Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Cateman’s books were donated to the Flora Park library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth millions—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.
To search the stacks, Helen applies for a position as a library volunteer and discovers the library director has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat named Paris to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the more imaginative staff are attributing to a ghost haunting the building.
While her husband Phil sticks his neck out to find a missing necklace, Helen is on her own with no one to lend her a hand. When a dead body turns up in a parking lot, it appears someone is willing to go to any lengths to keep the treasure in the library quiet. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.
My Thoughts :
This is one of my favourite cozy mystery series but as I have moaned about many times over the last few years, it is also not one I can pick up on release day. Well I could but the cost of the book is always three times the price of a normal novel. Even the Kindle version is highly priced. I love the series but I can't justify buying a copy when it releases when I could buy three books for the same price. I just hope that the author actually gets the money! Anyway, I usually add the new releases to my wishlist and hope to get a copy for Christmas or my Birthday and at some point a copy of this latest release did find its way into my possession. However a new installment is about to release so I am nearly back at square one, so to speak.
Another great cozy that is well thought out and interesting. It wasn't my favourite of the series but it wasn't the worst. This time around I felt that Helen was acting a little more dramatic than usual and I have to wonder if she is getting a bit too cocky. Of course this did end up to be murder at the end of the day but she was sounding a little crazy now and again.
I really love Elaine Viets books and miss her Mystery Shopper series. I hope this series will continue for a few more books but I also look forward to Helen getting a nice happy end. She has been through a lot and despite being better off she still, I feel, deserves something more.
Looking forward to the next installment. It is on my wishlist and my Birthday is coming up! So fingers crossed!!!
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