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Den of Antiquity #8
Nightmare in Shining Armor (Den of Antiquity) by Tamar Myers
The Corpse Is In The Mail Den of Antiquity proprietress Abigail Timberlake's Halloween costume party is a roaring success-until an unexpected fire sends the panicked guests fleeing from Abby's emporium. One exiting reveler she is only too happy to see the back of is Tweetie Little Bo Peep" Timberlake-unfaithful wife of Abby's faithless ex, Buford. But not long after the conflagration is brought under control, the former Mrs. T. discovers an unfamiliar suit of armor in her house. And stuffed inside is the heavily siliconed, no-longer-living body of the current Mrs. T. Certainly some enraged collector of medieval chain mail has sent Abby this deadly delivery. But diving into their eccentric ranks could prove a lethal proposition for the plucky antiques dealer/amateur sleuth. And even a metal suit may not be enough to protect Abby from the vicious and vindictive attentions of a crazed killer."
Mass Market Paperback
First published July 31, 2001
11 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Tamar Myers
63 books293 followersTamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the Congo). Her parents were missionaries to a tribe which, at that time, were known as headhunters and used human skulls for drinking cups. Hers was the first white family ever to peacefully coexist with the tribe, and Tamar grew up fluent in the local trade language. Because of her pale blue eyes, Tamar’s nickname was Ugly Eyes.
Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it. Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that didn’t get out of their way.
In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the family’s residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.
Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately underwent severe culture shock. She didn’t know how to dial a telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving, and she entering, the Civics classroom.
Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals are not.
Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.
Series:
* Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
* Den of Antiquity Mystery
Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it. Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that didn’t get out of their way.
In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the family’s residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.
Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately underwent severe culture shock. She didn’t know how to dial a telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving, and she entering, the Civics classroom.
Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals are not.
Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.
Series:
* Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
* Den of Antiquity Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 12, 2019
It had been ages since I read the previous book in this series, but I remembered enjoying it. Some fun, quirky characters; easy, breezy read. While the same can be said about this one in that sense, there were a few things that irked me a little. Still a good read, though I have to rate it closer to 3.5* than 4.
October 30, 2020
Not a bad entry in the series. I've read out of order so this one helped explain some things that are in later books for me. The mystery did keep me guessing.
October 31, 2021
When Abby throws a Halloween party, it's one to DIE for. No, seriously - one of her guests turns up dead . . . stuffed into a suit of armor. Go figure!
This was actually not a bad outing with an intriguing mystery, and plenty of wisecracks. The ending was a bit strange, however - almost as if it was a conclusion to the series, though I know it's not.
Again - go figure!
This was actually not a bad outing with an intriguing mystery, and plenty of wisecracks. The ending was a bit strange, however - almost as if it was a conclusion to the series, though I know it's not.
Again - go figure!
January 28, 2020
Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars
Recommendation: Not worth the time.
Okay, so a few warnings before I begin the actual review. First of all, I finished the book a few hours ago, and have since been coloring whilst chewing on what I had just read and ruminating on how best to describe the experience. An experience it was, too. Not a great one, or even a good one, but an experience, nonetheless. I know that I won’t be able to sleep until I get this review out though so… Second, I enjoy reading trash from time to time—just look at my book list—but rarely do I stumble upon garbage that causes such a visceral and violent emotional reaction. This book caused me to have some strong feelings and some even stronger, and possibly harsh opinions. I picked this book up because it managed to meet the criteria for a category in both reading challenges I’m doing this year (a hardback, and a book I got for under $3). Now that we have that cleared up, on to the review!
The only reason this book gets an extra (half) a star is because it was edited well. Mechanically, it’s sound. Unfortunately, grammar is taught and there is so much more to being an author than proper grammar.
This book is everything I hated about the south, and when I first started reading it, I wasn’t even sure when the book was supposed to be set. The repeated references to how unwelcome “Yankees” were in the Carolinas just felt like I had stepped into some kind of weird time-loop. Turns out, sometime in the early 2000’s, which honestly doesn’t make any freaking sense at all. The focus on the antiques present in the book was distracting more than anything. And the characters were infuriating. I told grandmother—who gave me the book—that I wasn’t entirely sure that the author had ever actually met another human being. The only time I found any sort of sympathy for the main character at all is when her party guests lit her new house on fire (brought a lit torch into the house to start the fire even), dumped a bowl of punch on her rug, and then insulted her when she finally managed to get them to leave. The people insulting her included her hired assistant, her mother, and her fiancé. Because disbanding a party in the south over something silly like a house fire is just the rudest thing a good southern lady could do, you know. Those southern manners, y’all, they really are just for show (as was pointed out in the ONLY real-feeling scene in the entire book).
The protagonist was an idiot, a brat, and a judgmental bitch and I can’t help but feel like it was a sort of self-insert. The heroine repeatedly referred to her diminutive size and her “petite size four pumps.” She was wearing those pumps while also walking on stilts, just so you know. She would repeatedly objectify not only the men in the book—often referred to as “boy toys”—but the women as well. Her best-friend’s most notable feature? Her bushy eyebrows, of course. Can’t really tell you much else about her, aside from the eyebrows and a penchant for withholding information from the woman she was apparently supposed to tell everything to.
The characters, more than anything else in this ridiculous story, made me rage. Everything would be fine, and then all of a sudden, everything wasn’t fine. Of course, there was some blonde “bimbo” who had to be assigned the case of Abby’s (the main character) ex-husband’s new wife’s murder, because, you know, bimbos often get promoted to homicide detectives.
And while the writing wasn’t terrible, if I’d read the words “petite progenitriss” any more I might have actually stabbed myself with a rusty spoon. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the artful aesthetic of properly placed alliteration. In fact, my own work is littered with language that routinely plays on it, but it is just play. Something quick, subtle, and not usually repeated 50 times in the same novel.
I could go on. I could talk more about how incredibly tacky the first-person point of view made everything feel. It was uncomfortable to read how often her “pheromones danced” with those “boy toys” she judged so harshly—they were all also terrible people, but she judged them on the fact that they were boy toys rather than the fact that they were assholes.
And the ending? Pfft. Don’t even get me started. It didn’t make any sense at all. Motive was never actually explained, and we never find out how Abby made it back to shore without dying. After calling her boyfriend, the used-to-be-but-quit-and-told-her-already cop and leaving him a message on the answering machine that she was heading to confront the murderer by herself, injured, and with no real knowledge of how to use the gun that she stole from her ex-husband’s house.
I highly recommend finding a different book. By a different author. Who hasn’t decided to glorify everything that is wrong with the Southeastern United States.
Recommendation: Not worth the time.
Okay, so a few warnings before I begin the actual review. First of all, I finished the book a few hours ago, and have since been coloring whilst chewing on what I had just read and ruminating on how best to describe the experience. An experience it was, too. Not a great one, or even a good one, but an experience, nonetheless. I know that I won’t be able to sleep until I get this review out though so… Second, I enjoy reading trash from time to time—just look at my book list—but rarely do I stumble upon garbage that causes such a visceral and violent emotional reaction. This book caused me to have some strong feelings and some even stronger, and possibly harsh opinions. I picked this book up because it managed to meet the criteria for a category in both reading challenges I’m doing this year (a hardback, and a book I got for under $3). Now that we have that cleared up, on to the review!
The only reason this book gets an extra (half) a star is because it was edited well. Mechanically, it’s sound. Unfortunately, grammar is taught and there is so much more to being an author than proper grammar.
This book is everything I hated about the south, and when I first started reading it, I wasn’t even sure when the book was supposed to be set. The repeated references to how unwelcome “Yankees” were in the Carolinas just felt like I had stepped into some kind of weird time-loop. Turns out, sometime in the early 2000’s, which honestly doesn’t make any freaking sense at all. The focus on the antiques present in the book was distracting more than anything. And the characters were infuriating. I told grandmother—who gave me the book—that I wasn’t entirely sure that the author had ever actually met another human being. The only time I found any sort of sympathy for the main character at all is when her party guests lit her new house on fire (brought a lit torch into the house to start the fire even), dumped a bowl of punch on her rug, and then insulted her when she finally managed to get them to leave. The people insulting her included her hired assistant, her mother, and her fiancé. Because disbanding a party in the south over something silly like a house fire is just the rudest thing a good southern lady could do, you know. Those southern manners, y’all, they really are just for show (as was pointed out in the ONLY real-feeling scene in the entire book).
The protagonist was an idiot, a brat, and a judgmental bitch and I can’t help but feel like it was a sort of self-insert. The heroine repeatedly referred to her diminutive size and her “petite size four pumps.” She was wearing those pumps while also walking on stilts, just so you know. She would repeatedly objectify not only the men in the book—often referred to as “boy toys”—but the women as well. Her best-friend’s most notable feature? Her bushy eyebrows, of course. Can’t really tell you much else about her, aside from the eyebrows and a penchant for withholding information from the woman she was apparently supposed to tell everything to.
The characters, more than anything else in this ridiculous story, made me rage. Everything would be fine, and then all of a sudden, everything wasn’t fine. Of course, there was some blonde “bimbo” who had to be assigned the case of Abby’s (the main character) ex-husband’s new wife’s murder, because, you know, bimbos often get promoted to homicide detectives.
And while the writing wasn’t terrible, if I’d read the words “petite progenitriss” any more I might have actually stabbed myself with a rusty spoon. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the artful aesthetic of properly placed alliteration. In fact, my own work is littered with language that routinely plays on it, but it is just play. Something quick, subtle, and not usually repeated 50 times in the same novel.
I could go on. I could talk more about how incredibly tacky the first-person point of view made everything feel. It was uncomfortable to read how often her “pheromones danced” with those “boy toys” she judged so harshly—they were all also terrible people, but she judged them on the fact that they were boy toys rather than the fact that they were assholes.
And the ending? Pfft. Don’t even get me started. It didn’t make any sense at all. Motive was never actually explained, and we never find out how Abby made it back to shore without dying. After calling her boyfriend, the used-to-be-but-quit-and-told-her-already cop and leaving him a message on the answering machine that she was heading to confront the murderer by herself, injured, and with no real knowledge of how to use the gun that she stole from her ex-husband’s house.
I highly recommend finding a different book. By a different author. Who hasn’t decided to glorify everything that is wrong with the Southeastern United States.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2019
In the previous books in this series Abby has just sort of stumbled onto the killer, usually with absolutely no clue as to who did it until the killer confesses. This time however, she figures it out all by herself but still almost ends up joining the heavenly chorus because she confronts the killer all by herself. The anti-climatic end leads the reader to the conclusion that Abby is leaving Charlotte although some of the old gang seems to be going with her. If CJ and Wynnell don't end up going with her also I am going to be quite upset, but at least I know that Abby's irrepressible mama is going to continue to be a major force in this series.
This entry in the "Den of Antiquity" series offers a fairly good mystery along with a fun plot. This story is not quite as funny as some of it's predecessors but it still offers up some hilarious moments along with some heavy doses of gossip. CJ and her Shelby stories are always a hoot although there are less of them here than in previous books. The only problem with this book was that the ending was just a little flat since no motive for the murder was provided and the whole final scenario was way too similar to the ending of "Baroque and Desperate." All in all though, I enjoyed this book immensely.
This entry in the "Den of Antiquity" series offers a fairly good mystery along with a fun plot. This story is not quite as funny as some of it's predecessors but it still offers up some hilarious moments along with some heavy doses of gossip. CJ and her Shelby stories are always a hoot although there are less of them here than in previous books. The only problem with this book was that the ending was just a little flat since no motive for the murder was provided and the whole final scenario was way too similar to the ending of "Baroque and Desperate." All in all though, I enjoyed this book immensely.
November 1, 2024
1 3/4 stars. I'm rounding up. The story is ok. But I just don't get this whole enthusiasm in recent years for Southern writing, or whatever you want to call it. This is a little before what I am aware of the craze but many of the elements are there. I might understand the idea that Southerners are friendlier but I'm not really sure that is true and does that really have anything to do with a trend in appreciation for Southern writing? What I do know is that supporting the Confederate Flag, calling the Civil War, "the War of Northern Aggression" and other such things is a support for racism. That turns me off.
I'm not saying that there aren't great Southern writers. There are. And not all are supporting signs of Southern culture that supports racism. I'm just seeing a lot of it recently.
I'm not saying that there aren't great Southern writers. There are. And not all are supporting signs of Southern culture that supports racism. I'm just seeing a lot of it recently.
September 8, 2025
Easy read? Yes. Murder mystery? Not really. A good read? Hell no.
The writing style is easy and certainly enjoyable. The plot is ok. It’s not super strong. There’s plenty of investigating but very little solving until the end.
The main issue with this book is that literally every character is a bitch, cunt, and/or twat. They were all so shallow. Literally no one was anything like what real southerners are like— and I say that as someone who grew up in Charlotte.
Abby literally always picks a fight with people then wonders why they get mad at them. Not to mention she literally stomps her foot like a child when mad. She as just a disaster of a bitch.
But also… who brings a lit torch as part of a costume into someone’s home then gets offended when everyone is thrown out because the hosts rug was lit on fire. (Hint: all of Abby’s friends).
The writing style is easy and certainly enjoyable. The plot is ok. It’s not super strong. There’s plenty of investigating but very little solving until the end.
The main issue with this book is that literally every character is a bitch, cunt, and/or twat. They were all so shallow. Literally no one was anything like what real southerners are like— and I say that as someone who grew up in Charlotte.
Abby literally always picks a fight with people then wonders why they get mad at them. Not to mention she literally stomps her foot like a child when mad. She as just a disaster of a bitch.
But also… who brings a lit torch as part of a costume into someone’s home then gets offended when everyone is thrown out because the hosts rug was lit on fire. (Hint: all of Abby’s friends).
December 16, 2020
I picked this up for a quick read because I was near my 100 books for the year goal. This is the first I have read in this series and I read it just after reading a Laura Childs mystery. The similarities between the two authors are striking, although Myers is a better writer than Childs. This is also a mystery with a southern setting, another tale of a ditzy Southern women focused on clothing, the Southern way of life, and a rather sexualized view of men (and no, I do not consider that liberating), while somehow running an impossibly successful store. The plot seems to concern the main character running around suspecting everyone. At least the woman managed to get of scraps herself. The imaginary, impossible fantasy of business in this book is selling antiques.
January 10, 2018
Abigail holds a Halloween party and her nemesis, Tweetie, is murdered. Because of their history, Abbie feels she needs to solve the mystery. I have to say the characters in this story are so unpleasant and rude to each other. There was humor but it was kinda over-the-top, but the mystery itself was interesting as well as all the antiques angle.
February 4, 2019
I’ve realised I can only take Tamar Myers’ humour in small doses. The one or two others of this series on my shelf will have to wait a while.
This series has less interest for me than her other, Amish/Mennonite series, as the South of the USA and antiques are not high on my list of hobbies, so the book took some getting into, but it did grow on me as it gathered pace towards the end.
This series has less interest for me than her other, Amish/Mennonite series, as the South of the USA and antiques are not high on my list of hobbies, so the book took some getting into, but it did grow on me as it gathered pace towards the end.
July 27, 2019
This is the best one so far in the series. Just when I gave up hope, Myers cut back on the wailing, repeated references to the main character’s height and other annoyances. The story was decent, and the characters weren’t as exaggerated as usual.
The editor still lacks in finding grammatical errors, and the cat’s appearance on the cover belies his importance in the book. Decent read.
The editor still lacks in finding grammatical errors, and the cat’s appearance on the cover belies his importance in the book. Decent read.
May 3, 2018
Good mystery but too many antics and way too many quirky characters.
March 30, 2019
This is another good amateur sleuth mystery in this series. Abby always manages to put her sleuthing skills to the test when a dead body is found. I loved the Halloween theme.
September 26, 2019
Very entertaining series.
June 20, 2023
Enjoy Myers' tongue-in-cheek humor although the plotting in this one seemed a little lacking compared to others I've read of hers. A nice little read though to clear the brain between heavier things.
August 20, 2023
This could have benefited from closer editing (lots of typos), and the humor, overly cutesy, was strained, mostly falling flat. Not much fun.
August 20, 2024
Abby has a Halloween party and things go downhill from there!! I did figure out who the murderer was. I'm on to the next book!
September 25, 2024
I enjoyed the book but again we really don’t know how Abbie escaped death
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2017
Abby just can't stay away from trouble and it just follows her around, even when she is more or less behaving herself. This is just a plain silly series and I really enjoy it because of that.
November 13, 2008
Myers writes a couple of series. I wasn't crazy about her food mystery series, but this one wasn't bad. This is book 8 in the series and the only one I've read but I am not sure itmattered from a continuity perspective that I hadn't read the others. When antiques dealer Abby Timberlake holds a Halloween party she does not expect to find the dead body of her ex-husband's current wife under the bed. Although Abby is an amateur sleuth, I didn't think that she had a strong enough reason for doing so in this case. She also has a tendency to offend everyone. Another set of extreme quirky characters. It was decent and I'd pick up more at a library book sale but I'm not going to see out the others.
March 3, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
July 30, 2012
I figured this one out about 1/4 of the way in. Also, Abby was even more insufferable than usual in this book. But I keep reading them because the mysteries i *usually* can't figure out, and I like the cast of supporting characters. If things don't get better in the next book, I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on, however.
August 25, 2008
Ms Myers certainly has a sense of humor and sadly she knows it. Her puns are frequent and often to the detriment of the plot. I have read one of her books in the past and will probably choose to forgo on another Abigail Timberlake mystery.
March 28, 2013
Absurdly funny as usual, with all the little niceties and hypocrisies of being a proper Southern woman.
This wasn't one of the best but certainly not the worst of the Den of Antiquities novels. This one was less about the antiques and more about the characters.
This wasn't one of the best but certainly not the worst of the Den of Antiquities novels. This one was less about the antiques and more about the characters.
August 25, 2014
This one was okay, I think I understand when individuals complain about Abby. She continued to "wail" at people the entire way through the book. And yes, it did begin to grate my nerves, which is why I gave it a 3.
September 28, 2013
A fun romp through a murder that happens at a costume party. Wjen the body turns up under the bed of the hostess, who has a good motive to hate the victim, in a suit of armor the antiquarian sets out to clear her name.
A fun fluff mystery.
A fun fluff mystery.
May 13, 2016
No. Just no. There are too many ridiculous improbabilities, underdeveloped characters and scenes, and much too many unresolved issues. A super waste of time. The only positive was that the print was so huge--meaning the word count was too low--I blew through it in less than a few hours.
November 29, 2010
My beloved Aussie Ivy died on the ninth of this month, and this is the only thing I could even try to read through my tears. I wasn't much of a book, but I was able to finish it.
December 6, 2015
another madcap adventure with Abby and her collection of oddball friends and clients. Strange murder---and what is up with Greg?
January 10, 2015
This was just silly! There was a lot of rehash of little sayings and I hope by moving the location for the next book things will pick up. I would not recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews