Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audio CD Available)
ISBN #: 9781496716965
Kensington Publishing
288 Pages
$7.88; $4.99 Amazon
January 29, 2019
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A wealthy widow has asked Sarah Winston to sell her massive collection of mysteries through her garage sale business. While sorting through piles of books stashed in the woman's attic, Sarah is amazed to discover a case of lost Hemingway stories, stolen from a train in Paris back in 1922. How did they end up in Bell Winthrop Granville's attic in Ellington, Massachusetts, almost one hundred years later?
Before Sarah can get any answers, Belle is assaulted, the case is stolen, a maid is killed, and Sarah herself is dodging bullets. And when rumors spread that Belle has a limited edition of The Sun Also Rises in her house, Sarah is soon mixed up with a mobster, the fanatical League of Literary Treasure Hunters, and a hard-to-read rare book dealer. With someone willing to kill for the Hemingway, Sarah has to race to catch the culprit -- or the bell may toll for her...
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Sarah Winston is surprised when wealthy Belle Winthrop Granville wants her to sort and sell her collection of mystery books for a sale to benefit the local library. But Sarah is determined to dig right in and do her best. But then Sarah discovers a briefcase of what appears to be the early writings of Ernest Hemingway, still bound with the original carbon copies. She takes it to Belle, explaining where she found it and what it might be. Not long after, she hears Belle scream and runs to her, finding her injured and telling her that the maid stole the case. Chasing after the woman isn't easy when you're going through a wooded area. Then she finds the maid dead, the briefcase missing, and herself being shot at.
Explaining what happened to her police officer friends is easy. What's not easy is that soon after Sarah finds herself the center of attention as treasure hunters come to town to stalk her, keeping Belle safe, and a rare book dealer who seems sketchy. Soon Sarah is on the hunt for a killer and a thief, but doesn't know who to trust, since it could be any number of people. When help comes from an unlikely source, it keeps Sarah safe temporarily, but it will take everything she has to stay out of the eye of a killer...
This is the sixth book in the series and is probably my favorite so far. These is plenty of action, so much so that Sarah can't even find time to breathe normally. The cast of characters is extensive, but not so much that you can't keep track of who's who. I especially like the gritty Belle, and I do love the fact that Sarah's brother Luke turns up again. I read about him in a previous book and grew to like his character, so seeing him here was pleasant.
While Sarah's trying to keep away from a killer, (whom she doesn't know who it might be), she's also trying to avoid a group of tweedy treasure hunters and reporters who have camped out at her favorite spots, leaving her nowhere to go. But her police officer friend finds her refuge at at unlikely place which also forces her to face certain fears she has. It also brings her an unlikely surprise visitor, one she's happy to see.
As things become more complicated, Sarah's life coincides with it. She can't find the killer nor the Hemingway, and she starts to become both frustrated and upset with herself. But what makes it worse is the fact that she has no clue as to where it is, and she starts to think she's following the wrong person.
When Sarah starts to put it all together, she tells her officer friends, and even explains what is going on. When the ending comes and the murderer is found, it's done nicely and is believable. Sarah uses her wits to figure it all out, and everything comes out just as it's supposed to. This book was easy to read in one sitting, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Recommended.
More on Sherry Harris's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/sherry-harris/
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