Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Gun Also Rises is the sixth installment in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series set in Ellington, Massachusetts and featuring garage sale organizer, Sarah Winston. Sarah has been invited to the home of Mrs. Belle "Miss Belle" Winthrop Granville III in order to help organize a sale for the woman's vast collection of mysteries.
Working alongside Sarah to handle the rare and valuable books in the collection is Roger Mervine, a snobby rare book collector from Boston. Roger rubs her the wrong way so Sarah decides to begin her work in the attic, where she uncovers original manuscripts written by Ernest Hemingway hidden in an overnight trunk. Taking her find downstairs to share with Miss Belle, the elderly woman appears to be visibly shaken by the find and asks Sarah to give her a few minutes alone.
Shortly after returning to the attic Sarah is startled by a cry from downstairs and hurries to find Miss Belle lying on the library floor and the overnight case missing. Running to the open door Sarah spots the live in maid Kay, running through the woods, a brief chase, a gun shot and Sarah finds the woman lying dead on the forest floor with the overnight case no where in sight.
Determined to find the killer and track down the missing manuscripts and a rumored first edition of The Sun Also Rises, Sarah sets out against the advice of Officer Scott Pellner, and soon finds herself a prime suspect in the case. Helping Sarah are series regulars; her landlady Stella, district attorney Seth Anderson and the reputed mobster Mike "The Big Cheese" Titone.
A fast paced plot that will draw you in from the start. It appears the author has finally ended the dreaded love triangle between Sarah, ex husband CJ and Seth so it will be interesting to see how Sarah's personal relationships evolve in the upcoming additions to the series. The secondary story line in this book features Eric Hunt, a war veteran deep in the throes of PTSD who is desperately trying to raise the funds needed to bring home King, the street dog he'd bonded with in Afghanistan.
Working alongside Sarah to handle the rare and valuable books in the collection is Roger Mervine, a snobby rare book collector from Boston. Roger rubs her the wrong way so Sarah decides to begin her work in the attic, where she uncovers original manuscripts written by Ernest Hemingway hidden in an overnight trunk. Taking her find downstairs to share with Miss Belle, the elderly woman appears to be visibly shaken by the find and asks Sarah to give her a few minutes alone.
Shortly after returning to the attic Sarah is startled by a cry from downstairs and hurries to find Miss Belle lying on the library floor and the overnight case missing. Running to the open door Sarah spots the live in maid Kay, running through the woods, a brief chase, a gun shot and Sarah finds the woman lying dead on the forest floor with the overnight case no where in sight.
Determined to find the killer and track down the missing manuscripts and a rumored first edition of The Sun Also Rises, Sarah sets out against the advice of Officer Scott Pellner, and soon finds herself a prime suspect in the case. Helping Sarah are series regulars; her landlady Stella, district attorney Seth Anderson and the reputed mobster Mike "The Big Cheese" Titone.
A fast paced plot that will draw you in from the start. It appears the author has finally ended the dreaded love triangle between Sarah, ex husband CJ and Seth so it will be interesting to see how Sarah's personal relationships evolve in the upcoming additions to the series. The secondary story line in this book features Eric Hunt, a war veteran deep in the throes of PTSD who is desperately trying to raise the funds needed to bring home King, the street dog he'd bonded with in Afghanistan.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
I found myself stumbling across this series midway through, and I've really been enjoying it. With a plot that includes hundreds (if not thousands) of mysteries tucked away in an attic and a treasure trove containing a Hemingway rare edition and those lost letters, The Gun Also Rises was guaranteed to keep me turning the pages.
Not only was I wanting to be turned loose in that house of books (it's also got rooms of first editions), I had a very good mystery to solve. There's plenty of misdirection to keep readers guessing, and Sarah always includes the local police whenever she finds anything. I like that. Nothing can make me grind my teeth faster than an amateur sleuth who insists on sneaking around a perfectly capable police force.
However, in many ways, the part of the book that had my sympathies working overtime was when Harris describes the hell Sarah Winston must go through in order to avoid all the reporters, paparazzi, and treasure hunters who think nothing of making her life a misery. I felt Sarah's pain and really wanted to help in some way.
I really like Sarah Winston, and I really like the mysteries Sherry Harris concocts for her heroine to solve. Long may her Garage Sale mysteries continue!
Not only was I wanting to be turned loose in that house of books (it's also got rooms of first editions), I had a very good mystery to solve. There's plenty of misdirection to keep readers guessing, and Sarah always includes the local police whenever she finds anything. I like that. Nothing can make me grind my teeth faster than an amateur sleuth who insists on sneaking around a perfectly capable police force.
However, in many ways, the part of the book that had my sympathies working overtime was when Harris describes the hell Sarah Winston must go through in order to avoid all the reporters, paparazzi, and treasure hunters who think nothing of making her life a misery. I felt Sarah's pain and really wanted to help in some way.
I really like Sarah Winston, and I really like the mysteries Sherry Harris concocts for her heroine to solve. Long may her Garage Sale mysteries continue!
Kristina A. reviewed The Gun Also Rises (Sarah Winston Garage Sale, Bk 6) on + 1528 more book reviews
The Gun Also Rises is a busy novel. Sarah has a full plate as she deals with missing manuscripts, her brother, a murder, preparing for a very special sale to help a veteran bring his dog to America, pricing Miss Belle's mystery collection, evading the literary treasure hunters, hunting down the rare Hemingway book and trying not to be the killer's next victim. The Gun Also Rises can be read as a standalone if you have not read any of the previous A Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries. I find Sarah's garage sale business interesting. She never knows what treasures she will find. I wanted to buy all the books in Miss Belle's fictional attic. I found The Gun Also Rises to be easy to read with steady pacing throughout most of the book (a little slow in the middle). I loved all the mystery novels mentioned throughout the book (Trixie Belden and Agatha Christie are just two examples) as well as the details on Louisa May Alcott and historical sites that people can visit. There are also some clever Gone with the Wind references. The murder of Kay and the missing manuscripts leads readers on a merry chase as we follow the clues to figure out who is behind these appalling deeds. I do wish it had been harder to identify the guilty parties, and I was unsatisfied with the ending (spoilers). I was glad to see a move forward in Seth and Sarah's romantic life. Sarah's ex-husband has left town (finally) and Sarah can finally move forward romantically with her life. I appreciated the author highlighting the role of military spouses and the support they need when their significant other is serving overseas. There is also a storyline about a veteran suffering from PTSD who is missing the dog he had in Iraq. Sara is organizing a sale to help unite the man with his beloved canine. Readers will find themselves laughing at Sarah's various escapades. Buckle your seatbelt for a humorous and fast paced romp with Sarah in The Gun Also Rises.
