A great book by a fantastic author. The writing is excellent and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Characters are well developed. Highly recommend.

I Know What You Bid Last Summer, book 5 in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries by Sherry Harris, is another fantastic installment in the world of professional garage sale organization. In this book, Sarah is organizing an athletic equipment swap where people bring in used equipment to sell or trade. As Sarah is setting up for the event, the lights go out and she is beaten by an intruder who also steals a bunch of sports memorabilia. When the superintendent of the school district is found dead on the day of the swap everyone, including Sarah, pulls out all the stops to locate the person who assaulted Sarah and murdered the superintendent. The suspect list is huge and includes several townsfolk including members of the school board.

I really enjoy the Garage Sale Mysteries by Sherry Harris. As a lover of garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, etc., a cozy setting of this nature makes me happy. Sarah is a great protagonist and has been in such a way that I feel like I know her personally. She has very realistic characteristics and the author really brings Sarah to life. I love all the secondary characters the author has created for this series, too. Seth, Mike “the big cheese” Titone, Stella, Awesome, and all the rest compliment this series so well.

As I said about the first 4 books in the series, I Know What You Bid Last Summer is a fantastic cozy mystery full of twists, turns, distractions, and red herrings. There are suspenseful, humorous, and heartbreaking moments that are sure to keep the reader engaged. The author sets up many of the characters as the potential suspect and expertly pulls the tablecloth out from underneath them without spilling the truth.

Spoiler Alert:

Shocked!! I was truly shocked by the beginning of this book. I really hoped CJ and Sarah could put their lives back together after the scandal that rocked them away from one another. I stared at the section where CJ moved to Florida without Sarah for a long while (with my jaw on the floor, most likely). Just not what I was expecting. On the other hand, I really enjoy Sarah with Seth, so we’ll see how things play out.

The Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries of one of my favorite cozy series'. The author keeps the stories fresh and entertaining. The characters are wonderful and I love the setting. I'm happy that Kensington continues to release Sherry Harris's books. I get my copies from NetGalley but I eventually also purchase paperback copies of each book for my bookshelf.

I was given a copy of this book to review.

This is one of those series that I just cannot get enough of. I am binging the series and I never want to catch up. The setting, the characters, the plot... everything about it makes you feel like starting the next book is just like getting together with old friends.

In this installment, Sarah is all on her again. I am not a fan of love triangles but it works in this series. I could never pick, Team CJ or Team Seth. Well now that CJ is gone (I can't believe he really left, even though I think he will be back), Sarah is keeping busy with her garage sale business. She was asked to head up the school swap and silent auction. What she didn't expect to sign up for was an attack, theft, and a new murder to investigate. She is also "investigating" who in town has the best lasagna for Angelo.

I found this book to be a little more emotional than the others. I felt Sarah's rejection and loneliness. I do love that she has so many friends and that everyone seems to be there for her, well except the killers when she is sleuthing around.

I cannot wait to jump right back in; starting The Gun Also Rises, Book 6.

I have both the digital (from NetGalley) and audio versions of this book. Hillary Huber, who is one of my most favorite narrators, does and phenomenal job with this series.

Sarah Winston is busy organizing a swap meet in the high school gym when the lights suddenly go out and she’s badly beaten before the intruder steals some valuable antique and autographed sports items. The next day, nearing the end of the event, Sarah finds the School Superintendent murdered in the storage room with a vintage ski pole through her chest. Does the theft of the auction items and sports equipment from the Swap Meet have anything to do with the murder? When someone is arrested and protests that he is being framed, he asks Sarah for help, she can't turn him down. Sarah is sure that finding the stolen sports items will lead them all to the killer, but will the killer find her first?

All the characters from previous books that I have come to love make appearances in this one. We see much more of Mike ‘the Big Cheese’ Titone in this one, as well as Seth, the handsome D.A., CJ, her ex-husband, the DiNapoli's, who have Sarah sneaking around checking out Lasagna from their competitors, Stella and others. The plot is well planned, action packed and the pacing is swift. There is a lot of humour in this one that is unexpected and had me laughing as I read about Sarah's various activities. As the action builds, many law enforcement personnel get involved as well as some "Mob" connections, until the final scene where Sarah has it all figured out and is used as bait. Another great cozy mystery that I can't recommend enough.

The title is a riff on one of my favorite 'scary' books as a teen. The school athletic swap seems right up Sarah's alley, but when she is attacked and the superintendent is found dead, the story takes a turn. The story takes off, I really liked the twists, turns and food!! This is an enjoyable series and I look forward to more.

“I Know What You Bid Last Summer” earns 5/5 Killer Price Tags…Engaging!!

I am a newbie, so I recognize that events have occurred and relationships established, but there were enough helpful references that kept me totally engaged. Garage sales planner? A clever theme for this cozy. Sarah Winston is set to manage an athletic equipment swap meet at Ellington High, but has also taken on a “lasagna project” to taste test and covertly gather samples of local lasagnas. Her friend Chef Angelo has entered a bake-off contest, and wants some inside information about the competition. All of this seems reasonably innocent, right? Well, it is a cozy “mystery,” and criminal activity is lurking...an assault, a theft, a murder! Engaging and entertaining Sherry’s first-person narrative is well-written sharing Sarah’s inner thoughts along with excellent descriptions to set the suspense. She doesn't rely just on telling the story by including fun banter to help illustrate tone and personality. Well-plotted story with several scenarios are investigated, but Sarah mostly collaborates with, not ignores, law enforcement. Sarah is a sympathetic, yet wounded, character when it comes to intimate relationships, so there are close friendships, but not much romance. A great bonus rounds out the experience with “Garage Sale Tips” for those who wish to include food and drink—Setting Up a Pretzel Bar! I highly recommend this book, and me, I'm off to check out the other books in the series, too.

This is a series that is getting better with each book. The characters are now like friends that I'd love to visit. Although Sarah's personal life is a bit of a mess, her garage sale business is in high-demand. The mystery was well-written and I admit that the killer was a bit of a surprise for me. I stayed up very late to finish this one as I could not put it down.

Absolutely love this kind of mystery, now need to find the others in this series (any anything else by this author!) - a great read!

Sarah Winston has her hands full between a sports equipment swap and the yard sale of a client who, instead of understanding how these things usually work, wants hers to be an absolute event. Then Sarah is attacked and the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium.... There's a lot going on in the latest Garage Sale Mystery and Sherry Harris manages to tie it all together with a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed this one.

I've enjoyed Harris' series from the beginning, and this one amped up the stakes. Sarah discovers the superintendent dead at a swap sale, while having to juggle a demanding client. But that doesn't stop her from working to solve the murder, even if someone will do anything to stop her.

i do not know but i could not get into this bo0k. i tried a few times and i still could not get myself to get into it as much i would have liked to

This was my first book in this series. I will go back and look for others. It was a quick, light read.

When it comes to running a successful garage sale, Sarah Winston believes in doing her homework. She also believes in giving back. But when she agrees to manage an athletic equipment swap, she doesn’t bargain on an uncharitable killer. The day of the event, the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium.

Suddenly the murder suspects are the school board members—including the husband of a very difficult client who’s hired Sarah to run a high-end sale and demands she do her bidding. In between tagging and haggling, Sarah studies the clues to see who wanted to teach the superintendent a lesson. But as she closes in on the truth, the killer intends to give her a crash course on minding her own business . . .
https://sherryharrisauthor.com/

Although Sherry Harris’s title of the fifth book in the Sarah Winston series, I Know What You Bid Last Summer, is a humorous take off of a movie title, I’m also reminded that the movie was a horror film. No one would think something as mundane as a school sponsored athletic equipment swap would result in murder, but then horror is unexpected, which is why this cozy mystery strengthens Sherry’s series.

Another reason I liked this book? It’s a departure for the main character, who is in transition from a long-term relationship, which Sarah simultaneously finds freeing but mindboggling. She’s always possessed self-reliance, but now that asset is put to the test without having an old relationship to fall back on for protection.

Another reason? Sherry pinpoints a problem in our youth sports programs that can result in serious injuries—something I’ll only mention for spoiler fear, but having had children who played sports, I appreciate her focus.

Please welcome Sherry Harris back to WWK. E. B. Davis

Thank you so much for having me back! You always ask questions that make me think about my books in different ways.

The murder takes place at an athletic equipment swap. It sounds like a great idea, but I’ve never heard of one—really. Are they common in New England? Yes, and I believe they are popular across the country. Kids outgrow things so quickly that it saves everyone money.

Having grown up in CA, I was surprised Sarah decided not to go to Florida with CJ. She knew it would cause a breakup—why did she decide not to go? There are many reasons. Sarah and CJ married young so when their marriage initially broke up twenty years later, Sarah had to stand on her own for the first time ever. She supported CJ during his military career, sacrificing the chance to have her own. When Sarah set up her business in Ellington it was because she loved it there, and she was ready to have some roots. While she and CJ tried to patch things up, CJ wanted the old Sarah back and not the woman she’d become. Sarah wanted to CJ to choose her and not a job.

What does Pellner think of CJ leaving for Florida and leaving Sarah behind? Interesting question! Pellner was sorry CJ left. He respected him as chief of police. His first loyalty was always to CJ. However, he also sees Sarah’s value – that she is smart, resilient, and resourceful. Pellner is a happily married man and wished the two of them could have worked things out.

Although Sarah’s parents are in CA, Rosalie and Angelo, owners of the local Italian restaurant, become Sarah’s surrogate parents, worrying about her. How does Sarah feel about that given Angelo’s emotional, tomato-sauce-flying temperament? Sarah loves the DiNapolis. She knows that Angelo’s gruff exterior and temper come from a place of love and concern for those around him.

Perhaps to keep Sarah busy and her mind off CJ, Angelo asks Sarah to shop the competition when he enters a lasagna contest. But the job is hard since the competition always seems to know of her presence. How do they know? Sarah is well-known in the area not only because of her garage sale business, but also because of her ability to solve crimes. Her picture has been in the paper and on the news so she isn’t exactly a low profile person. Her connection to Angelo is also well know. At the first restaurant she went to the owner recognizes her and suspects she’s up to something. He warns the other competitors.

Sarah got to know the victim, Melba, the School Board Superintendent, when they attended the same sales and auctions. Does continually bidding against someone reveal their character? I based this relationship on one I observed in a friend. We used to go to auctions together, but we usually didn’t bid against each other. She had a knack for letting people bid while she laid low. Then she’d swoop in at the end at outbid them. People didn’t like that. I pictured Melba doing that to Sarah, only Sarah wasn’t as upset about it as the people I observed. Sarah knew it’s part of the game when you go to an auction. And she was good at setting budgetary limits for herself and sticking to them. It doesn’t mean she wasn’t ever disappointed with the outcome. And yes, I think it does reveal character – good or bad.

Have you figured out why people get so passionate about teams and brands? My family all likes different footballs teams. There must be something deep down in us that likes to root for one team being pitted against another. Maybe it boils down to good versus evil on some level. Or maybe it’s more like I’m better than you if my team wins.

Seth, the DA and Sarah’s old flame, wants to keep their relationship professional even though CJ is now gone and Sarah saves his life. Does he protest too much? My lips are sealed.

I was surprised Sarah bought the food and drinks for the Long’s sale. Does she trust that they will reimburse her? She did. She’s had very good luck with her clients paying her when they said they would. The Longs have a lot of resources so it’s not a concern for Sarah.

Why don’t they sell nut grinders anymore? Food processors over-process nuts. I based this on at nut grinder my mom had. It was so cute and I was so fascinated with it when I was little. I would drop a few nuts in, crank the handle, and watch the nuts drop into the little glass jar. However, food processors are amazing too – not that I know how to work ours, but I love to watch my husband whip stuff up in it.

Was the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sarah passes by the same one connected (sorry) to the Headless Horseman or am I confused? The Sleepy Hollow cemetery associated with the headless horseman is in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Washington Irving is buried there. He also helped establish the cemetery. The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord is famous because of its age and the famous authors who are buried there including Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Emerson. It is a beautiful, peaceful place.

“Military life was about relationships and helping others.”
Kindle Loc. 580

I never would have characterized military life in that way. Of course, I have no experience. How is it so? It’s one of those “everyone is in the same boat” things. You get sent to a base in a place you’ve never been before and perhaps it’s a place you didn’t want to move to. You don’t know anyone. But if you live on base or a neighborhood with lots of military your neighbors become your family. Things always seemed to go wrong when the military person is away. You lean on your neighbors for support. You have people over Christmas or a big group of women and children will spend Valentine’s Day together. A military spouse has to make the best of what life hands her. It’s a wonderful and tough life.

At what point does “protection” become “control?” It’s a very fine line. All of us want to protect our loved one, but when someone wants to isolate them it becomes control. I think the lines are more blurred now than ever before. We can track people with apps or stick something on their car. There’s things you can put in cars so it will tell you how fast it’s gone and where it’s gone. I wonder if we are losing our ability to trust someone.

What did Ryne do before he moved to Ellington to help with his uncle’s antique store? Sarah doesn’t know.

Sarah’s favorite Dunkin Donuts are coconut and chocolate glazed (same as mine). What are yours? I admit to being partial to the coconut donuts at Dunkin Donuts. Other than that I would choose a cinnamon roll.

When Lance asks Sarah if she intends to sue the school board due to the attack, she feels “slimed.” I haven’t heard that slang for years—but it was perfect for the situation. Do idioms come easily for you? I’ve picked up different bits of language from all of the different places we’ve lived. I used the term “goat rope” in one of the Sarah books and didn’t realize it wasn’t familiar to people until my editor questioned its use. I found out it is common in the military but not so much anywhere else.

Sarah admits one of her biggest faults is doing something just because someone tells her not to do it. What’s her greatest asset? Sarah is tenacious especially if it involves a loved one. If she sees an injustice she wants to right it, even if it costs her personally – and it has.

Have you plotted the arcs of your major characters throughout the series? To some extent. It’s not always easy because of how many books I’ve had for each contract. It’s been three, two, two, two. I have always thought I would have ended the third book, All Murders Final, differently if I’d known there would be more. But as the series has continued I realize maybe it was the right choice after all.

What’s next for Sarah? Book six – The Gun Also Rises – comes out in January 2019 followed by Let’s Fake a Deal in July of 2019. I’m writing the eighth and will write book nine as soon as it’s finished. I feel very, very lucky.

I have really enjoyed this series and was very excited to see this new adventure being offered through NetGalley. Sarah is busy setting up a sale for the local school when she is attacked and a local school board member is murdered, in her presence. Sarah has no idea who could have done it but is left with a certain scent of cologne lingering in the collection of clues she starts to amass to solve this who-done-it case. As always, the yard sales are inventive and fun, with helpful hints, and the characters on par with people I'd like to know. This book gives us more of a glimpse into neighbor, Ryne and makes us miss CJ, along side our protagonist Sarah. And alas, you don't want to miss the local lasagna cook-off interwoven between the story - sure to make you laugh!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Happy Dance! I am all caught up on this series!

Sarah has taken on the schools athletic swap meet. Who knew arranging bats, balls, and hockey sticks could be such a huge undertaking and dangerous too. The night before the event Sarah is working late when she is attacked and several items, including the expensive silent auction items, are stolen. The following day is even worse when Sarah finds the school superintendent has been killed. The murder has to be someone involved at the school, maybe even someone on the school board. Can Sarah find the killer before the police? Maybe she can ask a few questions while organizing and running a garage sale for a wife of one of the board members. Or maybe she should just stay out of it . . . like that would ever happen 🙂

Sarah Winston is a such a great character. She has become an expert at garage sales, thrift stores, swap meets, and online buy and sell sites. I wish I had half her knowledge and energy. She has also become quite adept at solving murder mysteries. People open up to her in a way they never open up to police. She also has no problem asking for help from Mike ‘the Big Cheese’ Titone, but she just may be pushing him a little too far. Her romantic life has had been in flux since this series started and I still have hope that she will end up with the man I have been rooted for.

Solving the murder and the thefts has Sarah running all over the place and not thinking about the danger she is putting herself in. She is warned several times, but her independence makes her act without thinking the situation through. The author takes us on a journey as Sarah uncovers more secrets and lies. A couple of corkscrew twists really has my eyes glued to the pages.

In addition to the main mystery, there is a subplot that had me almost rolling on the floor laughing. All I can say is lasagna! The lengths Sarah goes to for her friends was not only funny but heartwarming and made me very hungry. Guess what we had for supper the night after I finished this book.

I love the way Sherry Harris writes. She describes everything in such a way that it is like watching a movie. Her characters feel like old friends, you want to get involved in their lives. She plots the story so well with perfect amounts of suspense and humor. She draws us in and holds our attention making it almost impossible to take a break from the story for food or sleep. Her worldbuilding is excellent.

I have enjoyed this entire series and highly recommend them all.

I Know What You Bid Last Summer by Sherry Harris is the fifth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series. Sarah gets a job organizing a sports equipment swap for the local school board and adds in some autographed auction items to bring in some funds. While organizing the equipment in the gym the night before the sale, Sarah is attacked. She carries on with the sale and makes an awful discovery near the end of the sale. The school superintendent is murdered with a ski pole. Sarah begins her own investigation and begins receiving threats. She juggles this while organizing the world's fanciest garage sale complete with a chandelier, white tent, and free snacks. This book can be read on its own. I adore the characters in this book. Sarah and her friends and neighbors are a wonderful group, and I look forward to reading more of their adventures!

A most enjoyable series with a very realistic main character. Sarah Winston is not a young woman snooping around, she is a divorced woman learning to stand on her own and her talents lie with knowing how to run garage sales. Now she has agreed to manage a swap meet for sports equipment. Turns out antique ski poles can be deadly when the superintendent is done in by one stabbed into her chest. Can Sarah figure out the killer's identity before she becomes the next corpse?
I like the humor and the mobility that her talent gives her, allowing her to investigate without being 'just plain nosy' about it. She is a character I would like to have as a friend, especially if she includes me the next time she goes out for Italian food.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
I have enjoyed the previous Sarah Winston stories. i like the way her character has evolved from the newly single woman’s first tentative steps towards independence. She has become strong and capable and willing and able to stand on her own two feet. She is going to need all that strength as she deals with some tricky personal issues as well as a brutal attack in a gymnasium while setting up a charity swap meet. She didn’t receive the worst of it when the superintendent of the school board is found murdered by an antique ski pole through her heart.
Sarah tries to track down who stole some signed sports memorabilia thinking that might lead her to her attacker and the murderer. Her friend Seth and his mobster buddy both try to dissuade her but when she saves Seth’s life, she is in way too deep to stop.
She is stubborn and she is persistent and she is feisty- alll traits she will need to solve this mystery. It is an exciting page turner with a strong ending. If you have not met Sarah yet, I recommend you do so.
Five purrs and two paws up.

Though this is the fifth book of this series, it is the first one I have read. Despite not being familiar with the characters or setting, I found it very easy to jump right into this story. I liked the main character, Sarah, instantly. The first person point of view helped me connect with her right away, and I enjoyed getting to know her backstory (including a recent divorce from ex-husband CJ) as well as her new friends in her adopted hometown (especially the DiNapolis, who own an Italian restaurant and send Sarah to spy on their competition). I especially liked that Sarah is tough and independent, but with a sense of humility that makes her feel very human and relatable.

Sarah's garage sale business is also an interesting part of the story. It gives her a lot of reasons to interact with many different people and to work in many different environments so the author has lots of possibilities to work with. I genuinely enjoyed all the details about setting up swap meets and meeting online buyers and sellers in person. I also liked that Sarah associates with some people whose backgrounds are a little bit dubious, as it makes it feel more plausible that she might stumble into a murder investigation. It adds a lot to a mystery when some of the supporting characters could be either allies or suspects.

The writing in this book is fresh and light. The subplots are as entertaining as the mystery itself, and the supporting characters are people I enjoyed spending time with. Now that I have discovered this wonderful series, I plan to go back and read the titles I've missed. And I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment!

This is a great book; this is the fifth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and is written by Sherry Harris.This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.