What could Ginger the baby boomer, Kindra the college student, Suzanne the pregnant mother of three, and Mary Margret the silver-haired real-estate agent possibly have in common? Who would’ve guessed…a passion for garage sales!
This motley crew forms the Bargain Hunters Network–bonding while clipping coupons, attending half-price sales, and scouting clearance racks in their hometown of Three Horses, Montana. But when one of the four turns up missing, these shop-till-you-drop women must set their bargain hunting aside to take up an entirely new venture altogether–solving a crime.
As the three amateur sleuths retrace their friend’s fateful steps, they discover clues that lead them to suspect her murder is linked to an unusual garage sale purchase made on the morning of her death. But when their search unearths a disturbing secret that’s been carefully concealed for over twenty years, the women are drawn into a dark underworld filled with bribery, greed, and deception. With determined criminals who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe, will these fiscally conscious females end up paying the ultimate price?
Dunn knows how to write a humorous mystery| Posted September 29, 2008
Ginger Salinski, a professed bargain hunter and garage sale maven, readily teaches her penny-pinching skills to a trio of friends. They form a quartet of shoppers that would make any coupon aficionado proud. Apart or together they share their finds with one another in enjoyable gatherings. But the fun takes a nose dive when, Mary Margaret, one of the bargain hunters, winds up dead.
Mary Margaret leaves behind garage sale clues that the Bargain Hunter Network must follow if they have any hope of solving her murder. The police are of no help in the murder investigation so between sales and life struggles, the group sets out to catch a killer.
Laced with humor, even in the face of death, Sharon Dunn’s Death of a Garage Sale Newbie, keeps you reading until the end. Her characters are real and the book is filled with their interpersonal struggles. The Bargain Hunter Network is made of women of various ages and Dunn nails each age with authentic style. Whatever your age, you can easily identify with the characters problems and root for them to work through their issues. I especially enjoyed the contrast of Ginger’s trials with the rest of the group. As the mother figure of the group, she ably helps her friends work through their problems, but hasn’t a clue how to rev up her own marriage.
The plot keeps moving at a steady pace, not too fast to sacrifice character development but not too slow to become boring. Faith messages are woven through the character’s everyday lives.
Dunn has another winner here. If you haven’t read any of her other books, you’ll want to pick those up as well, as Dunn knows how to write a humorous mystery.
