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REVIEWS
Publisher's Weekly
Near the start of Grace's enjoyable fourth miniature mystery (after 2010's Monster in Miniature), retired teacher Geraldine "Gerry" Porter succeeds in persuading bestselling romance novelist Varena Young to donate "her enormous museum-quality dollhouse, a Georgian mansion," to the Lincoln Point, Calif., library auction. Varena herself lives in "an enormous mansion," where on a later visit Gerry overhears a heated argument between Varena and an unseen man the maid has told her is Varena's brother. When someone bludgeons Varena to death, the police interrogate Gerry, who is upset to learn that the records show Varena had no living brother. Gerry turns for aid in clearing her name as a murder suspect to her precocious 11-year-old granddaughter, Maddie. Together they retrieve a crucial clue from a hidden passage in a mysterious antique dollhouse. Endearing characters help make this cozy a winner.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56474-510-1
dru's book musings
Geraldine Porter is thrilled to meet bestselling author and miniatures enthusiast Varena Young. The celebrity seems to seek friendship with Gerry and her crafts group, and makes a generous offer of a house from her collection for a library fund-raiser. But Young is suddenly murdered, and Gerry is left to investigate the crime. She and her eleven-year-old granddaughter Maddie delve for information on Young's mysterious past, and they find a clue to her murder in a secret room…of a dollhouse.
When Gerry visits famed miniaturist and novelist Varena Young, she delights in being offered one of her miniature homes for a library fundraiser, which is later marred when Varena is found dead. While suspicions falls to Verna's young protégé, Verna's daughter seeks Gerry help in solving this murder. This was a fun read that I could not put down. This well-crafted mystery boasts a lovable cast and great conversations in this tale of betrayal and secrets. The loving relationship between Maddie and her grandmother continues to delight me as they look for clues in this puzzling case. This was very enjoyable and I hope to see more of Gerry and Maddie in this wonderfully charming series.
https://notesfromme.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/mix-up-in-miniature-by-margaret-grace/
Gerry was on the library committee and they were trying to raise enough money to buy a book mobile. Doris Ann Hartley, the head librarian, had given Gerry the job of soliciting a dollhouse from Alexandra Rockwell, a well-known romance writer and miniaturist.
Gerry found Ms. Rockwell charming, friendly and really interested in everything miniature. And she was more than ready to donate a house to the cause. Gerry left the Rockwell estate feeling she had made a new friend.
When Gerry got home she heard from Skip that Ms. Rockwell had just been murdered, and he was at her estate working the case. Since she had just left, she was called to the police station and interviewed by a policewoman who didn't care whether or not she was Skip's aunt.
Back at home a huge dollhouse had been delivered to Gerry's front door.
Ms. Rockwell's daughter, Alicia, wants Gerry to look into the murder of her mother. She thinks the police are being too slow. Gerry doesn't want to misrepresent her position, but tells Alicia she would love to look into things.
As Gerry starts her investigation -- with granddaughter Maddie along for computer help -- they find there are secrets at every turn. When the truth finally comes out will Gerry still be alive to tell who is responsible for Alexandra Rockwell's murder?
MIX-UP IN MINIATURE is my favorite book in the Miniature series and I have read them all. I love the characters, especially Maddie, the granddaughter, who is wise beyond her years, and Henry, the boyfriend. It is good to be able to visit old friends and see what turns their lives have taken.
DEANNA SPENCER
Geraldine Porter is a little unhappy to have been tasked with asking bestselling romance writer Varena Young if she will donate one of her dollhouses to the local library fundraiser. But Gerry is thrilled to meet Ms. Young and to see the famous "Lord and Lady Morley Manor" guesthouse. But Ms. Young is called away while showing Gerry Lord and Lady Morley Manor, and after waiting for a bit, Gerry decides to leave and come back another time. After all, Ms. Young did promise Gerry a mid-size Tudor dollhouse for the auction. Picking up that dollhouse would be the perfect excuse to come back and perhaps get a tour of more of Ms. Young's dollhouses. But Gerry doesn't get a chance to do that because Ms. Young is murdered shortly after Gerry leaves. According to the police, Gerry was the last one to see Ms. Young alive. Gerry does not like being on the suspect list.
When Ms. Young's daughter, Alicia, asks Gerry to find her mother's killer, Gerry agrees. After all, Gerry knows she didn't kill Varena, but the police don't seem to be so sure. Of course, her nephew, Skip, the detective, knows Gerry did not do it, but the other officer investigating the murder is not convinced. Gerry could use some help doing computer research, but when she tries to enlist her granddaughter's help, Maddie is not particularly interested. In fact, something is definitely wrong with Maddie. That, too, is a puzzle that needs to be solved.
Maddie, does, however, find a secret room in the dollhouse that mysteriously shows up on Gerry's front porch the day Varena is murdered. But no else saw the secret room, and no one can make the secret room reappear. Maddie said it had an envelope in it, and Gerry is contemplating a bit of destruction to recover that envelope if she can't get the secret room to reveal itself.
There are three mysteries to solve in the this book: (1) Who killed Varena Young?, (2) What's wrong with Maddie? and (3) Where did the modern dollhouse come from and how does the secret room in the dollhouse work? All of the mysteries are solved, and most satisfactorily, too. This is an enjoyable book, with lots of miniature craft tidbits thrown in along the way.
But Gerry is thrilled to meet Ms. Young and to see the famous "Lord and Lady Morley Manor" guesthouse. But Ms. Young is called away while showing Gerry Lord and Lady Morley Manor, and after waiting for a bit, Gerry decides to leave and come back another time. After all, Ms. Young did promise Gerry a mid-size Tudor dollhouse for the auction. Picking up that dollhouse would be the perfect excuse to come back and perhaps get a tour of more of Ms. Young's dollhouses. But Gerry doesn't get a chance to do that because Ms. Young is murdered shortly after Gerry leaves. According to the police, Gerry was the last one to see Ms. Young alive. Gerry does not like being on the suspect list.
When Ms. Young's daughter, Alicia, asks Gerry to find her mother's killer, Gerry agrees. After all, Gerry knows she didn't kill Varena, but the police don't seem to be so sure. Of course, her nephew, Skip, the detective, knows Gerry did not do it, but the other officer investigating the murder is not convinced. Gerry could use some help doing computer research, but when she tries to enlist her granddaughter's help, Maddie is not particularly interested. In fact, something is definitely wrong with Maddie. That, too, is a puzzle that needs to be solved.Maddie, does, however, find a secret room in the dollhouse that mysteriously shows up on Gerry's front porch the day Varena is murdered. But no else saw the secret room, and no one can make the secret room reappear. Maddie said it had an envelope in it, and Gerry is contemplating a bit of destruction to recover that envelope if she can't get the secret room to reveal itself.
There are three mysteries to solve in the this book: (1) Who killed Varena Young?, (2) What's wrong with Maddie? and (3) Where did the modern dollhouse come from and how does the secret room in the dollhouse work? All of the mysteries are solved, and most satisfactorily, too. This is an enjoyable book, with lots of miniature craft tidbits thrown in along the way.
Review by Sherry Lilley
http://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-id.php?id=3204