Rating: 
Summary: New author, great book
Review: I read this book because I enjoy watching Antiques Roadshow. That is the only reason that I read this book because generally speaking I don't care for antiques. However, I was delightful engaged by the book and the care in which Ms. Fiffer took in describing her characters and their interaction. This book primarily focuses on two characters however the intertwining of the balance of the characters is both necessary and well done. The plot was well done as well. I am hopeful that this is the start of a great series!
Rating: 
Summary: Flea Market Madness
Review: If you are frenzied over Fire-King, bonkers over Bakelite, cuckoo over kitsch, or otherwise very silly over vintage stuff, you'll want to collect this charming first novel by Sharon Fiffer about junque junkie Jane Ray - Oops! make that Jane Wheel. If you don't know jade from Jadite, or a new Planter's Peanut planter from a real McCoy, you may be way less enamored and only bid 3 stars. And maybe the names of victim and sleuth - Balance and Wheel, will leave you listing. But for afficiandas of The Grand Quest, it's a signature 5 star-- more murderous fun than a year of yard sales! Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Flea Market Madness
Review: If you are frenzied over Fire-King, bonkers over Bakelite, cuckoo over kitsch, or otherwise very silly over vintage stuff, you'll want to collect this charming first novel by Sharon Fiffer about junque junkie Jane Ray - Oops! make that Jane Wheel. If you don't know jade from Jadite, or a new Planter's Peanut planter from a real McCoy, you may be way less enamored and only bid 3 stars. And maybe the names of victim and sleuth - Balance and Wheel, will leave you listing. But for afficiandas of The Grand Quest, it's a signature 5 star-- more murderous fun than a year of yard sales! Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Antiques can be murder
Review: Jane is having a bad week. She found her neighbor, who is also a friend and the wife of a man Jane kissed at a party recently, dead. This neighbor is also a fellow collector.
Tim gets attacked and then she stumbles upon a second corpse and finds herself the prime suspect.
Homicide detective Bruce Oh has an open mind and allows Jane to do some sleuthing. He finds her skills can be helpful. With the help of her best friend Tim, Jane sets about looking for the murderer as well as figuring out the why.
Jane is an antiques picker and meets many interesting people along the way. She feels there may be a connection with the murders as both were collectors. But she can't figure out anything that would be worth killing over.
Plus her neighbor's husband is constantly asking for her help. She is concerned what the other neighbors will say. She has no interest in him and tries to keep her distance. This doesn't always work.
I really like Jane and Tim they are entertaining characters that are richly created. The antiques descriptions are interesting and not overwhelming. I like learning more about the life of a picker and what they are looking for. Everyone is always hoping to find a steal on something expensive. The characters in this book are no different. It's fun watching them rush to beat each other out without paying too much for what they're buying.
Bruce Oh is a great character as well. He has a wife who is an antiques dealer so he somewhat understands what is going on. But he has an investigation to run as well. I like that he works with Jane and is not always throwing up roadblocks in her way.
I recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Antique Murder in Modern Times!
Review: Jane Wheel has had some big changes in her life lately. She had been downsized from her job as an ad executive, kissed her next door neighbor, separated from her husband, found out her father was going in for some medical tests and discovered her next door neighbor's wife dead in her living room. However, Jane keeps herself busy with her new job as a "picker" for an antique dealer. She spends her time scrounging around through moldly basements, dusty attics and anywhere else she can find treasures at estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, rummage sales, etc. Unfortunately, Jane's unlucky streak continues when she and her best friend since elementary school, Tim, discover the dead body of Tim's assistant in his flower shop. Luckily, the detective working on these cases is fascinated by Jane and her collector tendencies and uses Jane's powers of observation to help him gather evidence. As Jane roots around for clues, she picks up antique photo albums, early American pottery, Bakelite buttons and other treasures as well as more dead bodies... Killer Stuff is one of the funnest reads I have had in years. All of Sharon Fiffer's characters are absolutely superbly drawn and seem so real. Jane Wheel is such a fascinating character and so fun to read about as she hunts down treasures and tries to get her life back together again. Detective Oh was also another great character and is quite atypical from your usual run-of-the-mill detectives. I also loves the way Fiffer described the estate sales and the viciousness of the pickers and antique dealers who frequent them. I quite enjoy watching programs like The Antique Roadshow and this book was just great because it described so many antiques and collectibles. The reader will learn just as much as they will be entertained by this book. Buy this one - it is definitely a keeper and an author to watch out for!
Rating:
Summary: Dynamite read
Review: The past year has been rough on Evanston resident Jane Wheel. She amiably separated from her geology professor husband and lost her job at an ad agency when a couple of clients left for other firms. Over the years, Jane has been an amateur antique "picker" and with her ten-year-old son in South Dakota at a dig with his dad, she tries to make a living as a wheeler-dealer. Jane borrows her next door neighbor's van as she always does when she makes the weekend rounds. When she goes to return the vehicle, Jane finds the murdered corpse of her neighbor Sandy Balance. Detective Oh leads the investigation and Jane is the obvious prime suspect. Not only for finding the body, but because everyone knows she passionately kissed Sandy's husband Jack. Other circumstantial evidence also points towards Jane as the killer. Not one to sit idly by, Jane uses her skills in finding items for customers to uncover the clues that will lead her to the killer's identity before the police arrest her. KILLER STUFF is an engaging amateur sleuth tale due to the lead character seeming so real even when she seeks to solve the murder. Though a bit too much collectibles is included in the overall fine story line, the plot still gracefully moves forward. Still the tale belongs to the support cast such as Detective Oh and Jane's Kankakee mom as they round out the case and Jane's personality. Overall Sharon Fiffer has written a pleasant tale that balances character and plot quite nicely. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Help! I'm in love!
Review: This book was just pure and solid fun from the first word.This mystery writer has not forgotten her obligation to the reader: to make the time spent between the covers of a book a sheer delight. The personalities in this book -- both major characters and minor -- are so well detailed and so deeply human that for me, they rivaled the joy of unspinning the mystery itself. Fiffer is truly destined for more writing and I am destined for more reading. A splendiforous acheivement. Viva!
Rating:
Summary: I'm off to hunt Bakelite and glass frogs!
Review: This book was very favorably reviewed on our local (Chicago) NPR station which is what prompted me to read it. I liked it a great deal, it's beautifully written, the characters come alive, the mystery is definitely mysterious and all the bits and pieces of pottery and postcards and vases and embroidered tea towels that make up Jane's life are wonderfully detailed. I learned a lot from this book, in particular, how to figure out which garage and estate sales to avoid and which ones might have "killer stuff," as well as how to organize my searching. I was a bit disappointed with the ending, however. I don't want to give away anything but I found the some of the motives for the various crimes to be rather implausible. They are woven together well and there is a delightful twist at the end of the book, but it just didn't seem realistic. I also think we aren't told enough about Jane's character -- we get all kinds of tantalizing hints into her psyche but having finished the book, I still don't understand why she rejected her husband (or, alternatively, why she was unable to balance her family with her "picking"). That said, I sure hope this is the start of a series of books featuring Jane Wheel, although I'd be more than happy to buy any books Sharon Fiffer writes.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, slightly weak plot
Review: This is a beautifully written book. In today's mystery world, an astonishing number of books appear in their first editions with grammatical errors and proofreading mistakes. I find this distracting. This book, however, had none, a remarkable achievement. Thus, I was able to pay attention to the content. And what content it is! Our intrepid heroine and her friend find themselves in the middle of various murders and other heinous activities in the antique-hunting world of house and estate sales. No wonder I never found anything at such sales--there was no way I could compete with the professional pickers and searchers for any nice items that might be available. I found the atmosphere of the book and the characters of the detectives (amateur and professional) more compelling than the mystery plot itself, which ended up with an excessively convenient solution. I look forward to more in this series, but PLEASE get our heroine back together with her husband!
Rating:
Summary: Killer Stuff
Review: This is a fun read, with lots of surprises and twists. Jane is a detertimed and interesting character with a great sense of humor. Her new occupation as a "picker" gets her into interesting situations and lets her meet fun people. I look forward to going treasure hunting with her again.
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