A hip young couple has moved to Sarah Winston's town in Massachusetts. Finding that the only house they could afford was too small, they hired Sarah to organize a yard sale so they could downsize. Or is that really what's going on?
On the first day of the sale, Sarah finds out that all the items are stolen and she's become an unwitting fence. While Sarah's trying to get herself out of hot water, she also has a friend who needs her help. Michelle, an up and coming officer in the Air Force is in line for promotion until she's hit with an anonymous discrimination complaint. When one of the men Michelle suspects of filing the complaint is found dead in her car, her career is on the line.
So Sarah has to clear Michelle's name as well as her own and put together a huge sale of feline memorabilia for a crazy cat lady. No rest for the weary, eh?
Sherry Harris's Garage Sale mysteries continue to be one of my favorite cozy series and Let's Fake a Deal is the best yet. The opening scene when Sarah finds out she's selling stolen merchandise is superb-- I think I forgot to breathe a time or two while I was reading it. Things like this usually don't happen to the main character of a cozy series, and Harris pulls it off brilliantly.
There is plenty of humor in the book, especially concerning the cat woman and another person who bluntly states her opinion of people who prefer plain popcorn, but Harris also deals with serious topics like the fact that, in this day and age, small business owners really need to start doing background checks on their clients and-- even more importantly-- the issues women face in the military. The scam pulled on Sarah Winston was my favorite part of the mystery, and she's got to be one of my favorite cozy main characters because she always keeps the police and any relevant lawyers in the loop as she conducts her own investigation.
Yes, indeed. If you like your mysteries fortified with an interesting main character, strong stories, common sense, and humor, you can't go wrong with Sherry Harris's Garage Sale mysteries. They are good!
Let's Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris
eISBN: 9781496716996
Kensington Books © 2019
eBook, 304 pages
Cozy Mystery, #7 Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery
Rating: A-
Source: Net Galley
For me, Cathy, one of the most important aspects of a good cosy mystery is strong characters. And it sounds as though Sarah is definitely a strong character. I like the yard/garage sale context, too - what better way to fence stolen goods? Glad you enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteI really did enjoy this one, Margot, and the series gets better and better with each book.
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