The Family Vault

An excellent little cozy mystery, but with somewhat different characters than Peter Shandy or Madoc Rhys. Sarah Kelling leaps off the page right from the beginning. Max Bittersohn doesn't make much of an appearance until late in the tale, but ends up being a rather nice character. Caroline comes across as a domineering old bitty. And Alexander is lackluster. The tale is all told around Sarah though. She's the main character and the rest are just supporting. She's brave, but unsure of herself and the people around her. She's also somewhat naive and lucky to get away with her own life at times. What's she's gone through makes her much more of a sympathetic character than Caroline. The twists and turns, the red herrings and uncertainty as Sarah contemplates everyone as a suspect make for an interesting read. Though at times it got to be a little too much, hence the reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. Because she does contemplate everyone. I was also expecting Max Bittersohn to have a more prominent role. The pacing was pretty good except for that little part in the middle where she's suspecting everyone. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the series. The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling/grammar mistakes. Once again, she expanded my vocabulary. I had to look up "swivet".

historical-fiction, art-fraud, murder, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor Written in 1982, the details rank as historical. The publisher's blurb is somewhat off, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this delightful cozy! The long suffering Sarah and her beloved older husband Alexander have been victimized and swindled for years and didn't even know it. Then things get even worse, but there is plenty of humor to lighten it up. If you've never read this book or others in the series, do yourself a favor and read now!