cover image The Big Steal: A Sterling Glass Mystery

The Big Steal: A Sterling Glass Mystery

Emyl Jenkins, . . Algonquin, $13.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-1-56512-446-2

At the behest of an insurance company, Sterling Glass investigates the aftermath of a museum robbery in Jenkins's intriguing second mystery to feature the antiques expert (after 2005's Stealing with Style) . Located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, Wynderly, “a museum teetering on the edge of bankruptcy,” was once the baronial home of Mazie and Hoyt Wyndfield, a wealthy couple who died childless. At first awed by the vast number of antiques in every room, Sterling begins to doubt the authenticity of a collection of Tang horses and suspects other items are merely replicas. As she gets to know members of Wynderly's board of directors and discovers secret rooms and diaries, Sterling unravels long-hidden deceptions. Jenkins, an antiques appraiser, is also the author of a number of nonfiction titles, including The Book of American Traditions and From Storebought to Homemade . (July)