Member Reviews
I have no idea how I missed this series by Ellery Adams since this is the 8th book in the series. The story has plenty of twists to keep you guessing. I can't wait to jump back to book 1 and start this series over. I loved the setting and characters in this cozy mystery.
A Fatal Fabergé (Antiques & Collectibles # 8) by Ellery Adams and Parker Riggs is actually the first book in this series I’ve read. I completely enjoyed this book from start to finish and can’t wait to binge read the rest in the series. I highly recommend this book to everyone that loves a good mystery.
This book is currently the last in the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries. In this installment Molly Appleby, writer for the Collector's Weekly, is attending a fundraiser when an acquaintance, Curtis Cobb, appears to jump from the 3rd floor to his death. When the police determine that he was pushed, the victim's son asks Molly to find out who and why.
The story seems a bit over the top in spots especially when the "missing" Fabergé Egg is brought into the story. Not the best in the series. Hope there is another to do justice to the great characters.
I have not read any other book in this series, but it certainly makes me want to. The fast paced plot twists kept me reading to see what would happen next. The characters are so well developed that you feel like part of the family. I am ready to go to Java Jitters and have a treat and coffee with Molly! A great cozy mystery with a surprise ending!
Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!
This being is the first I've read in this series, and it stands up well by itself. The characters seem well rounded. This was a fun mystery to read. I think I will have to go back and start from the beginning.
I do enjoy this series as it mixes a mystery with information about a specific collectible or antique. This story includes a Fabergé Egg, as well as the murder of a local, lazy, antique bookstore owner. You do not have to have read the other books in this series to enjoy this outing. Molly Appleby finds herself at Natasha Godon's charity gala, where Curtis Cobb is pushed out a window to his death. His son, Maxim Gordon Cobb asks Molly to use her skills to solve his father’s murder and of course, Molly agrees. There were a few suspects, a plotline involving a missing Fabergé Egg, questions about the financial status of the well-known family, and some questions about private sales of antiquities all blended together resulting in another interesting story in this series. I will say that I found this one a bit slow moving. There was a lot of repetition in details, and not many twists or red herrings for the reader to consider. I like that Molly is able to carry the story and investigation forward with her intelligence, knowledge of collectibles and her likability. She is able to get people to share information with her that others might not. I had figured out who the culprit was and even with the one twist at the end, I was correct. Overall, a pleasant cozy mystery, but not my favourite in this series.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Andi Arndt. This was the first time I listened to her narrate a book without a partner. I was not disappointed and felt she did a good job with her voices, expression and tone. The pacing was a tad slow, but you would be able to speed the book up to your liking. I will not hesitate to listen to books narrated by this talented voice actress
This is the first book I've read in this series, and I'm glad I did! It stands alone well, and the characters are wonderfully developed. There were a couple of twists I didn't expect. This is well worth reading. Now I need to go back and read the prior books in this series. I hope there are more books coming in this series!
This is the eighth book in the series, but my first book. I enjoyed this book without any issue, so it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. The characters are interesting and realistic. The mystery moves at a face pace with several twists and turns to keep the reader engaged in the story. I look forward to reading more in this series.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way, I have been influenced by anyone.
Sometimes it works when you come into a series some of the way through, and sometimes it doesn’t. Fatal Fabrege is book number 8 in the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries but it does work on its own, although I’m sure there’s extra richness to be found if you’ve followed all the previous books. We get enough back story to be able to follow the action and characters just fine.
Molly is our heroine, and she has a habit of happening across murders. Here it’s the owner of a bookstore who’s the victim. She gives her amateur help to Detective Lombardi in this case.
The book is an easy read, and whiles away an evening very happily. It’s entertaining with moments of excitement, tension and comedy, and has an interesting and well thought-out plot. Enjoyable.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
I am always apprehensive when I jump into a series mid-series but much to my delight and amazement, I had no difficulty with A Fatal Fabergé, the 8th book in the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries series. There is just enough of a backstory told so that the reader feels like they know the characters without feeling out of sorts by not specifically reading all that has passed previously.
Molly Appleby is the main character and amateur sleuth of this delightful cozy mystery. Molly’s day job is that of a reporter for “Collector’s Weekly” and her full time job is that of mum to her 14-month old son named Tyler. Being a reporter has led the way to Molly being known around the community she and her husband, Matt (a doctor at the University of Vermont hospital), live in – Burlington, Vermont.
Being a reporter sets Molly and her husband up nicely to get an invitation to a black-tie fundraiser held by Natasha Gordon, the heiress to the “Gordon” fortune, which includes the gorgeous Gordon Estate. With excitement in the air and anticipation of being at such a grand event, Molly and Matt are present for when the “accident” occurs and the death of Curtis Cobb follows. Now ask anyone – Curtis is not well liked but when his son asks Molly to find out what happened as he finds it hard to believe the fall was an accident, Molly agrees to help Maxim Cobb get to the truth.
I found that the flow of Molly’s sleuthing very captivating and a joy to follow. The twists and turn were engaging and thought provoking. As the story unfolded, more intrigue ensued. Maybe the death of Maxim’s mother just months previously was related? After all, how does a great swimmer accidentally drown? And then let’s not forget about the mystery surrounding the hidden Fabergé egg which was once owned by the Empress Alexandra of Russia. Why does the family wish for it to be kept a secret? Now if that didn’t add intrigue and interest to the story – I don’t know what would.
Additionally, Molly is not the only interesting character in the book. Even though one may despise the deceased, Curtis, it was interesting to see how he got to being so disliked. What was his relationship with his deceased wife? We do learn that the family relationship with sister-in-law, Natasha is filled with many surprises.
Some additional points that made me smile and like this story even more than it being a good cozy mystery where I did not really figure out whodunit until the end:
Molly’s cat’s names are “Merlin” and “Griffin”
Her favourite coffee shop is named “Java Jitters”
This story has all the earmarking’s of a first class cozy mystery – at least as far as this reader is concerned, though I must admit – I am a huge fan of Ellery Adams already. The collaboration between Adams and Riggs is splendid, in my opinion. I was kept engaged and I did not figure out “whodunit” until the end.
Needless to say – I have gone right out and obtained the Antiques & Collectibles Boxed set – which includes the first three titles in this series: A Killer Collection, A Fatal Appraisal and A Deadly Dealer.
I liked this cozy but the plot seemed a little far fetched. Molly is heading to Natasha's fabulous estate for a fund raiser for the hospital when a body lands on the patio in front of her. The victim's son wants Molly to investigate while writing her article for the Antique magazine. It seems the victims wife died recently and stole the family's secret Faberge Egg to sell. I loved the interaction of all the characters and the murder was a good one to solve. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Molly and her husband are looking forward to attending the fundraiser hosted by heiress Natasha Gordon. The Gordon estate is noted for its artwork and opulence, and she can't wait to tour the rooms and meet the reclusive heiress. However, the fundraiser comes to an abrupt end after an apparent suicide. But when the victim's son swears it was not suicide, he asks Molly to investigate. As she begins to dig into the family's history, she learns there are a lot of secrets, including a family heirloom...a fabulous never-displayed Faberge egg that may secretly be for sale on the black market. What I enjoy about this series is a main character that is not poking her nose in, but a professional reporter writing an article about the event and who has a knack of getting people to talk. She also has a good relationship with the main detective, Tony, and readily shares all she finds, keeping him in the loop. I also enjoyed the historical facts that were used in the course of this story for the history of the Faberge egg, a unique artistic relic. Finally, I enjoyed how the author kept planting doubts and suspicions with all the suspects, before finally revealing the murderer. As always, I look forward to the next book in this series. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book and all opinions are strictly my own.
Molly is excited to be attending a fancy fundraiser at the the home of an heiress named Natasha. Natasha's nephew asks Molly to write an article on his father for the her job at an antiques magazine. Molly finds the man to be just awful, but she still feels badly when he dies later in the evening. Was it suicide or murder? Molly gets sucked into the mystery and finds the death was only the tip of the iceberg. I enjoyed the book, but the mystery could have been stronger. The reveal was exactly what I had guessed much earlier in the book.
I was disappointed in this book. There was no life to it. Too little background story. All the focus was on the murder and even that was drawn out. She has a family, a child, friends, but there was so little mention of them until the very end. I haven't read the others in this series but would have taken this to be a first in a series, not book eight. I'm an avid reader and hate being critical, but this book lacked life until the very end. The last chapter (or less) was the best part of the whole book.
#AFatalFabergé #NetGalley
Molly Appleby is at it once again, with her keen intuition and curious mind. She found herself entwined in a doozy of a puzzler, which vibrated excitement, intrigue and captivating. Molly could not ignore the clues before her, which leads her deeper into danger.
This is a fast paced book with so many intriguing twists and turns you can't put it down. The mansion in this book is wonderfully described and I loved all the antiques and upper crust drama. This is the 8thh book in this series and Fatal Faberge is the perfect addition to the series. I highly recommend this book and series. If you haven't read any books in this series that is okay, you won't get lost but you will want to buy all the other books in the series
This was the first book I’ve read in this series. It may have been a bit more enjoyable to have read the previous books, but it certainly wasn’t essential. Reading the previous books in the series would probably have helped to give a little more background to the characters and their interactions and relationships with one another. This additional information would have only improved my enjoyment of this very good book. The story is well told and moves along at a steady pace which kept me engaged and interested. The focus is on the mystery to be solved without a lot of unnecessary filler. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
This is the 8th book in the series and I think it would make much more sense to have read the previous books. I hadn't read the most recent books and there is a big jump in terms of where the books are based, the family stories and overall plot.
It was a quick, easy read but the characters weren't as developed as usual.
Overall I did enjoy the book but felt there was something missing.
Thank you for providing menan arc.
Princess Fuzzypants here: Molly is such a fascinating character. Author and collectibles expert, she is also a pretty good sleuth and unlike many cozy heroines, her services are encouraged and enlisted by her friend and detective Lombardi. In fact, he acknowledges that people open up and talk to her where they resist with him. They make a very effective team, if he can just keep her out of danger.
Molly and her husband are attending a gala when the owner of a failing book shop falls to his death. He is an unpleasant character to say the least and no one is truly mourning his passing including his son, who has asked Molly to investigate once it is clear his father was murdered. Maxim lost his mother mere months before where she was swept out to sea during a night swim in the ocean. She was the sister of the hostess of the big gala and while disinherited for marrying the murdered man, she is missed by all who knew her, including her sister.
Things get more complicated when Molly learns the dead sister and her husband had stolen a family heirloom, a Faberge egg that no one outside the family knew existed. Did she steal the egg or was her sister involved in the sale? Who is the mysterious buyer on the dark web who wants the egg very badly and would he kill to get it? Even more baffling, where is the egg? Galina, the dead sister, hid the egg before she left for Florida to complete the transaction. No one can find it in spite of intensive searches. No one, that is, until Molly figures it out.
But once the egg is in her hands, things really get wild and things that seemed true are thrown into question. I must admit I had suspicions about the final twists but it was still fun reading how it transpired.
Five purrs and two paws up.