"fun amateur sleuth"

Retired schoolteacher Geraldine Porter is watching her granddaughter Maddie at the same time she is the chairperson for the local Dollhouse and Miniatures Fair. She is sharing a table with her friend Linda Reed who has made a beautiful miniature Governor Winthrop desk. Gerry notices a spot of blood on one of the pieces of furniture before Linda and the desk disappear.

After watching over two tables for the day and not being able to locate Linda, Gerry is very worried. When Linda calls Gerry pick her up from a deserted area at night she refuses to tell her friend what happened. Word gets around that her son Jason, a troubled teen, might be involved in the robberies of Crane's Jewelry store. Gerry later learns that a dead stranger was in the area when Linda made a phone call. When Mr. Crane is murdered, the Winthrop desk is found in his hand. Gerry knows that Linda and Jason are no killers so she starts her own investigative and find evidence that links the murders to the robbery. Now all she has to do is convince the police.

Margaret Grace makes creating miniature furniture and people so enticing that many readers will personally try it as a hobby. The author is a gifted storyteller who has the magic touch when it comes to flawed but endearing characters like Gerry. The heroine is just starting to live again after the death of her beloved husband; ironically solving the puzzle of the robbery and the murders brings her back to life.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 31, 2008

Summary

A MINIATURE MYSTERY. First in a big new series.

Geraldine Porter thought that being the chairwoman of the local Dollhouse and Miniatures Fair would give her leisure time to spend on her favorite craft. That was before a fellow miniatures afficionado is suspected of murder, leaving Gerry to prove the woman's innocence—or die trying.