Where There's a Will

Charley, Charley, Charley you spent you entire high school career mooning over Marcus Trenault and now that you have him, you are reckless and interfering. In Leslie Nagel's The Antique House Murders, Charley Carpenter is looking over the clothing, handbags and shoes once owned by the late Augusta Mulbridge at her estate sale. She is giddy with the find and has visions of how much this will add to her shop Old Hat.

An altercation at the Mulbridge House between the members of SOAP (Sustain Oakwood's Architectural Past) and Pamela Tate, Calvin Prescott's shop assistant, breaks out at the estate sale. Millicent Peache is sure Augusta left a will donating Mulbridge House to SOAP. Holland Mulbridge begs to differ. She has plans to demolish the house and build high-end homes. Before Charley can fully appreciate the vintage clothing and accessories, she finds her friend Calvin dead in his shop.

As Detective Trenault begins to investigate, Charley does too. Before long the murder is linked to a

string of robberies plaguing Oakwood. Trenault heads in that direction, but Charley continues to think the murder is linked to the missing will and the large land deal awaiting approval.

Warned by Marc not to interfere, interfere she does and nearly loses her life for it. She believes Holland Mulbridge and her brother Jameson are planning more than 14 houses presented to the Oakwood Planning Commission and she wonders if they have destroyed a will their mother might have made to get their way. She recruits her friend Dmitri and his sister Vanni to ferret out information about the land deal.

This is a fast-paced mystery with many twists and turns. Time is ticking on the demolition and Charley races to find the answers.

For my review of another Leslie Nagel book, click here. For other books by Leslie Nagel, click here.