WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BRANDY BORNE?

The first two books in Barbara Allan's Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery series, Antiques Roadkill and Antiques Maul were positively delightful. I've taken steps to rectify skipping the third entry Antiques Flee Market (i.e., I placed a hold on a copy at the SVPL). What can I say, I'm a fan which makes it hard to say that Antiques Bizarre was a let-down.

First off, the book is way too short; somehow, Brandy and her mom round up all the possible suspects long before I was ready to have the mystery solved. I'm not sure if this was due to the constraints of keeping the novel an homage to Agatha Christie, the publisher's demand for a short and breezy work or the authors' (Barbara Allan is a joint pseudonym used by Max Allan Collins and Barbara Collins) need to move on to other projects.

Because Serenity (guessing that the town is based on the Collins' hometown of Muscatine, Iowa, I found the wikipedia article with its photos most helpful) is recovering from a particularly severe spring flood, most of the action takes place atop one of the highest hills in town, providing a classic locked-room setting. In this case it is St. Mary's Church and the book opens with a suitable drawing of the main floor to allow those who so desire to trace the action. But this location tends to limit Brandy's and Vivian's opportunities to get as crazy with vehicles as they have in the past which is a disappointment (did Iowa law enforcement ask for this concession?)

The normally flamboyant Vivian is almost subdued and generally quite practical -- her mania is mostly confined to Brandy's fears that her mom will act up. Peggy Sue, Jake, and Tina are among the returning characters but their roles are cameos; of the supporting players only Sushi gets a lot of page time.

Even the prime suspects (the out-of-town bidders) are sketchy with little to distinguish one from the other. Ok, one is a glutton from Russia and another is a female representing a major auction house but the best one of the lot is eliminated early in the proceedings.

I think I could forgive/overlook all of the above if Brandy was unchanged but, like so many series characters (be they in novels, movies or tv shows), she's been softened. Off Prozac, being a surrogate mother, reconciled to her old boyfriend's return to his wife and daughter, tender-hearted when her ex-husband drops Jake off for a visit, minimal designer name-dropping, and even less concern about makeup add up to a Brandy who's in danger of turning into a dull girl. She's even surprisingly accepting of Peggy Sue's latest deception. If pp. 229-230 are correct, what Brandy has learned sets up an important element of the next book.

I gather the authors have submitted that manuscript to their publisher so there's hope that Brandy's flirtation with domesticity/nest-building will be over soon. Meanwhile, don't start reading the series with this entry unless you're a strict family values adherent or desperate for an Agatha-style locked-room mystery.