Readers know that there are books that will be good before they even crack the spine. What they don’t know is how good it will be. The newest “A Sarah W. Garage Sale Mystery” Absence of Alice, is one of those books. It doesn’t matter if you have not read any of the other books in this series; readers will fall in love with Sarah. They will also take up the hobby of garage sales if they’re not careful!

Sarah’s garage sales business is going well, despite having a former helper now her competition and being a bit underhanded. But when someone kidnaps Stella, she is faced with a decision she hopes she will not regret. This time a killer is playing a game, and it’s very personal. The suspects are people Sarah wouldn’t naturally suspect or fear. The motive, however, isn’t clear to her. Could her new competition be so desperate for business that she is will to kill and kidnap someone to run Sarah’s garage sales business into the ground? Is she being targeted because of her mobster next-door neighbor? Does she or Stella have an enemy that would be this despicable? There are just too many possibilities.

In this book, for the first time, I felt that Sarah was truly in danger and that we might lose a beloved character. The mystery was written very well, and the cast was everything a reader would want in a cozy. Some were helpful; some were threatening, others were unaware of the danger but worried about Sarah anyway. I loved having Harriet more involved this time, she is a wonderful character, and I could see her and Sarah becoming involved in and solving future investigations. Introducing us to Alice as one of Sarah’s garage sale customers was delightful, and having an added mystery surrounding her kept the story fresh and exciting. The book is action-packed and has twists and turns readers won’t see coming. Before they know it, readers will either have a new hobby, going to garage sales, or having a garage sale of their own. This series makes people want to clean out their old junk and maybe find a treasure.

Absence of Alice is a roller coaster ride with plenty of drama. The killer may not be easy to discover, and many readers will not figure out the who-done-it until the very end. Of course, Sarah figures it out but only just in time. Her newest garage sale is a success, and all is righted in her world, or as right as it can ever be for Sarah. Readers of this series know it won’t be long before she is knee-deep in murder again, soon. This is one of my favorite series, and it keeps getting better with each new installment. I highly recommend this series to readers who love a real mystery, charming characters, and happy endings.

It was OK. I didn't want to abandon it, but neither was I deeply engaged. Sort of a cozy. Sort of darker.

I love these garage sale mysteries. The main character, Sarah, runs a garage sale business and it seems to always get her involved in mysteries. In this case, her landlady is kidnapped and the kidnapper gives Sarah particular instructions to follow if she wants to see her again. She's torn between telling her DA boyfriend or the police (one of whom is her landlady's fiance) and following those instructions not to tell anyone. Lots of interesting information about vintage items, as well as an intriguing mystery! Enjoyed this book immensely!

Great read! I have to admit that I was a little worried that I would have a problem getting into this book not having read the previous books in the series. Boy, was I wrong! It did take me a couple chapters, but once I did this book flew and left me hungry for more of this series!

First of all, the characters were stellar. They were active and there was always something new going on. I love a fast pace! Second, the plot was different from books I've read before which really got me interested.

I will be going back so that I can catch up on the books I've missed. But this is an absolute gem! Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book. I loved it.

Absence of Alice by Sherry Harris was a good cozy mystery.
I enjoyed the characters and the setting.
I did guess who had committed the crime quite early on.
Looking forward to more character development if the series continues on.

Absence of Alice by Sherry Harris is book nine in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series. It can be read as a stand alone and you can get current quickly.
Sarah's friend has been kidnapped and the only person who knows is Sarah. She has been getting phone calls with clues leading her to Stella, with a warning, not to call the police or Sarah's DA boyfriend, or Stella will be killed. Sarah then finds out the morning of Stella's kidnapping, there was an attempt to kidnap Sarah's boyfriend. Sarah knows this all revolves around her and she also knows she is going to need help. She enlists her friend and assistant, Harriet, who just happens to be a former FBI agent to find Stella before it's too late.
Harris has written a well crafted Cozy that I did not want to put down. There are plenty of twists and turns and likeable main characters. You also get romance and a touch of humor.
I was given an ARC by Kensington and NetGalley for an honest review.

Ok, so I wrote this super long review about this book, and then Instagram ate it. Basically, I like this series. The audiobooks are read by my favorite @hillaryoutloud. And if you enjoyed this series, you’ll like this one too. I listened to all of them via @hoopladigital.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sarah Winston is busy with a huge sale, but that takes a backseat when she receives a very important phone call. A call where she learns her landlady and friend Stella Wild has been kidnapped. The caller informs her that she must follow their rules if she ever wants to see Stella again alive and well.

Rule #1 – You can’t go to the police, your friend Seth, or Mike “The Big Cheese” Titone for help.

Rule #2 – You have to go about your daily routine like nothing’s happened. And act natural.

Rule #3 – You’ll complete all the daily tasks I send you while following rules number one and two.

Thankful that the creepy kidnapper had not mentioned her friend Harriet because she just may need her help as a former FBI hostage negotiator to save Stella. The person seems to know all about her life, so now she just needs to figure out how. Keeping secrets from her friends could cost her in the end but she has to do everything she can to find Stella even if it means following the rules to the letter.

Sarah is a strong independent protagonist and she is going to need to be more alert than normal to catch every clue because the people she usually leans on are all off-limits if she wants to save her friend. All the characters were have come to love over the course of this story return but with the exception of Harriet, no one even knows Stella is missing. We do meet a new character too. His presence was questionable at times but I hope he sticks around. All these characters are well-crafted and while the depths of the friendships are tested all their interactions are realistic and believable.

Ms. Harris has written a very complicated mystery with a lot of moving parts. Twists and turns make this a challenging mystery to solve. It had an extra eerie feel as the kidnapper always knew everything. It was a true game of cat and mouse that leads up to an incredibly surprising and exciting reveal.

What I really like is the way the author infuses humor in all the right places to keep the story within the cozy realm. Without it, this could have been a dark heavy mystery.

Absence of Alice kept me totally entertained. I was amazed by how quickly the pages flipped. My visit with Sarah and her friends ended much too soon, I am anxiously awaiting book ten!

Absence of Alice is another spectacular book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series by Sherry Harris.

Sarah and her friend Harriet are preparing an indoor garage sale for Alice Krandle, a new client. After spending hours pricing the knickknacks, artwork, and expensive figurines, Sarah wants to wind down for the day. Unfortunately, a random phone call, revelation of a kidnapping, and strict instructions has Sarah running across town. Stella, her landlady, has been kidnapped and her kidnapper is using Sarah to complete bizarre tasks in order to gain, or lose, precious time to locate Stella. At a loss for what to do or where to turn, Sarah realizes the kidnapper didn't include Harriet in his list of no-nos. Harriet is former FBI with contacts all over the place. With some strategy and hiding things from her friends, including her boyfriend Seth, maybe Sarah will be able to locate Stella before any harm comes to her - even if it means losing the trust of everyone around her. Stella's life is more valuable and Sarah hopes to find her alive. It's better to ask for forgiveness sometimes, at least Sarah hopes so.

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, Pelltner, Mike “the big cheese” Titone, Stella, Awesome, and all the rest compliment this series so well. I’m glad Sarah’s love life doesn’t overpower the stories, providing a nice balance and sense of realism to her.

As I said about the rest of the books in the series, Absence of Alice is a fantastic cozy mystery full of twists, turns, distractions, and multiple storylines. There are suspenseful, humorous, and heartbreaking moments that are sure to keep the reader engaged. The author provides a few characters as the potential suspects and expertly pulls the tablecloth out from underneath them without spilling the truth. The ending was a complete shocker! The Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries are one of my favorite cozy series'. The author keeps the stories fresh and entertaining. The characters are wonderful, and I love the setting.

Absence of Alice is the 9th book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series by Sherry Harris.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series and I had no trouble reading this as a standalone book.

Sarah Winston was busy with a garage sale for a client, Alice while dealing with the kidnapping of her friend, Stella. The kidnapper is threatening her to keep it secret from the friends that have helped Sarah in the past.

The characters are very interesting and I like that there is quite a variety of characters. It was a very entertaining story and was surprised at the ending.

I definitely recommend this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Sarah Winston’s business is organizing garage sales. Her business is generating enough money for Sarah to live on and her relationship with Seth is going well. Life in Ellington, Massachusetts is good. Then Sarah gets a phone call. A voice sounding like Jack Nicholson in The Shining informs Sarah that he has kidnapped Stella Wild, Sarah’s landlady and good friend. If she wants to see Stella alive again, the kidnapper has three rules Sarah must follow. She can’t tell anyone Stella has been kidnapped. She has to maintain a semblance of normalcy; no altering her daily routines. The last rule is Sarah has to do what the kidnapper tells her to do without breaking the first two rules. Sarah has a week to accomplish the tasks the kidnapper has for her if she wants to see Stella again.
Her first assignment is to visit an address the kidnapper gives her. When she arrives, she finds a body dressed in an Alice in Wonderland costume. Sarah doesn’t know the victim. In spite of the “no police” rule, she calls 911. Before the police arrive, the kidnapper calls Sarah. He already knows she’s broken rule number one. The result? He docks Sarah twelve hours; she now has six days and twelve hours to find Stella. Will Sarah be able to find Stella in time?

Recommendation
Harris does a great job increasing the tension throughout her novel. The killer’s identity is difficult to ascertain; I couldn’t figure it out before the reveal. Well-done! Recommended.

It's coming up to the second anniversary of the launch of Sarah Winston's garage sale business, and as usual Sarah's got her hands full with work....and murder! When her landlord is kidnapped and Sarah stumbles across a dead Alice in Wonderland while following clues the kidnapper has given her, Sarah's in a race against the clock to save Stella's life! Another fast-paced, fun read from cozy author Sherry Harris, there's not one thing I didn't love about this mystery, from the relationships of Sarah and her friends, to the way Sarah works to free the victim and discover the culprit. Another 5-star cozy in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series!

Sarah Winston's garage sale business is thriving and her latest client Alice is counting on Sarah to get top dollar for her antiques. In Absence of Alice, Sarah works hard to get the most money for Alice, and to do all she can to help her friend Stella, who has found herself in a very dangerous situation. I really enjoyed this well-written mystery that kept me guessing and second guessing til the very end. The characters are realistic, developed, and likable. The Boston suburb setting has a nice town square and a restaurant whose owners are like family to Sarah. I love this series and always look forward to the next installment! Highly recommended to anyone who love a great mystery, the Boston area, garage saleing, or peeks into military life.

I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Absence of Alice continues Sarah Winston’s adventures in Ellington, Massachusetts. If you’ve been with her since the beginning of the series, you’ve seen her start her now very successful garage sale business from scratch and rebuild her life and reinvent herself, sometimes one step forward and two steps back. She’s built a life for herself, made friends, established a solid business and a reputation. Unfortunately, part of that reputation is being a magnet for dead bodies.

Sarah is dedicated and honest and loyal and fearless. And headstrong and reckless and doesn’t always think things through. This time around, a dear friend is kidnapped and Sarah is warned not to involve the police or others or her friend will be killed. So off Sarah goes, attempting to find her friend on her own.

Absence of Alice is a great story and Sarah is a character you will truly like – even if you will want to throttle her at times and shout, “What are you doing, Sarah?” This book works wonderfully well as a stand-alone, with enough backstory for you to know who Sarah and the others are. But if you have a chance start from the beginning because Sarah’s journey is truly amazing. So many details to make Sarah the jewel she is.

Thanks to author Sherry Harris and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of Absence of Alice for my honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation. All opinions are my own.

Absence of Alice by Sherry Harris is the newest installment in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale series of mysteries and the first one I have read. Someone is trying to blackmail Sarah and they start by snatching her friend, and landlord, Stella, and seem to thing they are going to send her on a scavenger hunt to get her back. He calls on the phone with each task and adds or subtracts times based on her performance. She hates it and vows that if she doesn't have Stella back in three days she will go to the police, which is on the list of no-no's. Her boyfriend, Seth is the District Attorney and had been threatened as well and is under guard. She has been instructed to not share this with him either. She doesn't know if the threats are related but she is frightened. Her first clue was when she was sent to a house for sale and discovered a dead woman there. She was dressed as Alice in Wonderland. She called the police. She got docked time for it. This is out of control, but she is not about to be cowed.

This is a unique plot in my reading experience. For that reason alone I have Harris kudos. There are several suspects. The police are totally annoyed by Sarah's behavior and even more annoyed when they find out why she has been acting this way. The final straw comes when the blackmailer blows up Alice's house, with her in it. Alice was a client of Sarah's and murder is always worse when it is someone you know. Sarah is clever and knows her own mind. She misses Seth and knows he may no longer be part of her life when this is over, but she forges through. The plot led to an unexpected conclusion, which is always a plus. The plot was good, and tight. The characters are good, lending firmly to the overall quality of the book. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Absence of Alice by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #absenceofalice

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This new entry in the series was just great, I was hooked to the story from the first two chapters. While this book can be read as a standalone, it is much more enjoyable if you have read the previous books, especially in terms of character development. Sherry Harris delivers a truly interesting mystery, and this series only gets better with time. It was a very satisfying and entertaining book, and I am most happy that I got to read it. Highly recommended!

Absence of Alice by Sherry Harris is the 9th book in the Garage Sale Mystery series. I love this series, and this book is no exception. Sarah Winston is a well developed main character, who I really like. Sarah makes a living by organizing sales for people and businesses. Sarah once again is caught up in trouble, when her landlord, Stella, is kidnapped, and Sarah must find her before time runs out. This mystery has it all, a great plot that is well developed and unique story line. I strongly recommend this book/series for all cozy mystery lovers, to get the most out of the books read them in order, you won't be disappointed. I can not wait for Sarah's next adventure.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sarah Winston is having a little trouble with her latest client, a woman with inflated ideas of what her possessions are actually worth. A rival garage sale organizer has been trying to steal her clients and it's driving Sarah nuts....until she gets the phone call. A kidnapper has taken Sarah's landlady, Stella, and is presenting Sarah with a series of tasks to earn Stella's release. She's forbidden to call the police or ask for help.

I've read every book in this series in order as it came out and this one is definitely different. The circumstances throw Sarah off balance from the very beginning and, for the most part, keep her isolated from her usual support network. It's fast paced and had me worried about Sarah, and Stella, and whether Sara's actions in this book are going to have consequences that stretch into the future.

Absence of Alice is the ninth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series written by Sherry Harris. The well-plotted mystery is complex, and there are enough twists and red herrings to keep the reader engaged throughout the book. Ms. Harris provides enough character background that this book can be read as a standalone.

Sarah Winston lives in Ellington, Massachusetts, and loves garage sales. She provides professional services to people having garage sales and volunteers at the local military base’s thrift shop. Sarah is beside herself when a person who claims to have kidnapped her good friend and landlady, Stella Wild, contacts her. The kidnapper tells Sarah that if she wants to get Stella back alive, there are three rules she must follow. Sarah must act natural and go about her daily routine as if nothing’s happened, she can’t go to the police, including Stella’s fiancé, Nathan “Awesome” Bossum, her boyfriend and District Attorney, Seth Anderson, or Mike “the Big Cheese” Titone, who has mob connections, for help, and she must complete all the tasks given to her in one week. Sara’s first task is to go to a specific address, where she finds a dead body dressed in an Alice in Wonderland costume and breaks the first rule of contacting the police. Sarah enlists the help of her friend, Harriet Ballou, a retired FBI hostage negotiator.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This is the ninth book in a series by Sherry Harris about Sarah Winston who started over in Ellington, Massachusetts as a bargain hunter and is now hugely successful. With her business booming, she is preparing a garage sale for her latest client, Alice Krandle, as well as undertaking her own second-anniversary sale to be held on the town common in just over a week's time. Whilst relaxing with a cup of tea Sarah doesn't expect to receive a phone call about her landlady, Stella, who is being held hostage, but what is the kidnapper's game?

I thoroughly enjoyed Absence of Alice and found it compelling. I've read a novel from a different series (Sea Glass Saloon Mystery) by Sherry Harris although I haven't yet read any of the others from her Sarah Winston Garage Sale series. However, this did not mar my appreciation for Absence of Alice as it was easy to read. I thought protagonist Sarah was a great character as she was personable, and possessed impressive amounts of inner strength, warmheartedness and intelligence.

The mystery itself included more than enough twists and variety to keep me guessing and turning the pages. A good bunch of people surrounded Sarah, and I especially liked her handy former FBI hostage negotiator friend and employee, Harriet Ballou. This is a great, very high quality, fun read, and I intend to catch up with the other books in this unique series. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Sarah. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.