward to more.
Read All 25 Book Reviews of "Shadows at the Fair Antique Print Bk 1"

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tracey13 avatar reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 310 more book reviews
Interesting whodunit set at an antiques fair. Will look out for more in this series.
reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
Neat mystery..first in the Maggie Summers Antique print series.Antiques, murders and intrigue.
reviewed Shadows at the Fair (Antique Print, Bk 1) on + 139 more book reviews
Good first in a series mystery.


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