A Treacherous Trader (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries Book 4) (edition 2015)

by Ellery Adams, Parker Riggs

Series: An Antiques & Collectibles Mystery (4)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
39	5	669,033	(3.85)	4

Kris_Anderson's review

A Treacherous Trader by Ellery Adams and Parker Riggs is the fourth book in the Antiques and Collectibles mystery series. The book starts out with Leo and Frieda Kurzer along with their two daughters, Sophie and Anna. They live in Hamburg, Germany in April 1937. Leo is a jeweler and Jewish. Leo is forced to sell his jewelry store to his longtime employee, Rolf (Hitler decreed that Jews could not own businesses in Germany). Rolf gives Leo an expensive tiara to help the family escape to Holland. Leo manages to hold onto the tiara until the family needs to escape Holland. Leo gives the tiara to Richard Rayner, a ship captain. The journey of the tiara is told throughout the rest of the book.

Molly Appleby is getting married to Dr. Mark Harrison. Mark is about to graduate from medical school and is hoping to do his residency in Vermont at Fletcher Allen. They have decided to marry in October and to have to the wedding in Vermont (Mark spent time there growing up). Molly and her friend, Kitty Lewis go to Vermont to spend a week planning the wedding. This is going to be hard for Kitty Lewis and her husband, Lex who do not like to be apart. The first morning in Vermont Molly meets Violet and Lindsey Emerson from Massachusetts. Lindsey is getting married to her fiancé, Keith and they are thinking of getting married in Vermont. However, Lindsey is upset because she has discovered that the father she never met, Alec Portman now lives in Burlington and owns Portman Photography. Alec left Violet when Lindsey was a baby. Alec put Violet in a wheelchair (backed over her with a car).

Molly and Kitty start working on Molly’s to do list for the wedding. The first thing on her list is a wedding gown (personally, I would have looked for a venue first, but Molly wanted to do the fun things first). Molly, of course, wants to wear a vintage wedding gown. They go to the wedding dress store Princess Bridal owned by Bristol Price. Bristol has a severe snotty attitude and treats Molly with disdain (she picks on her size too). Turns out that Alec dated Bristol and then publicly humiliated her when she moved to town. Molly ends up getting a beautiful vintage wedding dress from the 1930’s from Betsy Stratton.

The next morning Molly awakes to find out that Alec has been murdered and Lindsey is a suspect. Violet asks Molly to look into the murder and clear Lindsey. Violet subscribes to Collector’s Weekly and knows that Molly has solved a few crimes. Molly along with her insatiable curiosity set out to solve the murder. During the course of the investigation, Molly discovers that Alec was a womanizer and jewel thief. Alec seems to have dated or hit on every woman in town (whether she wanted his attentions or not). Molly and Detective Anthony Lombardi follow the leads to try and find the killer.

Kitty ends up having to go home when Lex breaks his leg (not that she was much help because she was always on the phone with Lex). Molly’s mother, Clara comes to help with the wedding plans and instead finds romance with Sean Murphy owner of Treasure Trove Antiques.

I give A Treacherous Trader 4 out of 5 stars. It is a charming mystery, romance, fun characters, two murders, a vintage wedding dress, and a gorgeous diamond tiara. There is a lot going on in this book. I have only given a brief synopsis of the events in the book. A Treacherous Trader is a good cozy mystery, but I prefer Ellery Adams Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (

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Kris_Anderson | Mar 9, 2015 |

All member reviews

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A Treacherous Trader is the fourth book in the Antiques & Collectibles Mystery series. This is the first book in the series that was co-written by Parker Riggs and I very much enjoyed it. This story starts off in Germany in 1937. Leo and Frieda Kurzer along with their two daughters, Sophie and Anna live in Hamburg, Germany. Leo is a Jewish jeweler and is forced to sell his jewelry store to his longtime employee, Rolf (Hitler decreed that Jews could not own businesses in Germany). Rolf gives Leo an expensive tiara to help the family escape to Holland. You can be sure that this tiara will play an important part of the present day story.

Molly Appleby, a writer for an antique and collectible magazine, is engaged to Mark Harrison. The wedding is only six months away and Mark wants them to be married in Burlington Vermont where he is hoping to do his residency. Molly has asked Kitty to go to Burlington with her to help make arrangements for her wedding. When Molly goes down for breakfast the next morning, she joins a woman, Violet Emerson who is in a wheelchair, as there are no tables available. Violet and her daughter, Lindsey, are also there planning Lindsey's wedding and begin to share various stores they have visited. Talk soon turns to a discussion of photographers and Lindsey is upset to have learned that her father, who abandoned his family when she was young, is none other than Alec Portman of Portman Photography right here in Burlington. As Molly visits various stores to plan her wedding, she learns that Portman is a womanizer and possible jewel thief. One of the women that she learns he had an affair with is Bristol Price who owns a bridal dress shop next to Portman's studio. Upon visiting the bridal shop, Molly soon learns that Bristol is a very miserable person, and that she still has feelings for Portman. Leaving without a dress, she runs into a woman on the sidewalk with a vintage gown. She wants to see if Bristol will buy it from her. Molly looks at the gown and buys it on the spot. It is exactly what she is looking for. When Alec Portman is found dead, Lindsey is a suspect along with Bristol Price. It turns out that he is the one responsible for Violet ending up in a wheelchair. As Molly investigates to help Lindsy and Violet, the police actually use her skills and she becomes an integral part of the investigation. She also wants to find out more about the beautiful gown and is doing research on it, possibly for a magazine article. What she finds out is amazing and adds a lot to the story.

The character of Molly is well developed and I really liked her. I have read one other book in this series and had not trouble following the story. The research she does is very realistic and the whole adventure will make a wonderful article for the magazine. Based on the end of this story, I think it is going to move from North Carolina to Vermont for future books. A great story that I recommend to cozy mystery lovers as well as those who are interested in preserving history. (

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Carlathelibrarian | Feb 5, 2019 |

This book sees antiques writer Molly Appleby shopping for the perfect wedding dress while in Vermont. She sees something perfect in the window of a shop, but it becomes the focus of a murder investigation. A wedding photographer is murdered, one who was known to be a nasty piece of work. Like all the books in this series this one is well-written, and it offers the added atmosphere of autumn in Vermont, plus wedding planning. (

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lahochstetler | Sep 29, 2018 |

Molly Appleby, a writer for an Antiques periodical, travels to Vermont to plan her wedding because her fiancé is hoping to get a residency there. While making arrangements she becomes acquainted with a Mother and daughter, Lindsey, who are also planning a wedding. Being told the circumstances of why the mother is in a wheelchair and the subsequent abandonment by Lindsey's father, Molly feels involved when the father is found murdered.

At the same time as Molly works to find out who was the killer, she is also wrapped up in a minor mystery surrounding a vintage wedding dress that she has purchased. How everything gets tied up neatly is absolutely amazing. Well-written and totally fun! (

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cyderry | Mar 23, 2017 |

A Treacherous Trader is the fourth book in the Antiques & Collectibles Mystery series. This book was written by Ms. Adams and Parker Riggs and a wonderful addition it is.

Molly Appleby is engaged to Mark Harrison and with the wedding planned to be in six months, Molly is definitely in a busy time. Mark is hoping to do his residency in Burlington, VT and that is where they will be married. Molly has asked Kitty to go to Burlington with her to help make arrangements for her wedding.

The next morning Molly goes downstairs to have breakfast the restaurant is quite busy and notices a woman in a wheelchair waving to her. As Molly approaches the woman, she invites Molly to share her table. The woman, Violet Emerson, recognizes Molly from seeing her in the magazine she writes for. Violet and her daughter, Lindsey, are also there planning Lindsey's wedding and begin to share various stores they have visited. Talk soon turns to a discussion of photographers and Lindsey is upset to have learned that her long lost father is none other than Alec Portman of Portman Photography.

Molly soon learns that Portman is a womanizer and possible jewel thief. One of the women that she learns he had an affair with is Bristol Price who owns a bridal dress shop next to Portman's studio. Upon visiting the bridal shop, Molly soon learns it is the bridal shop from hell and that Bristol still has feelings for Portman. Soon Portman is found dead and Molly begins to wonder if Price has sought her revenge on Portman or maybe Lindsey did for making her mother spend her life in wheelchair because of his action so many years ago.

There also is a story about an expensive tiara that made a trip form Germany back in the 30's that is skillfully written into the present day story.

I've enjoyed the previous books in this series and this is a well written addition to this enjoyable series. I'm also guessing that this series might be moving to Vermont, especially with the adding of the co-author Parker Riggs. Hopefully there will be more books in the series. (

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