An interesting start to a new series featuring Edie, who has returned to Vermont from NYC to help her uncle Tuck after her mom almost tanked their antique business by committing forgery. She finds herself in the underbelly of the antiques business when a decoy (those ducks are awfully valuable) goes missing after she appraises it. Edie, who got probation for selling stolen property in another one of her mother's schemes, finds herself a prime suspect here in crimes that stretch from Quebec, where there was murder. Luckily, Tuck and Kala help as she dodges the FBI and others. It's a nicely complex mystery and the characters are good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one.

A woman returns to her home town to manage her mother's antique business after she's imprisoned for forgery. She attends an appraisal event where she meets a woman with a beautiful bird decoy. As she delves further into the family's collection of decoys, she becomes embroiled in a mystery of stolen art and dangerous criminals. And, she's trying to figure out whether she can trust a probation officer-turned detective (and romantic interest) with what she finds. This was an interesting mystery with good characters. I enjoyed it, and also learned a little about antique bird decoys in the process!

This went to the DNF pile at about 30%. I just couldn't warm up to the main character, Edie, and I really didn't care about what was happening. It would probably be more enjoyable for someone more interested in folk arts and antiques. It just wasn't at all my thing.

Edie Brown is back in Northern Vermont trying to save her family's antiques business after her mother is sent to prison for nine months for art forgery. Edie had her own brush with the law when she was accused of selling stolen property. After three years away honing her skills in the antiques and fine arts business, she's back.

When she gets a chance to appraise a collection of carved decoys, she thinks this is the first step of their business recovery. But then the collection goes missing and Edie will be accused of the theft if she doesn't find the decoys in three days. But the missing decoys are only the tip of the iceberg. There was a theft from a Quebec museum which also included a murder that may be connected to the decoys.

There is also complex family dynamics among the owners of the decoys that have some connection with Edie's mother. Edie's former parole officer and one-time lover is also hovering. Edie would like to trust him, but he fits the profile of the person or persons who stole the decoys.

Throw in the FBI Art Crime Team who might also be looking suspiciously at Edie. Edie, her Uncle Tuck, and new employee Kala have their hands full trying to stay ahead of the FBI and some dastardly villains as they try to get to the decoys first.

This was a fun, action-packed story. I liked most of the characters but didn't form a very good opinion of Edie's mother who seems like a major screw-up although there were hints that her crime might have been another frame job.

This book is supposed to be the first in a new series. I'll be eager to read the next.

3 1/2 stars
Edie, has a lot of anger towards her mother, still remembers her grandparents death in a plane explosion, and is a mixed bag. At times I related with her, and at other times I felt she had impulse control problems and was reckless. Tuck is her uncle, a dear man who loves african violets. Kala Acosta is an intern who lists items online for sale, handles social media, computers, and research. Shane Payton as Edie's former parole officer and former lover.

The plot is figuring out who stole the decoys under an extreme timeline, then murder strikes and the pressure is on to untangle the net quickly closing around Edie. I felt things picked up once the murder occurred.

My Thoughts: I love paintings and sculptures, so the decoys didn't really interest me albeit I'm sure they are culturaly significant. I found myself frustrated a few times with Edie for her taking extreme risks (it was something like yelling during a horror movie not to go in the basement!) But overall the characters were good, in particular Kala stole the show as an auxillary character. The potential romance with Shane didn't work for me and I didn't feel anything there. No chemistry. This is solidly an amateur sleuth as it isn't a cozy. A smidgen darker than a cozy while still being in a small town, and thus it has touches of a literary novel mixed in, which some may like.

Rating: Good - A fun read with an interesting premise and more literary, troubled character style.

I'm not sure how I feel about the first book in the Scandal Mountain Antiques mystery series. The writing is fantastic. The mystery is complex and interesting. The cover is GORGEOUS! I'm curious to see how some of the relationships develop in future books. But I didn't like the protagonist, Edie Brown, all that much. After a chance encounter with a stranger at an appraisal event, she's hoping to save her family's antique business by appraising the woman's relative's collection of rare decoys and either receiving one of the best examples in trade for her services or earning a commission by coordinating an auction of the pieces. The more she talked about ethics and doing things that "might be interpreted as illegal by someone not familiar with the business" the less I liked her.

Protagonist Edie Brown has grown up in the family’s fine art and antiques business. Unfortunately, her mother landed in the slammer for art forgery, implicating Edie in the process for which Edie paid with probation.
Now she is back in Northern Vermont to take over the business with a little help from Uncle Tuck.

In the meantime, Tuck has hired an employee, Kala, a computer whiz and otherwise smart dynamo—perfect addition to the faltering business. When Edie is approached with a waterfowl decoy that may be the tip of an iceberg, Edie sees a huge possibility in scoring a collection from a hoarder’s farm house with hopes of securing lucrative auctioning rights.

Edie definitely gets in over her head as she fails to ignore warnings. While I had a few problems getting into Edie’s head, I appreciated several other main characters including Kala and Shane. There is more than one antagonist, a murder off page, the craft of antiquing, and descriptions of the area and proximity to Canada.

For a debut novel and the first in the series, the author appears to have set up quite the storyline as well as remarkable characters. Definitely a good start and an interesting introduction to the world of buying, trading, pricing and selling of antiques. The well-plotted narrative, however, tends to sag a bit and do a repeat of motives, slowing the pace.

I received an advanced reader copy of The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of the Decoy is the first release in Trish Esden’s Scandal Mountain Antiques cozy mystery series. It’s about a woman named Edie from Vermont returning home after her mom is sent to prison, and taking over the family antiques business. While doing an appraisal job on a set of valuable decoys, the entire collection vanishes. Edie must find the thief and save the collection or she will be blamed for the robbery, further tarnishing her family’s reputation and ruining their business.

When I first requested the book I didn’t realize decoy was the proper name for those painted wooden ducks. I thought the decoy the title was referring to was the mother’s forgeries, which got her arrested. It’s cool how the title has a double meaning in that sense.

The mystery of the novel was pretty good, with high stakes. I became really invested in the primary trio: the protagonist Edie, her uncle Tuck, and their employee Kala. Each of them has unique skills that help them unravel the mystery. My favorite is Kala, who is adept at using shady parts of the internet to uncover important secrets. Don’t expect a big surprise twist at the end. While the biggest, most shocking twist could have been to have one of Edie’s allies in on the theft, but since this is meant to be the beginning of a series it wouldn’t make sense in the long run to do such a thing.

Art of the Decoy does an excellent job at setting up the series. It introduces our cast of recurring characters: Edie, Tuck, Kala, and Edie’s love interest Shane. There’s also Graham, who seems like he will be a recurring villain. We are briefly introduced to Edie’s mother, who makes a couple phone calls from prison. I could totally see the series giving her a larger role in the future, especially if she ever gets released. The romantic subplot is present but not excessive. Since this is going to be an ongoing series, it seems like their relationship is going to develop slowly. As someone who doesn’t care for unnecessary romantic subplots, I appreciate that this one wasn’t too heavy-handed.

Overall, I felt this was an entertaining cozy mystery and a great introduction to a new series. Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advance reader copy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I enjoyed this book, I liked the characters and I always enjoy a cozy mystery. The twists and turns in the book were very well written. I can't wait for book 2!

This book is grittier than the typical cozy mystery and just wasn't working for me really. I didn't love the main character and again, I felt that she was being overly put-upon.

Art dealer Edie and her team are on the hunt for lost treasure. A cosy mystery, good for some hours of light entertainment.

The first book in a new cozy series, this was an engaging read, well written and sprinkled with humor. Edie is a great character – unique, a far cry from so many “goodie two-shoes” cozy mystery protagonists. She isn’t perfect, a fact made immediately clear from her arrest record and her family’s checkered past. The family operates an antique business in Vermont, and Edie has a strong background in art history and American folk art. She is smart, and cautious yet bold at the same time.

Things get interesting when Edie secures a particularly lucrative appraisal job of what might be a long-lost collection of bird decoys, that is, if they are authentic. The stakes are high and she’s not the only one with an interest in the collection. She soon becomes a prime suspect in the theft of these decoys and others and is determined to prove her innocence and discover more about the history of the decoys, and the perpetrators of an array of crimes related to their disappearance.

I look forward to reading additional books in this series in the future.

I throughly enjoyed this new mystery which I’m hoping is first in a new series. Set in Vermont, Edie and her uncle Tuck are trying to save their antique business, thriving until her mother committed forgery. They’re hoping for a big win after they appraise a one of a kind decoy collection worth millions, until it’s stolen and they’re blamed for the theft. Good characters, interesting mystery make this the start of a great series.

Edie Brown is pulled back to her families antique business when her mother is sent to jail. Offered the chance to appraise an incredible decoy collection, she fears she may join her mom when the collection is stolen. She has just 3 days to solve the case or be accused. Cannot wait for book 2.

Much to like in this in this debut in the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series where Edie Brown returns to Northern Vermont with the intention of rebuilding the family fine arts and antiques business. With her mother in prison for art forgery, Edie feels that she has a chance of getting the business back on track. She cannot foresee the bizarre events that will follow. With a well drawn protagonist, a busy and interesting plotline populated with a colourful cast of characters and a delightful backdrop this is an enjoyable and compelling mystery and a very promising start to a new series.

Protagonist Edie Brown returns home to Vermont to help run the struggling family business, Scandal Mountain Fine Arts & Antiques, while her mother, Vicki, serves prison time for art forgery. Along with her Uncle Tuck and a new intern, Kala Acosta; Edie secures the appraisal job of a lifetime with the Bouchard Family who live near the Canadian border. Could a decades-long missing carver’s collection of bird decoys be in Claude Bouchard’s attic? This exciting and intriguing cozy mystery explores the history of folk art carving, fraud, betrayal, and organized crime. The value of a collection such as this one is astronomical!

The author’s descriptions of the Vermont scenery is lovely, as well as the visuals she describes of the carved and painted bird decoys. Humor is scattered throughout the story. There are numerous villains to dislike; attempted murder; and a murder relating to the criminals trying to obtain the multi-million dollar collection. Many of the characters appear to be guilty, and as the story progresses, the author reveals who the flunky’s are, and who the ruthless masterminds are. There are many surprises in this savvy plot for readers to anticipate. I really enjoyed the secret ending. I look forward to the next story in this new series.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. Thank you.

A fantastic start to a new cosy series! I read this in a day - the pace is superb, the characters well-drawn and the mystery complex and tricky to solve. The information about antiques was well placed and didn't distract from the story and the purpose of it, which can sometimes happen in a cosy when an author gets a bit distracted with information dumps of one kind or another.

I loved this, and am already really looking forward to the second book. I'm curious to see what Edie gets herself into next.

Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main character Edie and loved her sidekicks Tuck and Kayla. The story had enough red herrings to keep me guessing till the end.

The only thing I did not like was the bad relationship Edie has with her mother but hopefully that will be explored and resolved in a sequel.

Great start to new series.

This is an honest review of ARC I received from NetGalley.

Edie returns home to operate her family’s antique business after her mother goes to prison for art forgery. When a huge score involving duck decoys comes her way and then goes missing, she is accused of stealing the decoys herself. This is The Art of the Decoy (Scandal Mountain Antiques #1) by Trish Esden.

I liked the protagonist, Edie, and her gang, Tuck and Kala. The rest of the characters were interesting and easy to like or dislike depending on who it was. The plot was very interesting. I enjoyed learning about antiques and how that type of business is ran. The author kept the reader guessing as to who the guilty party was until the very ending. There were plenty to choose from, and just when you thought you had it figured out, another piece of the puzzle fell into place. The ending exploded and the last couple of pages of the book was quite satisfying, not only for Edie, but for the readers too. I would definitely read more of the series.

A young art appraiser has the opportunity of a life time thanks to an unplanned trip home.

Edi comes from a family of appraisers, all with reputations good and bad..

Edit, like her frandparents loves art for art's sake - art is to be appreciated and cared for. If she can make a living, protect the treasures along the way, well, that is a bonus.

Edie reluctantly returns home for a short visit to work an appraisal fair Ala Antique Road Show. A nervous, distracted woman brings a piece of folk art, a wooden decoy, to Edie. It's in terrible condition but reminds Edie of bird decoys produced by a well-known known Canadian artesian.

One random event leads to another - a job opportunity, a treasure trove of art work,, a robbery, murder, blackmail, a fractured marriage and organized crime. Can Edie follow the clues, exonerate herself of theft and find the art without more death and destruction?