A Killer Keepsake

Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries Series, Book 6

By: Ellery Adams, Parker Riggs

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

When star reporter Molly Appleby exchanged vows with her new husband, she also made a promise to give up sleuthing. But given her knack for stumbling onto murders, and murderers, she's realizing she never should have made a promise she couldn't keep.

Molly's just finished an article on the Forget Me Not Doll Club for Collector's Weekly, but before the magazine even hits the newsstands, one of the club members is found murdered, and a stolen antique doll - purportedly haunted - is found in the victim's house. When police discover that few of the peculiar club members will mourn the deceased, and that most of them had more motives than alibis, they once again enlist Molly's help to solve this very odd case.

But piecing together a deadly puzzle is never easy, and when another member of the club is attacked, Molly begins to wonder if the eccentric group of doll lovers might have deeper and darker connections than she ever imagined. And as she begins to piece together the unusual background of the eerie doll and uncovers a history of troubled lives, she realizes there are more victims than the obvious ones in this case - and that some people will do anything to protect their darkest secrets.

©2017 Jennifer Stanley (P)2018 Tantor

Much better

Molly wasn’t as irritating in this book as in others and that says a lot. A creepy doll, a history of violence, a new murder to solve.

Fun book to listen to. This is a clean worded book.

loved it all. I listen on my computer while I quilt and on my phone when I am traveling.

Entertaining!

I've listened to several of these books and really enjoy the additional early story that lets us know how the particular pottery, furniture, jewelry, toy etc came to the antique collection and the mystery solving.

Amazing that I get to hear so many good books free with my Audible membership! I've discovered many authors this way.

I always feel like these are food reviews.

So, the stories are nice, easy listening. Not too heavy, nothing you can't hear before bed. However, my god, the amount of food and food descriptions, eating out, desserts, wines etc. I just fast forward now.

Loved it.

The storyline of this book was fantastic. I loved the dual story that included the doll Emma. I would love to read more like it.

The narrator did a great job.

A haunted doll and murder

In <strong>A Killer Keepsake</strong>, the sixth book in the Antiques & Collectibles Mystery Series by Ellery Adams and Parker Riggs, Molly Appleby has interviewed the members of the Forget Me Not Doll Club for an article in <em>Collector's Weekly</em>, where she serves as the star reporter. Each member of the club collects a different type of doll, for example haunted dolls by Sierra, Barbie dolls by Miranda, and lifelike baby dolls by Eliza, Miranda's personal assistant. Sierra owns a 1930s' German doll named Emma that is particularly special to her, and Miranda has it in her head that Emma is another of Sierra's haunted dolls and has the ability to put curses on others. Miranda has been harassing Sierra to sell her the doll for weeks with the hopes that it will help her force her husband to give her a more than generous divorce settlement. The meeting soon breaks up when Miranda feels sick and insists on leaving. The next morning, Molly and Sierra find Miranda dead in her bed, and sitting in the chair next to her is Sierra's doll Emma.

Because of the involvement of the collector's doll, Lombardi, Molly's police detective friend, asks Molly to sit in on interviews with members of the Forget Me Not Doll Club, but soon that escalates to her involvement in the full- fledged investigation, even conducting the first official interview with Miranda's estranged husband in his bikini club. Things get scary as another member of the club gets shot, with further ensuing danger and drama.

Each book in this series begins each new chapter with a tale tracing an artifact that eventually gets tied into the main plot of the book featuring Molly; her mother, Clara; and Molly's new husband, Matt. In the case of <strong>A Killer Keepsake</strong>, we follow the journey of the doll Emma from Germany and to the U.S. on the Hindenburg on its fateful 1937 journey. This plot was fascinating and added deeply to the strength of this book as a whole.

I greatly enjoyed listening to <strong>A Killer Keepsake</strong>, which is a good addition to the series. I liked the plot and characters, and I found myself clearly disliking the members of the Forget Me Not Doll Club. I loved getting to travel back in time to 1937 with Emma, a setting that came alive more strongly than that of the modern- day characters.

I do have two qualms about the book, though neither is significant enough to change my rating of its quality. Over the course of the series, Molly has made for herself a reputation as a snoop, even to the extent that part of her promise to Matt upon getting married was to stop putting herself in the midst of investigations and subsequent danger. However, it seems unrealistic for the police to ask Molly to help with interviewing suspects, even just collectors. After all, the fact that Emma is in Miranda's room does not seem reasonable enough justification to involve a civilian in a case. Further, it is especially strange for Molly to interview others not in the doll club. I can't imagine the police having a civilian interview a suspect alone.

The second thing I would have preferred is to have gotten to see more collectibles and artifacts as in the previous books. Adams has such a genius for turning these inanimate objects into genuine characters that I was disappointed not to get to see more of in this book.

The audio edition is performed by Andi Arndt, who, as usual, does an outstanding job in her portrayal of the book. She brings out the already- existing life in the book, taking us to Maine to be with Molly and her friends and family. She does an excellent job of dealing with the accents of the Maine residents, the Southern Molly and Clara, and the Germans in the 1937 flashbacks. I appreciate the excellent performance of this book.

<strong>A Killer Keepsake</strong> was a fun addition to the Antiques & Collectibles Mystery Series, which is highly creative in its concept. I especially appreciated the flashbacks to 1937 Germany and later the Hindenburg, which made me emotionally invested in the case. I give this book five stars!

Very Good

I was very happy when I saw that an Audible version of this book had been made. Ellery Adams delivers a well written book with engaging characters and an interesting plot. I hope there is another book in this series.

Very well plotted …

Molly is a great mix …. She is likable, sharp and feisty too. Good series for sure

Interesting Tale Spanning Two Time Periods

I love the Antiques & Collectibles Series, and this one is a great addition, with the story beginning in 1937 with an abused wife coming to America on the Hindenburg with her alcoholic husband and the doll, Emma. Fast forward to current day, and Molly is writing an article for Collector's Weekly about the Forget Me Not Doll Club. But before the article is even published, one of its members is found murdered . . . and an antique doll is stolen . . . and its Emma . . . the same Emma that came over on the Hindenburg . . . found in the victim's house. Rumors swirl about the doll being haunted. Despite Molly's promise to her new husband, Matt, to stop her sleuthing, the local police chief, Lombardi enlists her help in interviewing suspects, and she agrees. She soon discovers there is no love lost between the club members and the deceased. With more enemies than friends, the list of could be killers grows. Molly soon discovers that the doll has a long history and so do the people associated with Emma. As always, I love the people in this series. Molly's mother, Clara has gotten engaged. The story was tied up nicely, with a wonderful surprise at the end. I hope there will be more in the series.

An enjoyable addition!

This wasn’t my favorite in this installment, but still very enjoyable because I love Ellery’s writing! Andi does a great job narrating, and the mystery itself is very well written with many twists & turns I didn’t see coming! All in all it was enjoyable & I look forward to the next book!