Antique Auctions are Murder by Libby Klein

Item: Antique Auctions Are Murder
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted July 6, 2022 by BaronessMom in #BookishRecipe, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

Antique Auctions Are Murder

by Libby Klein

Series: Poppy McAllister Mystery #7
Series Rating:

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on February 20, 2022
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 368
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Restaurant Weeks Are Murder

When vintage items go up for auction, gluten-free baker and B&B owner Poppy McAllister discovers some people will pay the ultimate price. . .
It’s peak summer season at the Butterfly House Bed and Breakfast in Cape May, with tourists fluttering in and out and wreaking enough havoc to rival a Jersey Shore hurricane. Also back in town is Courtney Whipple and his family of antique dealers for the annual Cold Spring Village antique show. Courtney’s son Auggie has a unique piece he believes will fetch them a fortune if he can get it authenticated in time—a piece rival dealer Grover Prickle insists was stolen from his store.
Poppy and her Aunt Ginny attend the auction, hoping to bid on an armoire for the B&B, and discover a veritable armory for sale—everything from ancient blades and nineteenth century guns to such potential killing devices as knitting needles and a blacksmith hammer. Strangely, they don’t see either Auggie or Grover—or the mysterious item they both claim to own. Then during the auction, a body falls out of the very armoire Poppy was hoping to acquire, stabbed through the heart. Now, surrounded by competitive dealers and makeshift weapons, she must find out who turned the auction house into a slaughterhouse.

Antique Auctions are Murder by Libby Klein is witty, hilarious, and a bit scary in a fun way. It kept me guessing throughout.

Will Poppy figure out who the vampire hunter in town is?

Poppy McAllister

Our sleuth is Poppy, but she is also one of the owners of a B & B in Cape May, New Jersey. Poppy is in a new relationship with Gia, but they really don’t get to spend much time together. Poppy’s relationship with Gia’s son is sweet. You can see that she truly cares for the boy. I think he is better behaved than her Aunt Ginny so it’s easy for Poppy. Throughout the story we see some things happening, and Poppy’s responses are funny. She truly takes all the craziness in stride.

I like Poppy, and it seems like she is starting to really like herself too. She has a way of setting people at ease. Poppy’s approach is sweet. Although, this whole finding bodies everywhere is a weird curse.

“Why is it every time a body drops in this town I gotta be questioned by the police?”

“It’s standard operating procedure.”

The walkie Velcroed to the shoulder of Anber’s police uniform squawked and she twisted the volume down.

I took a sip of the coffee I’d brought outside with me. “Since when?”

“About two murders ago. Also, since Captain Kieran Dunne took over as acting chief of police and strapped me to a partner who watches my every move like a stalker.”

The Mystery

Well, mysteries is more like it. We have a few things happening. 1) a man is found murdered under the pier. 2) A local antique dealer is found dead. 3) things are being stolen from local antique shops and sold to other shops. 4) Two ladies are fighting over a jewelry box that is clearly the property of Mrs. Davis. These are the things that Poppy is trying to figure out. Of course, she has tons of help in the form of Aunt Ginny and the old biddies. If you can call that help.

Oh, and her B& B guests are all a bit out there. They have seances going, murder house tours, cheese and wine thief, a chambermaid who can’t do her job correctly, two female cats on the prowl for the house cat, Figaro and Aunt Ginny being herself. Between baking and everything else, I don’t know how she finds to sleep. Poppy is amazing.

My favorite character is Aunt Ginny.

Aunt Ginny keeps Poppy’s life from becoming stale. This woman lives life to her fullest.

Some of the things I love about Aunt Ginny

Her style
Her cunningness
Her lack of filter
Her need for adventure

Five Stars

Honestly, Poppy is a fantastic sleuth and her entourage is hilarious. My rating for Antique Auctions are Murder by Libby Klein is five stars and I highly recommend this book and series to all you cozy culinary mystery readers out there. Oh, watch the red velvet scrunchie.

Don’t forget to check out the recipes at the back of the book. Maybe I can talk Karen into doing at least one as a post. The recipes are Banana Saltwater Taffy Muffins, Unicorn Cotton Candy Cuppycakes, Strawberry Funnel Cake Muffins, Gluten-Free Funnel Cakes, Peanut Butter Fudge Cakes, Caramel Apple, Candy Corn Cupcakes, Caramel Sauce, Caramel Frosting, Crunch Coat Bars, and Kohlrabi Carrot Fritters with Avocado Cream.

Other Books in the Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Antique Auctions are Murder by Libby Klein.

Until the next time,

About Libby Klein

Libby Klein dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets, and taking out the trash. She writes culinary cozy mysteries from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard.

Photo Credit: DelSignore Photography

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