Larceny and Old Lace (Den of Antiquity, #1) by Tamar Myers

Larceny and Old Lace (Den of Antiquity, #1) Reviews

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  C. (Never PM. Comment, or e-mail if private!)

  I collected a little Tamar Myers and finally dug in, along with introductions to several series. I seize bargains and see how I like them; years after gathering whole suites! This comedic treatise of close-knit, American southerners isn’t what I expected of a lady born in the Congo! Additionally, I’ve tired of the ‘cozy mystery’; driven by comedic antics and quaint settings, instead of a good, suspenseful mystery. But I have to say, I liked it. A fast-paced adventure with elements of fear do occur at its end.
  
  Many elements, such as the stereotypical religious lady spouting scripture and rules of religion, wouldn’t have appealed to me but these people are drawn so well; you can’t help laughing at their behaviour and personalities. In this series, they work. The protagonist isn’t necessarily cut of the same cloth but she lives among them, knowing how to tread and it comes off believably, in a way that entertains. Something about what Tamar has built as a whole, has me keen to read onward. I suppose anyone cheers for a good, determined Mother to her adult kids; divorced abruptly and restarting independently vis-à-vis her Aunt’s antique shop.
  
  Abigail very plausibly seeks to defend her sour Aunt, flush out her murderer, and protect her son with a dignity known to the south. I think too that I let peculiarities slide and accept them as they are because that regional mindset is surreal in of itself; at least to a reading Canadian. Her Mother is fascinating and hilarious; a noble belle if there ever were one but dating like a teenager! I’m uncertain the killer’s motive makes sense but that person becomes frightening, in a deathly night time chase. Setting details that orient us helpfully, recognizable personalities, and visible personal growth strike an appealing balance.
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  Melki

  Curses! (Shakes fist!) Why can't I quit you, cozy mysteries?
  
  No - seriously, after spending much of a decade reading book after book about crime-solving hairdressers, dog-groomers, caterers, and home improvement gurus, I swore I was done with this genre. Then along comes Tamar Myers, with her great sense of humor, and she sucks me right back in.
  
  And, it also helps that I'm a big fan of antique shops . . .
  
  Like most cozies, the plot here is pretty implausible, and pretty predictable, but it was fun. I had some laughs, and I'll be reading more in the series. In all, not a bad way to while away the hours on a snowy day.
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  Bert

  I just can't like a protagonist who has her cat declawed and calls everyone 'dear' (especially if she's going to then get all riled by other people calling her by diminuitives). Abigail is also really bitter and snarky, but never quite manages to grab hold of "funny" and isn't even in the same time zone as "self aware". Mostly though it's the cat declawing thing. Gosh.
  
  P.S. I've read a few Southern themed cozy series and this is the only one that's ever managed a level of vitriol towards "the North" that's made me conduct an actual real life physical eye roll. Also way too many semantical errors.
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  Dotty

  I love Tamar Myers' humor and this start of another series is chock full.
  
  Quotes:
  Chapter 19 (great church humor and neat insertion of herself in the story!):
  I should have known. In Rock Hill you can live your entire life and have it populated solely by the Episcopal church. Want to speak to a teacher? We have tons of those. How about a college professor? Would half the congregation please step forward .... At the Episcopal Church of Our Savior we even have a crazy woman mystery writer with frizzed-out blond hair who claims she was raised among a tribe of headhunters in the Belgian Congo. She's not exactly another Sue Grafton, but you have to give her credit for her imagination.
  
  Chapter 15 (more church humor):
  I'll be singing 'When the Roll is Called Up Yonder,'" she practically shouted. "y'all feel free to join in any time. Clap if you want."
  There was a stunned silence. Not only do we Episcopalians not know that song, but we are genetically incapable of clapping in church, except for at the end of the annual parish meetings. The last time someone clapped during a song, it was revealed that she was an undercover Methodist with no plans to convert. We Episcopalians proudly bear the label God's Frozen Chosen.
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  Dolly

  This is the first book in the
  Den of Antiquity series by
  Tamar Myers. The story is fairly entertaining and the mystery is filled with suspects. But I have to say that it's filled with a dialogue that aims to be a witty banter, but really just falls flat. Every character seems to be stereotypically exaggerated and every conversation seems forced and fake. It was a quick read, but not overly engaging.
  
  This story was one of the depicted books in the
  Featured Author - Nov 2011 - Tamar Myers page at the
  Cozy Mysteries group here at Goodreads. I like to check out the featured books and potentially find a new series to read. I'm not sure if this is one that I'll pick up, though.
• 
  Amanda

  Sooo, I liked the overall setup of this story, so will stick with it another book or two to see how she develops her characters. The "whodunit" felt a little out in left field and rather like an "oh crap, I'm almost to the end of the storytelling, I'd best start wrapping this up pronto" scramble by the author. To me, the characters felt borderline Stephanie Plum silly with very little basis in reality, but I guess that's why this is called "Fiction", no? Fairly fluffy timepasser. Which I appear to be munching through like so much popcorn at the movies where these books are concerned...ah well, it is summer :) No brain cramps for me this season!
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  Donna

  Although I never really warmed up to Abigail I did enjoy this book. I found her too caustic in her comments. I realize she was still dealing with bitter feelings about her divorce but she seemed unable to make comments to anyone without some degree of sarcasm. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the murder, the red herring misdirections, and the quirky characters. I'll read the next book in the series just to see if Abby becomes less harsh now that there's a love interest in her life.
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  Susan

  I'm being a little generous and giving this 3 stars instead of 2.5. There's nothing deep about this book and it is entertaining and cute. I thought Abigail, the main character, went a little overboard with her frequent references to being short. As usual in Tamar Myers' books, there is a lot of humor. This series isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I do enjoy a quick, light read every now and then.
• 
  Reader of Books

  Five chapters in and DNF. Couldn't stand the main character. While the mystery was interesting, I disliked the heaps of Christian praying, religious references, and the "was your aunt saved, then she's having a good time up high". Yes, because I am sure she'd have been thrilled, finding out she'd died by strangulation, that's always something to celebrate over.
  
  I just generally did not like this at all. My apologies to the author, but I tried. It just wasn't for me.
  
  2 🌟
• 
  Shannon

  I tried Myers' books based on reviews from the back of other mysteries that I had liked--I find that a good way to find new authors. This time I was disappointed. Sure, her characters are quirky but not funny. The mystery was just so-so. Not a series I'll go back to.
• 
  Wendy

  Love the spirited heroine....and her interesting way that she always gets pulled into a mystery. She has quirky family and friends who give humor to the pages so that you enjoy reading every book in her series.
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  Chris Curtis

  I absolutely hated the main character.
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  Debbie

  This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the setting, although the humor took some getting used to. I will read on in this series.
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  Cindi

  I keep trying books by this author because I want to like them, but I just don't. I'm not exactly sure why they bother me so much, but it's more than the main characters attitude or cussing. Sad.
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  Leah

  I hate the main character. I just can't stand her.
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  Joy Gerbode

  This book is really difficult for me to rate. I found it kind of ... stupid (I know that's not a word we're supposed to use, but I can't think of a better one.) Some of the characters were really ... too weird to be believable. Some of the dialog was just ... stupid. Having said all of that, however, I laughed a lot at this book. Maybe because it was so stupid it was funny? I absolutely didn't see the end coming and that made it exciting. The mystery was right up front; yet there was a lot else going on as well, such as gay neighbors and other bigoted neighbors and sexual interludes and hatred for the evil ex, and dealings with teen-age children. So I'm still not sure if I liked it or not ... but it certainly was worth a good laugh today. One thing I can say definitely ... Tamar Myers writes a bit differently than many of the other cozy authors I've been reading, and that alone made it worth the read.
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  Sharla

  There are pros and cons with this book. I like quirky characters but speaking as someone who has spent most of my life in the south, these southerners were more like caricatures than characters. I’m not likely to keep reading this series long if the Nazi sympathizer Major doesn’t become a murder victim soon. I guess every book needs a villain or two but it’s better if they eventually get their comeuppance. I love humor and this book has that but it’s a snarky humor, which I don’t mind but it can be wearing after a while. It’s nice that there is a cat named Dimitri, but I sure did cringe when the main character, Abby, said he had been declawed. Ouch! I admit to being entertained but the motives of just about everyone for just about everything were shaky. I’m not terribly picky about such but so many of the actions taken did not ring true. In spite of the problems, this book was engaging enough to keep me reading and I will probably give the next one a try. We’ll see how it goes.
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  Teri-K

  I really need to stop checking out books because I like the cover. lol Actually, this book started just fine, and I enjoyed it for a while, but eventually I began to get tired of the Southern Folks stereotypes - they were everywhere. Then the MC found out her long-widowed Mom had a man over one evening, and she freaked out. I thought that was strange, though I think it's supposed to be funny. But when she reveals she has the Confederate flag in her closet, because she doesn't "want to offend anyone", I was offended. When was this book written? Turns out it was published in 1996, and perhaps things were different then, I can't pin it down in my head. But in 2023 I found it all pretty offensive. I know I've read some other books by this author. I hope they weren't as narrow-minded as this one. I'll be embarrassed if they are.
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  Kellene

  I like the first book in Myers’ other series, and expected to like this one as well, since it is set in a city that I know fairly well. Unfortunately, my expectation was woefully incorrect. I just could not like this book. Abagail was horribly irritating to me, sarcastic and hateful too much of the time. And the other characters were equally annoying, with the exception of Greg, who seems like a genuinely nice guy and one who needs to distance himself for Abagail. I think the fact that too many of the characters played to negative Southern stereotypes was part of my problem. The mystery itself was just okay, and while I was surprised by the solution, it put me off even more. I may give the next one a try to see if the series improves, but not in a hurry.
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  Rachel N.

  Abigail Timberlake is recently divorced and owner of the antique shop The Den of Antiquity. Her aunt Eulonia owns a run down antique shop on the same street and the rest of the local store owners want her to fix up her shop or move out. Then Eulonia is found strangled by an antique bell pull. This is the first book in the series. I mostly liked Abigail though she annoyingly called everyone dear and the word dear sometimes appeared more than ten times on a page. The solution to the crime came out of nowhere. I like Abigail more than I do Magdalena from the other series of books by this author that I've read so I'll likely continue the series.
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  Harry

  Like the movie with a very similar name, this book has an old person being bumped off. Yet the protagonist, Abigail Timberlake, seems more upset about losing her inheritance, including a priceless piece of antique lace, than losing her aunt Eulonia. Unlike some reviewers, I actually enjoyed Abby’s witty and spunky character. And Tamar Myers paints a colorful picture of the Carolinas. Yet unlike a good mystery writer, Myers does not lead the reader inexorably toward the finale. Yes the plot has twists and turns and false leads. But the ending, while exciting, comes out of the blue with no relationship to the preceding 85% of the book.
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  Leslie

  Abigail Timberlake, proprietor of the antiques shop Den of Antiquity is a diminutive woman in her mid-forties. When her aunt is murdered Abigail becomes an amateur sleuth to find out who killed Aunt Eulonia. Abigail is sometimes like a mean rat terrier and sometimes a sympathetic character; her sharp tongue almost gets her killed. Oddly enough she catches the eye of the handsome detective investigating her aunt's murder. Lots of southernisms abound through the book and a couple were laugh out loud worthy. Overall, this short mystery, first in a series, is entertaining.
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  Amy

  I liked the humor in this book...the author has a some good ideas and great character development. I love Abigail and find her character refreshing. I honestly would rate this hos book a 3.5 but figure a 5 star rating is ok too. Loved the plot keeping you guessing on The Who done it. I think I'm gonna enjoy reading about Abigail's kids in this series and more than likely the ex husband. Good start to a series.
• 
  Karen

  Predictable plot involving quirky Southern ladies and an association of antique shops.
  
  The heroine loses her aunt to murder, her rent free home to her aunt who doesn't want any changes inside or out and her lawyer husband to a younger woman.
  
  This may have been fresh when written, but is all too predictable now, including the cute etective who is single.
  
  Willing to try a few more.
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  Marilyn

  As owner of Den of Antiquity, Abigail Timberlake is accustomed to delving into the past. Then her Aunt Eulonia Wiggins is found murdered and Abigail is puzzled by the antique bell pull that was used to strangle her aunt. And someone is threatening Abigail's son Charlie. Now she must find out who killed her aunt and why.