The Big Steal

A Southern manor holds antique treasures-and criminal secrets-in a mystery novel that's "e;sure to please antiques lovers"e; (Kirkus Reviews).When the rural Virginia manor house Wynderly is burgled, antiques appraiser and amateur sleuth Sterling Glass is called in to assess the value of the broken or missing antiquities. But the job is more difficult than it first appears. Sterling discovers that the antiques in this ancestral home-turned-museum are not always what they seem: some are worth tens of thousands, others are well-done replicas.Could the well-heeled couple who once owned Wynderly have been trafficking in fakes? It's a mystery Sterling must unravel from the secret rooms, hidden treasures, uncovered diaries, and convoluted trails of paperwork and provenance. As our sharp-witted heroine sifts through details doled out by the museum's curators, board members, and the town's local residents, she discovers that objects, unlike people, do not lie.The Big Steal includes a guide to identifying the most popular styles and periods of antiques in an illustrated appendix.

Hired to assess the value of broken and missing antiques following a suspicious burglary at a Virginia manor house, intrepid appraiser and amateur sleuth Sterling Glass finds that her job is more complicated than she’d anticipated. The antiques, she realizes, are not always what they seem: some are worth tens of thousands, others are well-done replicas. Whether the well-traveled and well-heeled couple who once owned Wynderly could have been trafficking in fakes is what Sterling must unravel from the secret rooms, hidden treasures, uncovered diaries, and convoluted trail of paperwork and provenance. As our sharp-witted heroine sifts through details doled out by the museum's curators, board members, and the town's local residents, she discovers that objects, unlike people, do not lie. The Big Steal is a delightful mystery that enhances readers' antiques acumen and provides an easy guide to identifying the most popular styles and periods in an illustrated appendix.