A Statue To Die For by Jennifer S. Alderson

Item: A Statue To Die For
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted August 30, 2024 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

A Statue To Die For

by Jennifer S. Alderson

Series: Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries #2
Series Rating:

Published by Traveling Life Press on August 31, 2023
Setting: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 226
Format: Audible Audiobook, Kindle, Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Collecting Can Be Murder

After a valuable movie prop is used to murder a Hollywood film director, art sleuth Carmen De Luca has to spotlight the killer before she becomes the next victim.

Carmen De Luca is having the time of her life recovering stolen artwork from nefarious European collectors for her employer, the Rosewood Agency…until her partner, Baroness Sophie Rutherford, is injured during a mission gone wrong.

Their boss wants to ground them, but Carmen’s not ready to give up on her newly revitalized career without a fight. So she begs her best friend, Rhonda Rhodes, an antiques expert and the host of a popular television show, to fly over and take the Baroness’s place. Carmen isn’t rich or interesting enough to get on the guest list of the exclusive parties she uses to access her targets’ homes—but Rhonda is.

Carmen’s boss agrees to her unorthodox plan, but with one caveat—she can’t disclose to Rhonda that she’s actually an art sleuth currently on assignment.

With no alternative other than to pack up and fly home, Carmen agrees to deceive her friend. She picks Rhonda up at the airport, thinking they can see some of Europe’s most famous sights before her next assignment, only to discover that her friend’s already made other plans. On the flight over, Rhonda’s seatmate invited her to attend an exclusive party being held on a pirate ship and hosted by a Hollywood director. How can they resist?

What begins as a fun night partying with an eclectic group of film directors, actors, and producers turns into a deadly game of whodunnit when their host is murdered with his own copy of the Maltese Falcon statue.

Now Carmen must use her wits and expertise to sift through the many motives and uncover the killer’s true identity, if she and Rhonda are to get off the ship alive.

Movie moguls, priceless props, and long-buried secrets make for a deadly combination in this delightful mystery that is sure to appeal to fans of cozy crime and amateur sleuth mysteries.

A Statue To Die For by Jennifer S. Alderson is an exciting ride for Carmen, Baroness, and Rhonda.

Will Carmen finish her comeback assignment and locate all the stolen artwork?

At the story’s beginning, Carmen gets a bit ahead of herself and ends up in trouble, and Baroness Sophie must step in and rescue her. However, Sophie is hurt badly and ends up in the hospital. Since Sophie won’t be around to get Carmen into the fancy parties, Carmen decides to invite her best friend to assist her in her quest to find stolen artwork.

What I liked about this story is that we get a lot of backstory for Carmen and Sophie. The dynamics of their partnership are laid out for us, and we also gain insight into Carmen and Rhonda’s past. It’s so cool to see each of them hide a special part of themselves from the other.

I loved the whole movie’s prop heist, pirate ship, and crazy auction idea. Although Allister is far from a nice guy, he might have deserved his ending, but Divine indeed didn’t. The other characters on the boat were well put together, and I enjoyed their contributions to the overall story. I didn’t catch Allister’s killer, but I am glad Carmen’s plan to handle that situation worked out.

Five Stars

My rating for A Statue To Die For by Jennifer S. Alderson is five stars. I hope to finish this series this year. Fingers-crossed. I love Jennifer S. Alderson’s writing style and sense of humor. She makes her books fun even in the face of danger.

Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Statue To Die For by Jennifer S. Alderson.

Until the next time,

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About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: