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Den of Antiquity #3
The Ming and I
Digging up old family dirt can uncover long buried secrets…and a new reason for murder.
North Carolina native Abigail Timberlake, owner of the Den of Antiquity, is quick to dismiss the seller of a hideous old vase—until the poor lady comes hurtling back through the shop window minutes later, the victim of a fatal hit-and-run.
Tall, dark, and handsome Homicide Investigator Greg Washburn—who just happens to be Abby’s boyfriend—is frustrated by conflicting accounts from eyewitnesses. And he’s just short of furious with his ever-lovin’, when he learns it was a valuable Ming vase, and Abby let it vanish from the crime scene. Abby decides she had better find out for herself what happened to the treasure—and to the lady who was dying to get rid of it.
It turns out the victim had a lineage that would make a Daughter of the Confederacy green with envy, and her connection with the historic old Roselawn Plantation makes that a good place to start sleuthing. Thanks to her own mama’s impeccable Southern credentials, Abby is granted an appointment with the board members—but no one gives her permission to snoop. And digging into the long-festering secrets of a proud family of the Old South turns out to be a breach of good manners that could land Abby six feet under in the family plot.
North Carolina native Abigail Timberlake, owner of the Den of Antiquity, is quick to dismiss the seller of a hideous old vase—until the poor lady comes hurtling back through the shop window minutes later, the victim of a fatal hit-and-run.
Tall, dark, and handsome Homicide Investigator Greg Washburn—who just happens to be Abby’s boyfriend—is frustrated by conflicting accounts from eyewitnesses. And he’s just short of furious with his ever-lovin’, when he learns it was a valuable Ming vase, and Abby let it vanish from the crime scene. Abby decides she had better find out for herself what happened to the treasure—and to the lady who was dying to get rid of it.
It turns out the victim had a lineage that would make a Daughter of the Confederacy green with envy, and her connection with the historic old Roselawn Plantation makes that a good place to start sleuthing. Thanks to her own mama’s impeccable Southern credentials, Abby is granted an appointment with the board members—but no one gives her permission to snoop. And digging into the long-festering secrets of a proud family of the Old South turns out to be a breach of good manners that could land Abby six feet under in the family plot.
243 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
17 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Tamar Myers
63 books293 followersTamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the Congo). Her parents were missionaries to a tribe which, at that time, were known as headhunters and used human skulls for drinking cups. Hers was the first white family ever to peacefully coexist with the tribe, and Tamar grew up fluent in the local trade language. Because of her pale blue eyes, Tamar’s nickname was Ugly Eyes.
Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it. Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that didn’t get out of their way.
In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the family’s residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.
Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately underwent severe culture shock. She didn’t know how to dial a telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving, and she entering, the Civics classroom.
Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals are not.
Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.
Series:
* Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
* Den of Antiquity Mystery
Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it. Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that didn’t get out of their way.
In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the family’s residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.
Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately underwent severe culture shock. She didn’t know how to dial a telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving, and she entering, the Civics classroom.
Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals are not.
Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.
Series:
* Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
* Den of Antiquity Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 29 reviews
April 19, 2021
Another fairly enjoyable entry in the series, though if Abigail continues to trend stupid, the next volume will be my last.
May 27, 2012
Abigail Timberlake is the owner of the Den of Antiquity, an antique store. And, when a woman who had been in her store earlier trying to sell a hideous vase is killed by a hit-and-run driver outside her store, Abigail finds herself drawn into figuring out who the woman was. To her surprise she learns that the hideous vase was actually a Ming vase, which, once found, goes missing again.
Agigail's amateur investigation frustrates her boyfriend, a local homicide investigator, and nearly gets Abigail killed as she closes in on the killer.
The supporting characters - the board of the Upstate Preservation Foundation and Abigail's local friends and mother - create a fun environment for the bumbling efforts of Abigail.
A nice cozy mystery. Fun read. Delightfully southern with many localisms.
Agigail's amateur investigation frustrates her boyfriend, a local homicide investigator, and nearly gets Abigail killed as she closes in on the killer.
The supporting characters - the board of the Upstate Preservation Foundation and Abigail's local friends and mother - create a fun environment for the bumbling efforts of Abigail.
A nice cozy mystery. Fun read. Delightfully southern with many localisms.
November 11, 2025
Abigail Wiggins Timberlake, a North Carolina native who owns an antiques store in Charlotte called the Den of Antiquities, is having a busy day when she sees a woman in her shop with an ugly, dirty gray vase. The second time she sees the woman is when she comes through her shop window a bit later. She is deliberately hit by a vehicle and knocked through the display glass and, to Abigail's chagrin, breaks a Louis IV chair. But no one can find the vase. It isn't in the street or on the sidewalk or anywhere else. The next day Rob and Bob, two neighboring antique dealers, come by her shop and one of them finds the vase in a little nook in the shop. She is going to break it when they stop her with the news it is a Ming Dynasty vase. They carefully wash the soot and grime off of it and show her the delicate glazes that mark it's dynasty. She decides to tell the police later and keeps it in her shop for the day. When she and her boyfriend Greg Washburn, a Charlotte Police Homicide Investigator, go to her shop to collect the vase that night it is gone. Greg is furious that she didn't turn it directly over to them.
Then she begins to get strange phone calls. One tells her he wants his vase back. Then she gets a call at night, asking where the vase is in her shop - the caller says, "it's not here". After she hangs up, she wonders what he means "here" and calls Greg. They go to her shop and find it has been ransacked and her phone stolen...
Then Frank McBride, another dealer, asks her to go to an open house at Jerry and Bea's who have furnished a house in Tudor style. The big draw is the Countess of Worchester. Who wears a dress identical to Abigail's and her mother's. After the butler spills canapes down Abigail's cleavage they become fast friends. While talking after leaving, the Countess drops dead at Abigail's feet - shot through the head. Greg is concerned the shot was meant for Abigail. Then a few days later, Frank McBride is found dead in his shop. He has been shot with the same weapon as the Countess. Abigail is sure it is somehow connected with the Ming vase and something at Roselawn Plantation which the Preservation Society is opening to the public. They have agreed to let Abigail value the antiques - and she discovers that about half of them are VERY good reproductions. All she finds out about June Troyan by talking to the others (June is the woman knocked through her shop window and was a docent at Roselawn), is that June pretty much kept to herself, exploring the house and not saying much to anyone else. She is more convinced than ever that it has something to do with Roselawn, but exactly how she hasn't a clue, until she decides to befriend one of the board members...and is rudely thrust into the mystery.
The book is written in a lively way, with much humor. Abigail's mother is a very proper southern lady who always wears her string of pearls. Abigail contends her mother would have gotten a black belt in karate except the instructor did not think pearls, even properly strung, were appropriate. Also, her mother investigated to see if she would qualify for the DAR, but didn't follow through. Abigail claims her mother wouldn't join a club that would have her for a member. She is forever trying to join and when asked, refuses. A fun book to read....
Then she begins to get strange phone calls. One tells her he wants his vase back. Then she gets a call at night, asking where the vase is in her shop - the caller says, "it's not here". After she hangs up, she wonders what he means "here" and calls Greg. They go to her shop and find it has been ransacked and her phone stolen...
Then Frank McBride, another dealer, asks her to go to an open house at Jerry and Bea's who have furnished a house in Tudor style. The big draw is the Countess of Worchester. Who wears a dress identical to Abigail's and her mother's. After the butler spills canapes down Abigail's cleavage they become fast friends. While talking after leaving, the Countess drops dead at Abigail's feet - shot through the head. Greg is concerned the shot was meant for Abigail. Then a few days later, Frank McBride is found dead in his shop. He has been shot with the same weapon as the Countess. Abigail is sure it is somehow connected with the Ming vase and something at Roselawn Plantation which the Preservation Society is opening to the public. They have agreed to let Abigail value the antiques - and she discovers that about half of them are VERY good reproductions. All she finds out about June Troyan by talking to the others (June is the woman knocked through her shop window and was a docent at Roselawn), is that June pretty much kept to herself, exploring the house and not saying much to anyone else. She is more convinced than ever that it has something to do with Roselawn, but exactly how she hasn't a clue, until she decides to befriend one of the board members...and is rudely thrust into the mystery.
The book is written in a lively way, with much humor. Abigail's mother is a very proper southern lady who always wears her string of pearls. Abigail contends her mother would have gotten a black belt in karate except the instructor did not think pearls, even properly strung, were appropriate. Also, her mother investigated to see if she would qualify for the DAR, but didn't follow through. Abigail claims her mother wouldn't join a club that would have her for a member. She is forever trying to join and when asked, refuses. A fun book to read....
May 4, 2015
#3 in the Den of Antiquity series. Abigail Timberlake owns an antique shop on Selwyn Ave, Charlotte, NC. There is a lot of local Charlotte lore in this series, as well as antique related factoids. In this entry, Abigail will have to cross the nearby border into SC.
Den of Antiquity series - Abigail Timberlake hasn't time to serve June Troyan when she appears in her antique shop with a grubby vase. When June is next seen, she has been thrown through the shop window by a speeding van. The vase is found in the shop and beneath the grime is a valuable Ming. Connections lead to the antebellum Roselawn Plantation in SC.
Den of Antiquity series - Abigail Timberlake hasn't time to serve June Troyan when she appears in her antique shop with a grubby vase. When June is next seen, she has been thrown through the shop window by a speeding van. The vase is found in the shop and beneath the grime is a valuable Ming. Connections lead to the antebellum Roselawn Plantation in SC.
July 17, 2016
This is a lite, easy to read series. So far I have enjoyed them.
February 6, 2019
DNF. I liked the first 2 books. It seems Abigail is being extremely stupid in the first few chapters in this book. She doesn't tell boyfriend cop she found vase. Leaves out on display and gets stolen. Carries on a 'what if' conversation with adult son during store hours instead of waiting on good customer. She loses her good customer. That's when I stopped. My mama raised me that the person in front of you takes precedence over anyone who calls you on phone.
November 10, 2017
Easy to read, not very demanding and amusing us all I can say about the book. I liked the atmosphere of the south and the modern southern belles and hick- belles and I put it down with a sense of reading time that was not wasted. Perfect for the beach or any waiting room.
August 20, 2022
This cozy mystery aged pretty well. Written in the late 90s, there are a few references that pull the story back into the last century, but overall, the characters and story fit pretty well into 2022.
September 29, 2017
An antique shop with a resident cat makes this cozy mystery an enjoyable quick read. This is the third in the series, so I would like to find and read the first two.
April 12, 2018
funny
June 3, 2021
Fun characters, fun book, wanted more cat.
December 31, 2023
Cute cozy with southern twist
February 6, 2024
Ms. Myers has a great sense of humor. Fun book!
June 4, 2024
love the characters and the uniqueness of them all. Always an adventure.
October 31, 2025
I have always enjoyed this series
March 10, 2013
Ypsilanti, not Yosilanti. Get it right. Also, in one of the previous books, she said her cat would eat any fish-flavored dry food but in this one, she says he only eats one brand. Continuity...it's not that hard. Dmitri is also fully declawed in prior books, yet burying claws into laps in this one.
I normally give authors passes for one or two errors if the storyline is gripping. This author keeps yanking me out of the colorful world she is building.
Finally finished the book. It picked up a little in the end, with another scene humorously depicted. This author has enough wit to keep me reading. Let's just hope she found an editor better at continuity from here on our. I hear the books get better deeper into the series. I'm willing to delve deeper to see what comes of it.
I normally give authors passes for one or two errors if the storyline is gripping. This author keeps yanking me out of the colorful world she is building.
Finally finished the book. It picked up a little in the end, with another scene humorously depicted. This author has enough wit to keep me reading. Let's just hope she found an editor better at continuity from here on our. I hear the books get better deeper into the series. I'm willing to delve deeper to see what comes of it.
December 6, 2015
Cozy mystery featuring a smart-mouthed antique store owner. Interesting to see some of the same humorous style as the PennDutch series--especially reference to frizzy-haired blonde mystery writer.I enjoyed the storyline but hated to find more "cussing" than the Penn Dutch ones. Why can't a cozy be written without all that? Never mind, I will finish the series.
October 4, 2019
Mama Mozella doesn't actually go cow tipping but she wants to. She also wants to get a tattoo on her fanny, one that consists of a heart with Lawrence Welk's name inside of it. Mozella is the mother of Abigail Wiggins Timberlake, who is the prime charactor in this series and her mother's quirks are just a small part of what makes this book and it's predecessors so delightfully fun to read.
March 16, 2016
I haven't read this series in order and so I've read books later this and I have to say I like the ones at the beginning better. Some of the annoying phrases that are constantly repeated in later books aren't in this one. I enjoyed the mystery and Abby did a good job in solving it.
April 15, 2010
Just a really fun read. Great characters with a flair for descriptions. Biggest problem was that I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend this and her other books.
November 28, 2009
One of the first that I read in this cozy mystery series, it's very funny.
February 7, 2010
Mystery written in a very humorous way. Abigail Timberlake lives in Charlotte, NC and owns an antique shop, The Den of Antiquity and she solves mysteries. Fun stories!!
Read
February 18, 2011from library
March 9, 2012
I loved the book! It is not only a good mystery but it had laughs. The author is a good story teller and I would love to read more of her work!
August 3, 2013
I've been loving this character! Divorced, typical struggles, in no hurry to give away her independence to get married, and still able to laugh at life. Great reads, very clean into the bargain.
August 17, 2014
I love antiques and I have learned a lot just by reading this series. I have also laughed a lot because I think the main character and I share a similar outlook on life.
January 22, 2016
Another good cozy mystery.
Read
October 6, 2017Pretty good
Displaying 1 - 28 of 29 reviews