This is the second book in the Lumby series. If you like *town* series, then you will fall in love with quirky Lumby. There's humor, love and caring for one's neighbor and even a bad apple or two. This town is a town where I would like to call home, quirkiness and all. ( )

The painting by Dana Porter called "The Barns of Lumby" that gave the town some notoriety has been stolen. Reporters converge on Lumby to cover the story, including Adam who is a lot nicer than most of the reporters there. In the meantime, one of the barns from the painting disappears. The plot is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but the charm and quirks of the town of Lumby and its residences more than makes up for it. As always, the excerpts from the town's newspaper are delightful. ( )

Second in the Lumby series.

The question I asked myself after reading the first in this series was whether or not Fraser could maintain the whimsical humor that in reality was the only saving grace of the first book. The answer, in my opinion, is no.

A world-renowned painting of two barns in Lumby that was painted 50 years or more ago, has been stolen. This brings unwelcome attention to the town itself and the current owner of the land on which the barns sit, Katie Banks--who hates reporters. Suddenly, one of the barns is stolen overnight. In addition, the monks of St. Cross Monastery are confronted with a hostile takeover bid for their rum sauce business, which is thriving. Those are the main plot lines.

Outside of a Moo Doo Midnight Iditerod and Hank, that’s it. The writing is at best average and the characters remain what they always were, one-dimensional. The monks are totally saintly, everybody behaves wonderfully except for New York reporters and a nasty financier--in other words, completely unnatural and unbelievable behavior. There is an attempt at pathos which fails miserably.

I can’t imagine why anyone would read beyond this book, which really should be labelled rural fantasy/sci fi, perhaps a new genre. Avoid. ( )

The saga continues. In this particular volume, the story centers around a stolen painting, a stolen barn (trust me! the barn disappeared overnight), a midnight bovine Iditarod, and a hostile takeover bid for the monk's rum sauce company. Got your attention yet?

I continue to be enthralled with the characters of this delightful town. The setting, the people, the quirky characteristics of the inhabitants (human, bovine, equine, feline, plastic, etal), are reminiscent of a combination of the town ofThree Pines in Louise Penny's books (without the murders), the old TV series Northwest Exposure, and the solid feel-good humanity of the Mitford series. You know a trip to Lumby will be time well spent. A few hours of life in this town can lower anyone's blood pressure, put a smile on your face, and calm any stress from too much shopping, too many cookies, unmailed cards, and icy roads. If you haven't tried this series, please give yourself a gift and try them. I've yet to find anyone who doesn't want to go to Lumby ( )

After reading a more serious book about World War II, I needed something a little lighter, a palette cleanser of sorts. This second book in the Lumby series fit the bill nicely. It was fun to return to some old friends from the first book, but Fraser also introduces some interesting new characters as well. The main storyline centers around a famous American painter, who painted the Barns of Lumby early in his career. When the painting is stolen, reporters descend on Lumby and secrets from the past are gradually revealed.

People often talk about comfort food, but I have comfort reads. When I get sick or stressed out, I have a few books that I can sink into gently. The Mitford books (by Jan Karon) have always served that purpose for me, but I think that I can also add the Lumby books to my list of comfort reads. ( )