Nightmare in Shining Armor: A Den of Antiquity Mystery

by Tamar Myers

Book Overview

The Corpse Is In The Mail

Den of Antiquity proprietress Abigail Timberlake's Halloween costume party is a roaring success--until an unexpected fire sends the panicked guests fleeing from Abby's emporium. One exiting reveler she is only too happy to see the back of is Tweetie Little Bo Peep Timberlake--unfaithful wife of Abby's faithless ex, Buford. But not long after the conflagration is brought under control, the former Mrs. T. discovers...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038081191X
• ISBN13: 9780380811915
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Wynnell the Headless Antique Dealer

Abigail Timberlake, the heroine of this series, is hosting a Halloween party and the guests include a pair of dice, Little Bo Peep, a headless woman, and the Rob-Bobs as James and Babs. The sensation of the evening however is Abby's mother who shows up in an outrageous costume that is the talk of the party. Abby's best friend Wynnell, the headless woman, gets so drunk that she passes out and has to be taken upstairs and put to bed. While Abby deals with her drunken friend the party gets out of hand and before you know it Abby's house is on fire. It's a small fire but a fire is a fire and Abby has one of her little fits and throws everyone out. Once everyone has left, Abby goes up to check on Wynnell who is awake by now and low and behold they discover a dead body under Abby's bed. The deceased is stuffed into a suit of armor and both Abby and Wynnell figure to be suspects. Knowing full well that she would be a suspect, Abby begins to snoop in order to clear Wynnell and herself of any guilt. Before long she visits a wealthy older lady who has an unrivaled collection of antique armor, or had a collection to be more specific for she has just sold the whole collection. To make matters worse, shortly after Abby leaves the premises, the lady in question is found dead. Now Abby stands to be a suspect in two murders so she has to do her sleuthing well and quickly. As she searches through clues she finds out some secrets that her best friend Wynnell had neglected to share about herself. She also discovers the her ex-husband Buford is even lower than she thought and also finds out that her fiancee has quit his job because he wants to work on a shrimp boat. In the previous books in this series Abby has just sort of stumbled onto the killer, usually with absolutely no clue as to who did it until the killer confesses. This time however, she figures it out all by herself but still almost ends up joining the heavenly chorus because she confronts the killer all by herself. The anti-climatic end leads the reader to the conclusion that Abby is leaving Charlotte although some of the old gang seems to be going with her. If CJ and Wynnell don't end up going with her also I am going to be quite upset, but at least I know that Abby's irrepressible mama is going to continue to be a major force in this series. This entry in the "Den of Antiquity" series offers a fairly good mystery along with a fun plot. This story is not quite as funny as some of it's predecessors but it still offers up some hilarious moments along with some heavy doses of gossip. CJ and her Shelby stories are always a hoot although there are less of them here than in previous books. The only problem with this book was that the ending was just a little flat since no motive for the murder was provided and the whole final scenario was way too similar to the ending of "Baroque and Desperate." All in all though, I enjoyed this book immensely.

Lots of fun

If you're ready for some light entertaining reading this book is perfect. The zany characters will keep you amused from page one to the end.

OH, WHINE... Not her best, but still a GREAT read...

Tamar Myers is on my list of favorite authors. I agree that this is NOT her best... Yes characters could have been better developed and it did feel rushed (TM dear, don't let those editors rush you, even though we PANT for your next...)However, this story is STILL fun and eccentric. Ms.Timberlake, soon to be Mrs.Washburn has her hands full of costumed characters following a disastrous Halloween party. Murder and mayhem abound and Abigail is in the thick of it trying to determine how the suit of Knight Armor, complete with stuffed in corpse got under her bed. Bit of a surprise ending, as long as the other reviewers don't ruin it for you.

There goes Abby again trying to clear herself of murder . .

Back again are all of Abby's eccentric friends, customers, mother, and shop assistant to ruin her Halloween party and leave her with the dead body of ex-husband's current wife. If that's not bad enough, her fiancé resigns from the detective squad to make his living on a shrimp boat (and they don't live near the ocean!). I'll miss Tweety, but it was worth killing her off.

A funny whimsical mystey

Everything is going great for Abigail Timberlake, owner of Den of Antiquity in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her business is booming enabling her to buy a home in the posh neighborhood of Piper Glen. Her relationship with Police Detective Greg Washburn is strong. Finally she lets go of the hate she felt for her former husband Buford for dumping her for a younger woman. To prove to herself that she no longer bears a grudge against Buford, Abigail invites Buford and his squeeze Tweety to a costume party. Buford is unable to attend because he is out of town, but Tweety arrives as Little Bo peep. When the party ends, Tweety is found murdered and under the bed in a suit of armor. Abigail visits a Charlotte society woman to inquire about her armor collection but moments after she leaves, someone kills the woman. Abigail is determined to solve the case so she can prove her innocence even if it happens to kill her in the process. NIGHTMARE IN SHINING ARMOR is a cozy lover's delight as the heroine keeps landing in hilarious situations, but employs humor to bail herself out of trouble. Tamar Myers shows her genius at creating scenarios that are red herrings and blind alleys. Thus the reader keeps being fooled until the one-sitting tale is finished and the who-done-it and why is resolved. This long running series keeps on getting better with each new release.Harriet Klausner