The decoy in the title is literal--vintage, carved wood duck decoys take center stage in this new series. There is a bit of art history/folk art, a family of eccentric appraisers and theft to round out the story. Edie comes home to Northern Vermont to help her uncle with their appraisal business while her mom serves time for art forgery. Edie winds up being the favored appraiser for a local recluse, whose attic is packed with local/Canadian carved decoys and even a couple paintings of note. I liked the descriptions of Vermont and interesting details about the decoys. They're an interesting bunch, worth picking up. ( )

The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden is the first book in A Scandal Mountain Antiques Mysteries. This is one busy cozy mystery with an attempted murder, a robbery, a museum heist, a murder, and more. We travel to Scandal Mountain, Vermont where Edie Brown is returning after being gone for many years. Her mother has just been sentenced to nine months in prison for art forgery and someone is needed to run the family antique store, Scandal Mountain Fine Arts & Antiques. At an antique appraisal fair, Edie meets Nina with an antique duck decoy. Edie secures the job of appraising the Bouchard family collection which could be quite lucrative for the store and the Bouchard family. When the decoys go missing, Nina cries fowl accusing Edie of the theft. This would forever destroy the business and land her in prison (she could be roommates with her mother). She gets Nina to agree to give her a chance to recover the lost decoys. Edie is given a tight timeline. Edie works with her Uncle Tuck and new employee, Kala Acosta to uncover who stole the antique waterfowl collection and recover them. The author provided beautiful descriptions of Vermont. I also enjoyed the details on the various antiques especially the duck decoys. It sounded like an amazing collection. There are a variety of characters in the story with my favorites being Edie’s Uncle Tuck and Kala (a clever girl with lots of energy). The mystery was multifaceted. There are some unlikeable characters (our villains) who may or may not be guilty. Many of them appear guilty, but you never know. The reveal will have you holding on as Edie speeds toward the conclusion to wrap up the case. We get some answers along the way with the complete details at the end. There is a romantic interest for Edie in the form of her old probation officer and lover. I could have done with less of this element. I felt it was a little heavy handed in the beginning. There are some areas that dragged for me (and I ended up skimming through them) and I felt the story was a little long. The story does contain foul language, mention of intimate situations, and references to wacky tobacky. There are some wonderful antiques mentioned in this book (I grew up surrounded by them with two aunts in the business). There are duplicitous people out there who will be happy to take advantage of people to make a buck. The Art of the Decoy has a crafty whodunit with prized duck decoys, an antique appraisal, an enthusiastic employee, a grumpy Gerard, a former lover, filched fowl, a curious connection, and a rough wrap-up. ( )

If you like your mysteries to have a background in the world of art and antiques-- like the books by Connie Berry and Jane K. Cleland for instance-- you should enjoy the first Scandal Mountain Antiques mystery, The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden.

Edie Brown and her mother are a bit unusual in the world of cozy mysteries due mainly to their both being in trouble with the law. Edie's mother-- now in prison for art forgery-- was responsible for Edie selling stolen property and being put on probation. And she's just the sort of mother that makes you want to roll your eyes: she refuses to admit that she's ever done anything wrong and is still full of hare-brained ideas for the business. Edie, on the other hand, has worked hard to become an expert in New England folk art and furnishings so that, if she can't revive her grandparents' antiques business, she'll still have a good shot at working for a top-notch auction house or museum.

Edie's family home was built in the 1830s, and its beautiful gardens are modeled after Monet's at Giverny. The mystery itself revolves around a legendary collection of waterfowl decoys that hasn't been seen for decades. With so many people either openly hostile or obviously up to no good, it takes Edie a while to sort them all out, and I appreciated learning about the antiques as the story unfolded.

Only two things bothered me. One, I don't care much for romance in my mysteries, and there was a bit too much burning and yearning between Edie and her Hollywood handsome ex-probation officer. (Aw come on... fall for a homely guy with sticky-out ears once in a blue moon!) The other thing that bothered me a bit was Edie and her mother's well-known tangles with the law. This is no secret, and I really can't see Edie being able to revive the family business. Also, I have a feeling that these troubles are going to rear their ugly heads over and over again in future books, and a little of that can go a long way.

So, although there's quite a lot of potential in The Art of the Decoy, I do have my concerns. I'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next book in the series.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) ( )

Edie Brown is back in Northern Vermont trying to save her family's antiques business after her mother is sent to prison for nine months for art forgery. Edie had her own brush with the law when she was accused of selling stolen property. After three years away honing her skills in the antiques and fine arts business, she's back.

When she gets a chance to appraise a collection of carved decoys, she thinks this is the first step of their business recovery. But then the collection goes missing and Edie will be accused of the theft if she doesn't find the decoys in three days. But the missing decoys are only the tip of the iceberg. There was a theft from a Quebec museum which also included a murder that may be connected to the decoys.

There is also complex family dynamics among the owners of the decoys that have some connection with Edie's mother. Edie's former parole officer and one-time lover is also hovering. Edie would like to trust him, but he fits the profile of the person or persons who stole the decoys.

Throw in the FBI Art Crime Team who might also be looking suspiciously at Edie. Edie, her Uncle Tuck, and new employee Kala have their hands full trying to stay ahead of the FBI and some dastardly villains as they try to get to the decoys first.

This was a fun, action-packed story. I liked most of the characters but didn't form a very good opinion of Edie's mother who seems like a major screw-up although there were hints that her crime might have been another frame job.

This book is supposed to be the first in a new series. I'll be eager to read the next. ( )

teamwork, theft, threats, thriller, family-business, family-dynamics, female-sleuth, framed, fraud, friendship, art-theft, organized-crime, law-enforcement, historical-research, history-and-culture, Vermont*****

The publisher's blurb is a good hook, so no need to go over that territory. But there is a lot to learn here about the antiques business, a particular form of art fraud and theft, and who knew there was so much about early decoys as an art form? It is a good whodunit (complete with chase scenes and suspense) and I always want to learn something new! Excellent!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )