Rating: 
Summary: Urned a Laugh!
Review: Abigail Timberlake, intrepid owner of the Den of Antiquity, seems to lead a life filled with surprises. This time it's an inheritance from an aunt she never knew. Abby is puzzled over this, but cannot resist a trip to Savannah to bring back her aunt's remains and have a look at the house she has inherited. She takes her best friends, Wynnell and C.J., and her eccentric mother. This foursome is always good for a laugh and there are many funny scenes with them during their trip to Savannah. Abby encounters some interesting characters, especially Diamond, a woman who seems to be wherever Abby is and who dabbles in "second sight" and juju. This is one of the best of this series and is recommended for fun, light reading.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful addition to this series
Review: Abigail Timberlake, intrepid owner of the Den of Antiquity, seems to lead a life filled with surprises. This time it's an inheritance from an aunt she never knew. Abby is puzzled over this, but cannot resist a trip to Savannah to bring back her aunt's remains and have a look at the house she has inherited. She takes her best friends, Wynnell and C.J., and her eccentric mother. This foursome is always good for a laugh and there are many funny scenes with them during their trip to Savannah. Abby encounters some interesting characters, especially Diamond, a woman who seems to be wherever Abby is and who dabbles in "second sight" and juju. This is one of the best of this series and is recommended for fun, light reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good Abby Timberlake mystery.
Review: Even if you haven't read another book in the Den of Antiquity series yet, you could start with A PENNY URNED and not have missed anything. Here we're with Abby, her mom, and friends in Savannah, where we get to enjoy some of the local color while we watch them on a search for all manner of things, including lots of answers. There's a ton of silliness and a satisfying mystery, and the ending is really fun. Tamar Myers always leaves me wanting the next book. This edition even very kindly provides you with little excerpts from each of the six preceding entries in the series that began with LARCENY AND OLD LACE.
Rating: 
Summary: The slapstick overshadows the story
Review: I usually enjoy reading Abigail Timberlake if for no other reason than it will usually make me laugh. I found with this book, that the comedy was forced and almost slapstick. This took away from the story and I just read to get to the end. In the book, Abigail, her mother and her two friends, Wynnell and CJ go to Savannah to claim an inheritance that Abigail gets from a long-lost cousin. While there they meet a number of local people who are scary, silly and downright dangerous. Abby tries to find her cousin's valuable coin collection, but there are a number of people that are after it too. Of course Abby and her mother end up in a pickle that they have to get themselves out of at the end. Pretty predictable stuff.
Rating:
Summary: The slapstick overshadows the story
Review: I usually enjoy reading Abigail Timberlake if for no other reason than it will usually make me laugh. I found with this book, that the comedy was forced and almost slapstick. This took away from the story and I just read to get to the end. In the book, Abigail, her mother and her two friends, Wynnell and CJ go to Savannah to claim an inheritance that Abigail gets from a long-lost cousin. While there they meet a number of local people who are scary, silly and downright dangerous. Abby tries to find her cousin's valuable coin collection, but there are a number of people that are after it too. Of course Abby and her mother end up in a pickle that they have to get themselves out of at the end. Pretty predictable stuff.
Rating:
Summary: A Penny Urned
Review: I was so looking forward to the next book in this serier, but found myself disappointed instead. I felt like Ms. Myers woke up on the wrong side of the bed and took it out on her characters. I grew agitated with Abby and her mother at several different points in the book. There was also a reference to Magdaline Yoder that I thought was rather extreme. I can only hope that Ms. Myers is in a different mood when she writes the next book. There were still some very witty moments, and if you have read the other books in the series you won't want to miss this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not all that "cozy"
Review: I've never understood the term "cozy mystery." Supposedly Ms. Myers writes "cozy mysteries." That's how reviewers and advertisers often describe them. However, the jeopardy is just as real, and the corpse is just as dead--drowned in champagne of the wrong color, in this case. Does "cozy" mean written by a woman? There's certainly nothing cozy about Patricia Cornwell's or Sue Grafton's crime fiction. Does it mean without a lot of "improper" words? Then, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Mary Roberts Rinehart would fit the genre. So what IS a cozy mystery?This one is good fun, especially if the reader is familiar with the book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The setting is quirky Savannah, and Tamar Myers populates her book with quirky locals to go with the quirky entourage from Charlotte/Rock Hill. The characters are fascinating, the atmosphere almost palpable. And the plot has one final twist that send the reader off satisfied. But cozy? Murder is never cozy. Tea and crumpets are cozy. "Pride and Prejudice" is a little cozy, perhaps. But not Tamar Myers.
Rating:
Summary: Not all that "cozy"
Review: I've never understood the term "cozy mystery." Supposedly Ms. Myers writes "cozy mysteries." That's how reviewers and advertisers often describe them. However, the jeopardy is just as real, and the corpse is just as dead--drowned in champagne of the wrong color, in this case. Does "cozy" mean written by a woman? There's certainly nothing cozy about Patricia Cornwell's or Sue Grafton's crime fiction. Does it mean without a lot of "improper" words? Then, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Mary Roberts Rinehart would fit the genre. So what IS a cozy mystery? This one is good fun, especially if the reader is familiar with the book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The setting is quirky Savannah, and Tamar Myers populates her book with quirky locals to go with the quirky entourage from Charlotte/Rock Hill. The characters are fascinating, the atmosphere almost palpable. And the plot has one final twist that send the reader off satisfied. But cozy? Murder is never cozy. Tea and crumpets are cozy. "Pride and Prejudice" is a little cozy, perhaps. But not Tamar Myers.
Rating:
Summary: Not all that "cozy"
Review: I've never understood the term "cozy mystery." Supposedly Ms. Myers writes "cozy mysteries." That's how reviewers and advertisers often describe them. However, the jeopardy is just as real, and the corpse is just as dead--drowned in champagne of the wrong color, in this case. Does "cozy" mean written by a woman? There's certainly nothing cozy about Patricia Cornwell's or Sue Grafton's crime fiction. Does it mean without a lot of "improper" words? Then, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Mary Roberts Rinehart would fit the genre. So what IS a cozy mystery? This one is good fun, especially if the reader is familiar with the book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The setting is quirky Savannah, and Tamar Myers populates her book with quirky locals to go with the quirky entourage from Charlotte/Rock Hill. The characters are fascinating, the atmosphere almost palpable. And the plot has one final twist that send the reader off satisfied. But cozy? Murder is never cozy. Tea and crumpets are cozy. "Pride and Prejudice" is a little cozy, perhaps. But not Tamar Myers.
Rating:
Summary: "Urned" accolades!
Review: It took me a while to read this book, which is a rarity for me when I've got hold of a Tamar Myers mystery (Den of Antiquity OR her Penn-Dutch series). Although the book takes Abby to a different locale (Savannah) there isn't much action in it. Ms. Myers' humor is not up to par in comparison to her other books. Some of the plot and characters seem contrived - too coincidental, and it just didn't make her usual grade. I downright dislike what she did with Abby's mother in this one. It's way out there. Read if you must, but don't expect it to be one of her best.
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