This is the third in the Collectible Mystery series, and I think I liked this one the least. Once again Molly Appleby is off to a Antique and Collectible Show to write article for her magazine. Her mother, Clara, accompanies her as a guest. I did not like the way Clara treated her daughter or some of the others at the show. She was rude and sarcastic, which I was not expecting. When Molly is sent off to get coffee by her mother, she ends up lost in the huge Gaylord Grand Ole Opry Hotel. While sitting and reflecting in the gardens, she finds the body of a man she had met the night before, a friend and acquaintance of her mother. When she calls her editor to tell him about the death, he instructs her to find out more and write an article about the death. Of course, this gets her investigating and her mother assists as she knows so many of the people there. There seems to be other mysteries going on as well and they come together at the end of the story. There is a cane with a hidden stiletto inside and as the story goes on, we learn about the history of the cane through narrated flashbacks. Each chapter opens with a tidbit about the history of collectible canes. Overall, not a bad story. Once I got into it, I enjoyed it and Clara's attitude settled down a bit. I enjoy the newer stories in this series much more. ( )

I haven't yet read the first two in this series, so I may have missed out on a lot of character development, so I only gave this book 3 stars as it was only so-so for me. I guessed the murderer pretty quickly. I enjoyed the bits of information about the antiques, and especially enjoyed the fact that they were presented as small anecdotes at the start of each chapter so the story was never bogged down in too much detail. I really appreciated the lack of introspection as well - too much internal dialog bores me and I find my self skimming. All in all, a good book and I'll seek out the previous two. ( )

Molly Appleby, reporter for Collector's Weekly, has been assigned to cover the Heart of Dixie Antique Show in Nashville. Clara, Molly's mother, has come along because as an auctioneer, she loves to appraise antiques. However, Molly and Clara get caught in a spiral of murder revolving around an antique chest and old medical devices. Before they know it they're in danger from the killer themselves.

The story is fun, filled with information regarding antiques and especially medicinal canes and walking sticks.

The background info from he descriptions of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to the antiques themselves was truly fascinating. Sorry to hear that this is the last in the series. ( )

Third in this series. This murder mystery is set in an antiques show in Nashville. The murder weapon is a walking cane with a hidden blade. The history of the blade is interspersed throughout the current story. At the end of the book is an interesting article about walking canes with secret compartments and pictures of examples of these canes.

The character of Molly Appleby is better developed in this book. I am still surprised that someone as kind as Molly is the daughter of Clara. She seems to have quite a hard edge to her.

I emailed the author via her website asking if there will further books in this series. She replied, "Sadly, that series was cancelled due to lack of sales. I now write the supper club series as JB Stanley, the Hope Street series as Jennifer Stanley, and my new Books By the Bay series as Ellery Adams. " ( )