This was a great new addition to the series and I really think that every Tracy Gardner novel is such a fun read. It was great to see everyone's personal growth and to see that there are real repercussions to what happened to William. The mystery and murder were both engaging and fun to follow along; I loved the bits of Francesca in there as well, as I hate it when they start something and never mention it again.

Avery Ayers sorts out her relationship with Detective Art Smith while on a challenging assignment to catalog and appraise a mansion full of art and antiques for the Duke of Valle Charme, a close friend of her Aunt Midge. On the first day, the Antiques and Artifacts Appraised team discovers valuable pieces missing – a couple of cheap copies in their place. The next day, one of the staff falls to her death from the roof.

Detective Smith joins the appraisal team to monitor activities and look for clues inside the mansion as the team continues their work amidst a murder and theft investigation. Tracy Gardner’s second entry in her series is a well-conceived mystery with plenty of suspects. The novel’s pace is uneven in places, but the author pulls together a nicely organized finish.

I literally couldn't put 'Peril at Pennington Manor' down. In every way this is a wonderful book. I appreciate the writing technique of Tracy Gardner. The mystery in the book was expertly crafted and had me guessing until the end. The touches of romance are delightful and the subtle hints for further stories in the future was deftly done. I can't wait for more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

What a great storyteller!

Peril at Pennington Manor, the second in the Gardner's Antiques Mystery Series, finds Avery back to sleuthing. This time to solve a murder in a castle.

It's all so fascinating - a timepiece goes missing and then the housekeeper falls from a parapet to her death. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end. Detective Art Smith lends his expertise, but the suspect list encompasses the Duke’s entire retinue—including his family.

Then the duke himself is injured in an inexplicable riding accident, and the clock swiftly ticks toward a reckoning with a cold-blooded killer. A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next book.

I really enjoyed this book, the second in the Avery Ames Antiques Mystery series. This is the first book I have read in the series, however I had no problems following the characters or catching up on the back story. I definitely will be picking up the first book in the series because I liked this one so much.

This story is about Avery Ames and her antiquities crew being invited to Pennington Manor, the stateside residence of the Duke of Valle Charme (and a friend of her Aunt Midge!). Avery's team has been asked for appraisals of several pieces in the home because the Duke is planning on putting the property on the market and wanted to sell some of the antiques.

One of the Duke's most prized pieces, a Viktor Petrova timepiece is missing, and as Avery and her team are evaluating other pieces, several notable fakes are found. Meanwhile, a maid, Suzanne falls from the roof and it looks like it was no accident. Avery and her police friend Art start looking for clues and interviewing staff along the way.

I enjoyed the character development, and I liked that the local police did not discredit Avery's opinions and suggestions in the case. This was a good cozy mystery and I look forward to more in the series.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers.

Peril at Pennington Manor was a nice read overall. I found the first half was the stronger, most uniform part in terms of pace. The setting was fun and interesting and the main character’s job quite attention-catching. The second part was a bit more uneven pace-wise, in my opinion. I was less “hooked”. But it got better eventually, and the ending was more riveting.

Nicholas Pennington, the Duke of Valle Charme, has hired Avery and her staff to inventory and appraise his antiques and historical possessions at Pennington Manor prior to the sale of the property. Several issues arise - discovery that several of the most notable pieces are fakes and then of course, the murder of the housekeeper does raise an issue.

Is it safe for Avery and her staff to continue their work or is the murderer going to stop the sale anyway possible?

I absolutely love the way that this mystery was constructed, how the clues were distributed and the characters interaction. The next one can't come soon enough for me! This was a great second installment, hope there are many more!

Enjoyed this book. I found the mystery entertaining. There was some family drama with the younger sister but did get resolved fairly quickly.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this outing of the antique mysteries, Avery Ayers and her father have been invited to Pennington Manor to appraise the Duke's possessions before the sale of the house. As Avery and associates begin the tour of the manor the Duke notices that an heirloom watch is missing. Then when the suspicious death of their housekeeper suddenly occurs the police begin to investigate. Avery's one-time boyfriend, Det. Art Smith also gets involved as an undercover appraiser and they find that some antiques have been replaced by copies. This and the now murder investigation, places the entire Pennington family under suspicion as Avery and Art search for clues.
An enjoyable cozy mystery entry with an interesting setting and informative background on the art of appraisals.
Thank you NetGalley for this e-galley of "Peril at Pennington Manor".

ARC received via Netgalley/Crooked Lane for an honest review

I love a cozy mystery, and one with art and antiquities piqued my interest.

Unfortunately though, this one did not really hold my interest. It took me a few days of having to pick it up again to get it finished.

I am probably in the minority here, but I just.... couldn't find myself wanting to get to the end to find out whodunnit. I didn't even really try to guess whodunnit with this one.

There were lots of possibilities, but to me (and these are only my opinions) some of those possibilities didn't even really add to the story.

I am still trying to decide whether I liked the lead characters or not? Maybe I would have liked them better if I had read the first book and knew more about them? I, yeah, just don't know.

If you like your cozies with a leading lady who doesn't know boundaries and a story with lots of family drama, this will be a great read for you.

I really enjoyed reading Peril at Pennington Manor. It's the second book in the Avery Ayers Antique Mystery series. I loved the first book in this series so I immediately started this one after it was finished. Avery is such a likeable protagonist, as are all the supporting characters. In this book we get to see her interacting with her dad, which didn't happen in the first book since he was believed to be dead. However, that also meant that Aunt Midge, who was so delightful in the first book, wasn't around much this time around. I liked the mystery of this book because it revolved around a manor house, which isn't seen much in US-based mysteries. There is no shortage of suspects, though motives aren't as abundant. I was quite surprised at who the killer was and why, but that's not a bad thing. I like being surprised by the big reveal. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series. I really hope to see Avery's relationship with Art continue to progress. And I wouldn't mind seeing more of Aunt Midge as well. Hopefully the author will include her more in future books.

Peril at Pennington Manor is the second book in Tracy Gardner's Avery Ayers series. This book begins shortly after the first book concluded with Avery and her father William working together in their antiquities appraisal business after having gotten Tilly settled into school in London. The firm has been retained to inventory and value the antiques and artifacts contained in the American home of a member of European nobility. On the first day of the job, the housekeeper is discovered dead as the result of a fall from the roof of the house. Once again Avery is joined by Detective Art Smith as they search for clues to solve this mystery while also attempting to determine where their personal relationship is headed.

The author of this series has done an excellent job of including just enough of the details revealed in the first book to make it possible for the reader to enjoy this one as a stand alone but also entices them to go back and read the first in the series. I was also pleased that the author has developed relationship trials for Avery and Art to navigate while exploring their future but revealing their individual past relationships to each other and the reader. The dynamics of Avery and her father working side by side in the family business while moving beyond the death of her mother creates additional opportunities for conflict and self-realization for all the characters which allows the reader a more in-depth look at the characters and their various relationships. This leads to a very well-rounded cast with, perhaps, unlimited potential for future stories to be told.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Antiques and Artifacts Appraised, headed by Avery Ayers and her dad William, are hired due to her Aunt Midge’s connection to the Duke of Pennington, to catalogue and appraise the contents of Pennington Manor.
When they arrive, it is discovered that one of the first items the duke wants them to view is missing. As the duke questions the family to see if it was moved for any reason, the job continues. The discovery of additional items being replaced by fakes lead to more questions, along with the unexpected death of the housekeeper. Avery and her team use their contacts to find the items missing and discover the seller. Along the way, the backgrounds and connections of family members and the staff are investigated. It is obviously an inside job – who is involved?
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy.

“Peril at Pennington Manor” is the second entry in this enjoyable cozy mystery series. I enjoy the setting of this series because it gives me an opportunity to learn about antiques, appraisals, etc. It’s a refreshing change from the library/bookshop/restaurant cozy mystery series settings that are so prevalent. In this one, Avery has to deal with several mysteries (a murder and missing heirloom items in a manor), as well as issues in her personal life. A lot going on, and fun to read.

And we are back to spend more time with Avery Avers and her families' appraisal business. One reason this series is interesting and enjoyable is that Avery's family business lends itself to lots of great mysteries surrounding the art and artifacts they are called upon to assess. This book starts off with some forgery and potential thievery before we get to the murder. Avery of course is in the thick of it.

The antique and appraisal business is my favorite part of this series, I think in those interactions is when Avery is at her best and the most interesting. I came away from this book still a little sad for Avery. She has a budding romance with Art, which is fine, I guess. I don't really like Art because he didn't tell her things he should have told her for far too long-- he makes decisions for Avery instead of with Avery. Hopefully, he has turned a page, and moving forward he will stop that behavior. Now back to what makes me a little sad, Avery really, really needs some friends. I hope in book three Avery developed a good friendship with someone who will be a part of the series.

Oh another note, for those of you who enjoy some romance in your cozy mysteries, Tracy Gardner is very good a writing those scenes!

In this book, there is a hint of a potential overarching villain and I hope that I am reading the tea leaves correctly because I like the idea of an ongoing international art thief as part of the series. I'm trying to be a little vague here so I don't spoil anything!

If you enjoy antiques or historical art --do yourself a favor and read this series, you will enjoy it!

Avery Ayers and her antique appraisal crew are going to the Hudson River vacation estate of Nicholas Pennington, Duke of Valle Charme. The Duke is planning on selling the estate and wants to have the antiques and art appraised. Avery soon finds that there are missing items, poor reproductions of original works and stress within duke's family. When the housekeeper dies in a suspicious fall Avery is concerned for everyone's safety. Aided by her beau Detective Art Smith, Avery is determined to find the missing antiques and in the process uncover the killer. Good story, easy read. Looking forward to the next book in the series

This book is a second in a series, and I have not read the first. I don't feel like I was missing anything crucial by not reading the first, but I probably would have been more invested in the characters and story if I had. The premise of antiques appraisal is promising, but I expected it to play a bigger part in the story. There are many potential, interesting characters, but I never felt like anyone developed enough to be that invested in what happened. Ultimately I was interested enough to finish the story, but I probably wouldn't read another in the series.

I received a digital arc from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. This is an honest review, and all opinions are mine.

I seriously loved this story! The second installment of The Avery Ayres Antique Mystery takes place at Pennington Manor - an upstate, countryside home of Duke Nicholas and family. Combining my love for cozy mysteries and countryside living completely filled my heart.

Tagging along for another Avery & Art adventure made it even better. I love the way Art Smith was written in book two. It would be safe to say that the readers are voting for him, despite his instinctual reaction to keep his past and current thoughts to himself. Watching this character unfold was very pleasing.

I would totally recommend this series to a cozy lover. I hope everyone picks it up the moment it is released. I will be talking about this "five star" read for weeks and months to come!

I found the main character, Avery Ayers, a bit annoying. Almost did not finish the book but stuck it out. The mystery was okay but not engrossing. I doubt I would purchase another book by this author. The romance was a distraction as was Avery's sisters issues.

It's probably rather telling about the excitement level near the end of the book as just as the culprit was nearly in hand, oh, so close, I uttered a long drawn out "Daisy, noooo!" when my dog decided she absolutely, positively had to go outside right that second. No negotiating. Just as main character Avery's Halston demands his ear scratches and frisbee throws, a dog's demands are not to be denied. It was then I realized I was loving this book, one I'd once thought was slow in the beginning.

I won't detail the plot as others will do a far better job at that than I can but will say that the twists and turns and large cast of suspects, everything ultimately made sense. Toss in a gorgeous setting, intriguing family dynamics, including on Avery's part, hidden passageways, secrets, disappearing priceless art pieces, and even training for a marathon and you have a winner. Even Avery's romantic prospects are looking up as she has two fine contestants for her heart as the story opens. Which will she choose and why? What upset her sister Tilly enough to cause her to spend a considerable sum to fly home across and ocean earlier than expected? What is Art's story? And....cats? Has the new mama cat found a forever home and safety for her babes? Finally, who did it?

This book stands alone nicely with intriguing regular characters and places. I'm not familiar with antiques nor do I have much interest in them, to be honest, but found the history of the pieces in question fascinating. Even better, the author shows how much certain pieces mean to their owner, no matter how valuable they may be. Heck, I even learned a bit about how one can often tell an authentic piece from a replica, not that it's always easy or quick. Hmm, I think I'll go check my jewelry box. While I'm busy dreaming, enjoy this book. It's a winner.

Thank you #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the ARC. Loved it!