Dead Men Don't Decorate: An Old Town Antique Mystery #1

(Hardback)

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Art, murder, and a secret dating back centuries collide in Cordy Abbott's delightful cozy mystery series debut, perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland. Roberto Fratelli, proprietor of the antiques store Waited4You, is the meanest man in Marthasville, Virginia. So when he puts the business up for sale, the other merchants in town are overjoyed. And now the business has a prospective buyer- local resident and the newly elected mayor's mom, Camille Benson, who's thrilled at the prospect of getting into the antiques business. During a celebration in honor of Camille's new venture, her best friend, Opal, tells her about finding a letter, purportedly from Sally Fairfax to George Washington, dated 1756, hidden under a chair in the shop. When they return to retrieve the cache, they find Roberto's lifeless body on the floor and no letter. Police question Ella Coleman, Roberto's ex-wife, and discover that her current husband supplied Roberto with oh-so-faux Victorian furniture. Did the two cheat the wrong customer Or could the murder be connected to an earlier theft of rare books from the shop-a theft Roberto never reported As Camille prepares to confront these questions and investigate the murder, she knows she might become the latest knock-off.

Reviews

Praise for Dead Men Dont Decorate:
A charming series launch . . . Cozy fans are in for a treat.
Publishers Weekly

A delightful and refreshing start to small town mysteries.
Red Carpet Crash

A delightful start to a new series with a mystery full of twists, sleuthing antics, and new beginnings.
San Francisco Book Review, 5 star review

Superbly crafted and original cozy mystery . . . [A] fun read from first page to last.
Midwest Book Review

Anyone with a lifelong bestie will recognise the sparks and snarks of Camille and Opal in Cordy Abbott's delightful series debut. But the real treasure in Dead Men Dont Decorate is how the antiques business (with a side of design) is stitched right into the twisty plot, fascinating and authentic. A winner!
Catriona McPherson, award-winning and national bestselling author of the Dandy Gilver series

Combining new clues and historical keepsakes, Cordy Abbot crafts a charming debut cozy. The antique shop premise promises new mysteries around every corner, and the characters feel like old friends. Don't let the dust settle on your empty bookshelvesdecorate with this series starter today!
Diane Vallere, national bestselling author of the Costume Shop mysteries.

Readers will have a fun time getting to know the characters in Abbotts new series, including shopkeeper Camille and her best friend Opal. The ladies square off against the local police chief when the former owner of Camilles antique shop turns up dead, and a possibly valuable letter goes missing. With quirky characters, a delightful small-town setting, and a realistic murder on the books, Dead Men Dont Decorate layers on the charm.
Sandra Bretting, bestselling author of The Missy DuBois Mystery Series

Cordy Abbott delivers a don't-miss, delightful series debut.
Elizabeth Spann Craig, bestselling author of the Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries

Antiques, history, and more than one mystery keep Camille Benson and her friends on the run in Dead Men Dont Decorate. A little romance, humor, and a delectable fictional version of historic Alexandria, Virginia will keep readers turning pages to the very last one.
Sherry Harris, award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale and Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries

A fun thrill ride laced with antiques, design, and nostalgic nineties music, as seen through the eyes of smart, sensible Camille and her plucky wing woman Opal. Dead Men Don't Decorate is packed full of charming characters along with plot twists and turns that will captivate the reader in this delightful series debut.
Tracy Gardner, award-nominated author of Peril at Pennington Manor

Dead Men Dont Decorate by Cordy Abbott is a delightful cozy mystery with a charming
setting, a dash of romance, and a fifty-something main character who jumps in to find a killer
after making a late life career change. When Camille Benson hears an antique shop that formally belonged to her parents is being sold by its unpleasant current owner, Roberto, she decides to leave her job at a local university and buy the store. But Camille doesnt even have time to revitalize the business and ready it for the upcoming Christmas holiday season before she discovers Robertos dead body, laying in the middle of the closed shop. From there, the mystery takes off with loads of fun characters, clues, dead ends, and enough trouble to make Camille fear she may not be able to untangle all the trouble in time to save the business. Dead Men Dont Decorate is an entertaining first installment to a new cozy series with an engaging main character, twisty mystery, and immersive Virginia setting that begs to be savored.
Trish Esden, author of the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series

Author Bio

Proud baby boomer and dog mom, Cordy Abbott, is the author of the Old Town Mystery series. She, her husband, and their Standard Schnauzer have lived in Alexandria, Virginia for over two decades. Because she enjoys everything about the city, she can't wait to share it with readers, even a fictionalized version. When not writing she enjoys characteristic baby boomer pursuits- golf, traveling and volunteering for good causes, like American Association of University Women of Alexandria and Northern Virginia Community College's Braden Center for Women, Gender and Social Equity. She has a post-graduate certificate in Antiquities Theft and Art Crime.