Stealing with Style by Emyl Jenkins

From the Publisher

In Sterling Glass's line of work, it's not unusual to unearth a few family skeletons among the family heirlooms she appraises. But when she's called in to determine the worth of a diamond brooch found tucked inside an oven mitt over at the Salvation Army thrift store, and when the appraisal of an extremely modest estate turns up an 1810 Paul Storr tea urn — hidden inside a blanket and worth at least fifty grand—things just don't add up.
Sterling, never one to let go of loose ends, starts asking questions and uncovers a plot involving a slew of antique pieces, the oldest families of Leemont, some sophisticated scammers, crooked antiques dealers, and shifty people at the best New York houses.
Stealing with Style introduces a writer of great wit and a grand sense of the mystery hidden in our most treasured possessions.

Library Journal

Sterling Glasss, a small-town Virginia antiques appraiser, aficionado, and sleuth, discovers a fabulous Paul Storr silver tea urn amid the effects of a recently deceased bank client. Subsequent finds in thrift shops raise red flags. Then, during a New York trip, she meets an old man whose collection of rare, handmade dolls seems under attack by thieves. An insurance claim leads her to the root cause: a clever conspiracy to bilk families of their antiques treasures. This first novel in a debut series offers a fascinating look at the world of antiques-all the way from pickers to New York auction houses. Fans of other antiques mysteries (e.g., Sharon Fiffer's Buried Stuff, Deborah Morgan's Marriage Casket) and collectors especially will enjoy the steady flow of facts. A longtime antiques appraiser and the author of numerous books on antiques (Emyl Jenkins' Appraisal Book), Jenkins lives in Richmond, VA. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Greed, duplicity and violence disrupt the life of a Virginia antiques appraiser. Sterling Glass is astonished when a valuable tea urn is found by her friend and love interest Peter Donaldson, an ex-minister with an eye for antiques who helps at the thrift shop in historic Leemont. Then Peter discovers a diamond brooch in a batch of items donated by the estate of a woman of modest means found dead in unusual circumstances. On a trip to Manhattan to oversee the urn's safe passage to the high-toned Layton auction house, Sterling finds the brooch on an insurance list of property missing from a Virginia estate. A side trip to Brooklyn previously arranged in an enigmatic call from Sol Hobstein reveals a treasure trove of Art Deco figurines that have survived two wars. Sterling is soon embroiled in Sol's problems. She witnesses an attack on his junk-shop friend by two thugs who want the figurines and goes to work for the insurance company on the list of missing items. The suspects include a phony roofer, a sitter for the elderly, the secretary for Layton's Art deco expert, and the Layton specialist who covers the south. Peter and Leemont police chief Ed Pavich assist Sterling in tying all the clues together. Though this debut mystery is a bit facile, Sterling is a beguiling heroine, and antiques aficionados will love the store of insider information. Author tour

What People Are Saying

"Fabulously entertaining....I loved learning the ins and outs of the mad world of antiques."
—Diane Mott Davidson

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