Sara has now turned her home into a Boarding House to pay off the mortgage debts that she has inherited and Max is one of her tenants in a basement apartment. He takes her to a museum as a treat (date?) where they happen to see an elderly guard falling over a railing to the courtyard below. This is the beginning of an investigation for fake art. Lots of interesting, beatnikie characters come into play plus the relatives and tenants of Sara’s.

I liked this book better than Family Vault. Max is obviously sweet on Sara and there’s plenty of funny situations and hijinks to make it a quick and amusing read. It is dated however. ( )

As a treat. Max Bittersohn takes Sarah Kelling to the Madam’s Museum, a venerable institution of artwork left to the city by Mrs. Wilkins, known as “the Madam” after a witticism of one of Sarah’s numerous blue-blood ancestors. Their visit is marred, however, by the sudden death of one of the guards, who apparently leaned too far over a guardrail and plunged to his death a few stories below. That guard had a particular affinity for one of the paintings in his section, and he had been loudly complaining that the painting had “changed” in the days before his death, which leads Max and Sarah to wonder if the death was, indeed, accidental…. In the third novel of this series, we are given a look into Max’s world as opposed to Sarah’s; that is, the world of art, art theft and international intrigue. We are also introduced to some more of Sarah’s innumerable relatives, a boisterous and enigmatic Russian Countess, and several of Boston’s more celebrated philanthropists. This being a mystery series, it is not a surprise to find some of those characters are not as they seem, and the fun lies in figuring out who is more blatantly duplicitous amongst the group! Recommended, but I do think that this is a series where one should begin with the first novel (“The Family Vault”) and carry on from there. ( )

The body of a security guard being pushed off the third floor balcony of Madam Wilkin’s Palazzo is the beginning of a mystery with a couple of murders and a mishmash collection of art with questionable provenance.

Sarah Kelling, of the Boston Kellings and landlady of an elegant Beacon Hill boarding house, acts as assistant to Max Bittersohn, art expert and boarder, in investigating the various aspects of the case. This is not their first case and won’t be their last.

Among the suspects is a Countess who makes her money forging antique icons, some of the most inept security guards and staff, and one of the Kelling cousins. Screaming peacocks lend an unusual touch, along with the impresario who provides the musical talent for the museum concerts, knows quite a bit about the museum and staff. The murder takes place during one of the concerts so there are plenty of witnesses/suspects…maybe.

It is a cozy read with humour, a touch of romance and some good twists and turns. ( )

cozy-mystery, Boston, murder-investigation, fun, vintage

Sarah and Max come up right in the middle of things once again! Sarah is surrounded by relatives and also her boarders as murder intrudes once again, but romance is finally in the air for Sarah and Max as well as cousin Brooks Kelling and an interesting boarder. I love this vintage series!
Andi Arndt is great as narrator! ( )

Substance: Delightful romantic-mystery romp through high-ish society. Hasthe flavor of an earlier decade except for the lightly risqué episodes ( such as 1960s romantic movies). Reasonably decent mystery, fair clues.
Style: Light humor.
Will definitely look for more of MacLeod's work. ( )