Tag: Traditional Mystery

Whisper of Treasure and Lies:
(A Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery)
by Trish Esden

About Whisper of Treasure and Lies

Whisper of Treasure and Lies: (A Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Vermont
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Patricia AR Esden (May 5, 2025)
Paperback: 308 pages
ISBN: 979-8992697506
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F3KCPVCJ

Some secrets die with their owners. Others hide in silence, waiting to be set free.

Edie Brown despises the bigwig antique and art dealer Felix Graham. She even suspects he had a hand in her mom being set up for the art forgery charge that sent her to prison. However, when Graham is drugged and robbed after purchasing a valuable antique bottle and a box of local historical items, Edie agrees to hunt down the thieves for him. In payment, she wants one thing: everything Graham knows about her mom being set up—who was involved, how they did it…all the information that could lead to her mom’s freedom.

But the number of possible thieves is as plentiful as the potential motives. Graham’s womanizing ways and slippery business practices barely outweigh the stolen pieces’ rarity and value. As Edie, her uncle Tuck, and enigmatic employee, Kala, dive into the dangerous search, evidence that the crime is tied to the stolen pieces’ history surface. Both the bottle—known as the Glass Widow—and the box of ephemera are related to a tragedy that occurred the night before the grand opening of a Victorian-era hydropathic resort, a shocking fragment of Vermont history that involved a peculiar dowry, concealed murder, and a fire that claimed lives and gutted the lavish resort.

With her mom’s mental health rapidly declining in prison, Edie must fight against the clock to expose the thieves by untangling a mystery with roots that stretch from the Victorian-era to the recent robbery, and perhaps into Edie’s own past as well.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

In this 3rd Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery, Edie Brown and her Uncle Tuck attend an auction of Bucky Sander’s estate. Bucky was a close friend of Edie’s grandparents and a mentor who taught her all about antique bottles, including the rare Maiden Springs Healing Water bottles. Up for auction is one of those bottles called the Glass Widow. It truly belongs in a museum, but the price climbed way out of the museum’s reach, and antique dealer, Felix Graham, took it for $110,000. Then he also outbid everyone for a late nineteenth-century Bible Box filled with local ephemera, a piece of which Edie is desperate to get her hands on.

The next day, Edie and her friend/roommate/employee search for Graham and find him making no sense outside his home. Appearing to be drugged, they help him into the house to learn he had been robbed of the Glass Widow and the Bible Box. While Graham is one of her least favorite people, and the fact that he was likely involved in her mother being set up for art forgery and being sent to prison, she agrees to try to track down the pieces and the people who stole them. But in return, she wants everything he knows about her mother’s so-called crime in hopes of getting her released.

With plenty of suspects, Edie, Tuck, and Kala use their skills to start a dangerous investigation. One that brings another historic crime to light. One that may connect with Edie’s own past.

Edie, Tuck, and Kala have become a family that not only keeps Scandal Mountain Fine Arts and Antiques running, but they also make a great team of amateur detectives when they put their minds to it. Each with their own strengths and tenaciousness to find the truth and do the right thing, they start searching for answers. Ms. Edsen has created these wonderful characters, and she continues to allow them to grow in realistic ways. She adds a canine to the mix this time with Sandra, a golden retriever with “soulful brown eyes” and talents of her own.

Ms. Esden has written a multifaceted mystery that takes off from page one and holds the reader tightly until the very end. Each twist and turn is carefully plotted.  Kayla is on the trail for information, and what she finds breaks the case wide open. Suddenly Edie and Tuck find themselves in a whole lotta trouble. Trouble that also answers questions about an incident in Edie’s past. A surprising takedown was amazing and perfect. The true guilty party was not even on my radar, but when all was explained, it made sense. There were more mysteries to solve, and again, Edie is up to the task. I had a great time following along with Edie every step of her journey.

Whisper of Treasure and Lies is a story of secrets. Secrets long kept and finally revealed. As Edie said, When secrets come to light, “sometimes you discover what you hoped. Other times that rough ground yields the unexpected. But in the end, isn’t it what we do with the secret that matters most?” The book itself is a treasure and a wonderful addition to this series.  Kudos! Ms. Esden! This story is a Perfect Escape! One readers should escape into a quickly as possible. I can’t wait for Book #4!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.

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About Trish Esden

Trish Esden is an award-winning author of mystery novels that deliver feisty heroines, devious criminals, and as many twists as a back-country road. Set in contemporary, small-town New England, Trish’s stories promise skillfully crafted whodunnits fraught with secrets, cunning schemes, and sometimes a touch of romance. Though a dead body or two might surface, Trish’s novels tend to focus on crimes other than murder. If you’re a fan of traditional mysteries with a diverse cast of friends and adversaries, you are in the right place. Immerse yourself today in an atmospheric world where danger, mystery, and a passion for justice collide.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.”