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DEATH OF A RUG LORD is the latest volume in the Den of Antiquity mystery series by Tamar Myers. As the story's lead character, Abigail Timberlake Washburn is the Den of Antiquity's owner, a full time Charleston antiques dealer and part time sleuth. Abigail gets into more than her fair share of messy murder investigations, and this latest involves the owner of a local carpet store, who turns up dead, wrapped in one of her own expensive carpets, floating in the Charleston Yacht Club’s waters shortly after Abigail has visited the store. Abigail’s visit to the store comes shortly after she notices that her own customers seem to be frequenting her own store less often and are instead seeking out the cut-rate pricing at the competing venue. When she drops by, she soon finds herself the proud owner of a priceless Oriental carpet, discovered among a host of fakes. Still, she senses something's wrong, and her intuition proves her right when the murdered owner's body is discovered shortly thereafter. Compounding the discovery of the dead body is Abigail's attendance at a society affair in Charleston for visiting royals who turn out to be as fake as the carpet at the mansion where the party is being held. Soon, Abigail discovers that a recently closed cleaners has been switching priceless Oriental carpets with precisely replicated fakes, unbeknownst to the high society of Charleston, drawing her further and further into the investigation. Also drawn into her investigation are fellow antique dealers, friends, and Abigail's eccentric mother, who remains stuck in the 1950s. This crazy cast of characters can be both charming and exasperating at the same time. Myers frequently makes them into caricatures, but playing for laughs is also part of the fun of the novel. Reading a Myers's novel is like watching a TV sitcom: enjoyable if you can suspend disbelief that there is any reality to the tale being told. And, like any sitcom, there is a quick wrap-up, an easy solution to the whodunit aspect of the story, and everything ends up just fine, despite some pretty precarious circumstances near the end of the murder mystery story. If you like your stories grounded in reality, this one's not for you. On the other hand, if light entertainment, a good laugh, and an easy storyline are your kind of fare, a few dropped leads and an all-too-neat ending won't be a problem. If you are looking for a Southern tall tale with a hint of mystery and a good guffaw thrown in, DEATH OF A RUG LORD might be just what you ordered.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, May 2008
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