Antiques Flee Market

August 18, 2008
At the start of Allan's lively third antiques mystery (after 2007's Antiques Maul
), divorcée Brandy Borne and her eternally glamorous if somewhat annoying mother, Vivian, are busy preparing for the Christmas rush in the small Midwestern town of Serenity. Then Walter Yeager, a fellow antiques dealer, dies of cyanide poisoning soon after it becomes public knowledge that the WWII veteran owned a valuable first edition of Tarzan of the Apes
, which disappears from the crime scene. Walter's 20-year-old British goth granddaughter, Chaz, becomes the top suspect due to her prison record, but Brandy and Vivian believe she's innocent. Told primarily from Brandy's viewpoint with Vivian sneaking in quips for extra pizzazz, this bubbly tongue-in-cheek cozy also includes flea market shopping tips and a recipe. Allan is the pseudonym of the husband-wife writing team of Barbara and Max Allan Collins.

September 1, 2008
Serenity, IA, is anything but, while the Borne females (mother Vivian and daughter Brandy) stick their noses into the death of an old classmate of Vivian's and look for a missing first edition of "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A fast-paced plot, plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, and tips on antiques collecting will keep readers of this third entry in Allan's charming cozy series ("Antiques Roadkill; Antiques Maul") engaged. Allan is the pseudonym of Barbara Collins, best known for her excellent short stories, and best-selling mystery novelist Max Allan Collins.

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