What do you think?
Rate this book
Annie's Attic Mysteries #10
Emeralds in the Attic
When Annie Dawson finds a necklace, earrings and a matching hair comb in the attic of Grey Gables, she doesn't realize the chain of events waiting to be unleashed. Why are so many people -- from the ocean scientists studying Stony Point's fishing industry to a rich, young philanthropist to Annie's best friend's ex-husband -- so fascinated by the jewelry. It all seems innocent at first, but then someone snatches the decorative faux-emerald comb from Annie's hair during a brief blackout at a masquerade ball. Is someone masquerading as a thief -- or worse?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 2, 2020
These are nice, kind, sweet books. Betsy Holden was an exceptionally kind, caring person. People gave her letters and artifacts that needed to be kept secret and knew she would keep their secrets. Granddaughter, Annie Dawson found grandmother's attic filled with long gone treasures. She gave back as she needed to do and to those people who needed to know what really happened. Annie is very giving and kept her grandmother's promises and trust.
This book begins when Annie, best friend, Alice and the Ladies of the Hook and Needle Club are talking about The Harvest Ball. There would be many there, it was a popular Autumn event. Everyone was to wear old, but beautiful clothes which gives Annie a chance to look in Grandmother's attic for old, but fashionable clothes worn back in Betsy's time. She did. And found some. Peggy found a dress she loved, as did Annie, dresses that seemed mad for them. Then some costume jewelry, pretty. not expensive nor valuable, but valuable to someone.
Before the ball, there was an auction for masks. People were to wear masks at the ball. But there is an auction where masks will be auctioned off. Annie made a mask containing a broken emerald, not a real emerald. A tall young woman, expensively dressed, a stranger in the area, bid one thousand dollars for the mask that wasn't real. But there are many strange visitors for the events that lasted about a week.
Then the ball. Everyone dressed beautifully and expensively. Annie wore a hair comb containing a hair comb containing emerald costume jewelry. The light went out suddenly. The comb was snatched from her head. Who would do something like that? Everyone knew Annie found a small box with an emerald necklace and brooch just like the earrings and comb. When she was at the ball somebody broke into her house looking for this jewelry that was just costume jewelry.
Readers meet Boots, Annie's spoiled cat and Ian, Stone Point's mayor and a good friend and protector of Annie.
This book begins when Annie, best friend, Alice and the Ladies of the Hook and Needle Club are talking about The Harvest Ball. There would be many there, it was a popular Autumn event. Everyone was to wear old, but beautiful clothes which gives Annie a chance to look in Grandmother's attic for old, but fashionable clothes worn back in Betsy's time. She did. And found some. Peggy found a dress she loved, as did Annie, dresses that seemed mad for them. Then some costume jewelry, pretty. not expensive nor valuable, but valuable to someone.
Before the ball, there was an auction for masks. People were to wear masks at the ball. But there is an auction where masks will be auctioned off. Annie made a mask containing a broken emerald, not a real emerald. A tall young woman, expensively dressed, a stranger in the area, bid one thousand dollars for the mask that wasn't real. But there are many strange visitors for the events that lasted about a week.
Then the ball. Everyone dressed beautifully and expensively. Annie wore a hair comb containing a hair comb containing emerald costume jewelry. The light went out suddenly. The comb was snatched from her head. Who would do something like that? Everyone knew Annie found a small box with an emerald necklace and brooch just like the earrings and comb. When she was at the ball somebody broke into her house looking for this jewelry that was just costume jewelry.
Readers meet Boots, Annie's spoiled cat and Ian, Stone Point's mayor and a good friend and protector of Annie.
December 13, 2017
Book #10 - what I love most about these books is that Annie Dawson has such a kind spirit. When she is solving a mystery, she is helping someone to live a better life. I am usually not able to solve the mystery until it is revealed at the end of the book. I am now reading book #11 thanks to borrowing it from a friend.
January 7, 2022
I adore this series of books. The author provides just enough background on the characters to let you know who the players are and how they got there but doesn't spend pages brining you up to date. you could start with any book in the series. The style of writing makes you feel as if you are a part of the group and experiencing it all with them as it happens.
This author set this book in the fall and her word pictures bring the town to life. You want to visit. I never want to write too much about the story but what makes a book special. This book is a terrific read. End of Story.
This author set this book in the fall and her word pictures bring the town to life. You want to visit. I never want to write too much about the story but what makes a book special. This book is a terrific read. End of Story.
August 17, 2017
This cozy mystery was interesting and a quick read. I like that it didn't start the same as so many of the others. The group of women did go up to the attic looking for something but the mystery wasn't immediately found there. It still involved something that was found in the attic but it because of what happened later. I liked this author's writing style better than a lot of the others. The ending was rather uneventful but I still enjoyed the book.
September 28, 2017
Annie Dawson had me totally off track in this Annie's Attic Mystery. If you loved (or still love) playing dress-up as a kid, you will enjoy the preparations for the masquerade party, especially the hunt for just the right costume and mask. Add a mysterious woman willing to bid high for the mask Annie created -- even when it didn't match her costume -- and the stage is set for a cozy day of reading.
I really enjoyed "Emeralds in the Attic", and didn't even mind being wrong about the mystery!
I really enjoyed "Emeralds in the Attic", and didn't even mind being wrong about the mystery!
October 28, 2021
This is the first book for me in the Annie's Attic Mysteries. I have gravitated to these Cozy Mysteries lately as a fun alternative to some of the heavier titles I read last year. I find them familiar, relaxing, as well as a bit puzzling--good for the mind! Just ordered a few more so we'll see how long this series keeps my interest.
May 7, 2021
Jan did it again capturing all my attention in this fast pace mystery. The town will never be the same if Annie continues to live there at Gray Gables. She is just the perfect addition to the small New England town. That Ian is also a fighter.
May 19, 2017
I am really enjoying this series, just a good read but it keeps your interest.
July 6, 2017
I too have enjoyed this series. My interest is always sparked.. However it is taking Annie a long time to get that attic cleaned out.
December 19, 2018
Nice, light mystery with familiar characters from the series.
January 25, 2020
I love the Annie's attic mysteries. This one was a page turner. From secrets of the past coming back to haunt to people you know that you wish would never resurface.
October 3, 2022
thoroughly enjoy the Annie's Attic Mysteries. i got them at a thrift shop, wish they had more. fun to read, a nice break from my usual heavier fare.
February 23, 2023
still enjoying this mystery series
September 4, 2023
I loved this book which combines my two favorite pastimes, reading mysteries and crochet
August 23, 2025
Family means so much! Annie and the Hook and Needle Club find again that the monetary value of something is not as valuable as the Family connection.
May 1, 2014
This was a fun-to-read mystery in the Annie's Attic mystery series. In this book, Annie and her friends from the Hook and Needle club in Stony Brook, Maine decide to go to the Historical Society's charity Harvest Ball at the Maplehurst Inn after the mayor Ian Butler invites Annie Dawson to be his date for the event. Ian is a widower and Annie is a widow and their friendship has turned into attraction though Annie, still raw with the loss of her husband Wayne some years earlier, keeps him at arms length just as a friend for now.
Not everyone is going but it was sweet how poor waitress Peggy wistfully told the other women how she wished she could go but she and Wally have no money for tickets, gowns, tuxedos, or a babysitter and the usually stern Stella tells them she bought extra tickets to help the fundraiser (she is a member of the Historical Society and a wealthy widow) and will be glad to donate two tickets to Peggy and Wally and also to Kate's teen daughter Vanessa who wanted to go then Mary Beth who owns the needle craft store offered to babysit for Peggy's daughter Emily for free, then Annie tells Peggy she can have the tuxedo her grandfather had and even choose a ballgown and jewelry from her grandma's attic (Annie used to spend summers with her grandmother and inherited her house Grey Gables which has all sorts of remarkable stuff in the attic).
The ladies are also going to make masquerade ball masks for the auction that will bring in more funds for the charity. Annie finds some fake emeralds in lovely costume jewelry in the attic as she, Peggy, and Alice search for clothes and jewelry in the attic. She uses some in the mask she makes and is astonished at finding a rich woman, Victoria Meyer, who had snubbed her before becoming very friendly after seeing the mask and the emeralds. She wants to know if there are more in Annie's attic.
At the charity ball, the electricity and lights suddenly go off. Annie feels someone's hand in her hair and then when the lights come back on finds that the emerald haircomb that was part of the set is missing. Now, we have a mystery!
Who could have stolen Annie's haircomb then gone to her house to search for the rest of the emeralds and then root through her car? There are several suspects. Victoria Meyer is one- she was crazy to get the emeralds in the mask Annie made and the matching earrings and has been non too subtle about wanting any more than Annie had. Or could it be Alice's cheating ex-husband John McFarlane who financially ruined Alice as well as breaking her heart? He has turned up in town and has been pursuing her- needing money- and even threatened Annie with violence thinking she is causing Alice to reject him. Could it be those two doctors (PhDs) who showed up to count lobsters and do a report on if they are being overcaught- biologist Dr. Jenna Paige keeps hanging around trying to pry into people's business and snoop. Could it even be Sunny, the cheap slut waitress that Kate's ex-husband shows up with at the ball? All of them fall under suspicion.
I enjoyed the way this mystery was written. Each book has a different author though there are some repeats. I didn't like the last one that much but this makes up for it. It's a cozy mystery and I loved the ending.
Not everyone is going but it was sweet how poor waitress Peggy wistfully told the other women how she wished she could go but she and Wally have no money for tickets, gowns, tuxedos, or a babysitter and the usually stern Stella tells them she bought extra tickets to help the fundraiser (she is a member of the Historical Society and a wealthy widow) and will be glad to donate two tickets to Peggy and Wally and also to Kate's teen daughter Vanessa who wanted to go then Mary Beth who owns the needle craft store offered to babysit for Peggy's daughter Emily for free, then Annie tells Peggy she can have the tuxedo her grandfather had and even choose a ballgown and jewelry from her grandma's attic (Annie used to spend summers with her grandmother and inherited her house Grey Gables which has all sorts of remarkable stuff in the attic).
The ladies are also going to make masquerade ball masks for the auction that will bring in more funds for the charity. Annie finds some fake emeralds in lovely costume jewelry in the attic as she, Peggy, and Alice search for clothes and jewelry in the attic. She uses some in the mask she makes and is astonished at finding a rich woman, Victoria Meyer, who had snubbed her before becoming very friendly after seeing the mask and the emeralds. She wants to know if there are more in Annie's attic.
At the charity ball, the electricity and lights suddenly go off. Annie feels someone's hand in her hair and then when the lights come back on finds that the emerald haircomb that was part of the set is missing. Now, we have a mystery!
Who could have stolen Annie's haircomb then gone to her house to search for the rest of the emeralds and then root through her car? There are several suspects. Victoria Meyer is one- she was crazy to get the emeralds in the mask Annie made and the matching earrings and has been non too subtle about wanting any more than Annie had. Or could it be Alice's cheating ex-husband John McFarlane who financially ruined Alice as well as breaking her heart? He has turned up in town and has been pursuing her- needing money- and even threatened Annie with violence thinking she is causing Alice to reject him. Could it be those two doctors (PhDs) who showed up to count lobsters and do a report on if they are being overcaught- biologist Dr. Jenna Paige keeps hanging around trying to pry into people's business and snoop. Could it even be Sunny, the cheap slut waitress that Kate's ex-husband shows up with at the ball? All of them fall under suspicion.
I enjoyed the way this mystery was written. Each book has a different author though there are some repeats. I didn't like the last one that much but this makes up for it. It's a cozy mystery and I loved the ending.
October 23, 2011
I loved the book.
Everyone in the Hook and Needle Club looks forward to new mysteries when Annie goes thru the attic.
She finds many things up there and there is always a mystery.
Annie had been asked by the mayor, Ian, to go to the Harvest Ball. She, Peggy and Alice were going to go thru the attic to see if there were dresses they could find to wear.
Annie discovered some emerald jewelry which would go with her dress for the Harvest Ball. She was very excited. A lady there had bought a mask Annie had made from a stone from her attic. (But the lady did not wear the mask.) Curious minds want to know why.
When Annie was at the ball, the lights went out, and her comb was stolen. It was the only thing taken.
The Hook and Needle Club got into solving the mystery.
I love endings when this turns out great.
She discovered the story behind the emeralds and why they were stolen. It was a good story......
Ready for the next book.
Everyone in the Hook and Needle Club looks forward to new mysteries when Annie goes thru the attic.
She finds many things up there and there is always a mystery.
Annie had been asked by the mayor, Ian, to go to the Harvest Ball. She, Peggy and Alice were going to go thru the attic to see if there were dresses they could find to wear.
Annie discovered some emerald jewelry which would go with her dress for the Harvest Ball. She was very excited. A lady there had bought a mask Annie had made from a stone from her attic. (But the lady did not wear the mask.) Curious minds want to know why.
When Annie was at the ball, the lights went out, and her comb was stolen. It was the only thing taken.
The Hook and Needle Club got into solving the mystery.
I love endings when this turns out great.
She discovered the story behind the emeralds and why they were stolen. It was a good story......
Ready for the next book.
February 13, 2014
Annie Dawson has her grandmother's home and finds many treasures stored in the attic. When the town holds a masked ball, Annie finds dresses and costume jewelry and decides to wear a set of immitation emeralds. The hair clip she wears is stolen from her head during a blackout and Annie and her friends look at the reasons that someone would steal fake jewels. This was an excellent read. The characters were well written and the plot is one that keeps you reading until you find out "who done it" and why.
October 31, 2012
Annie & her friends are looking in the attic at Grey Gables for outfits to wear to an upcoming town party when they come across some beautiful jewelry. One of the items is an emerald set that includes earrings, a necklace, and a hair comb. Annie decides to wear the emerald set to the party and is surprised when the hair comb is stolen from her hair when the lights go out!
To find out more, you'll have to read the book. It was another fun read for me.
To find out more, you'll have to read the book. It was another fun read for me.
September 12, 2012
Annie keeps denying that she has another mystery until someone turns out the lights at the ball and steals her hair comb. Who wants the emerald costume jewelry set so bad that they would steal and break into Annie's house and car?
October 18, 2011
Love the Annie Stories.
July 16, 2014
I can't believe there is a whole series of these books. It's harmless enough, but what a waste of time! The ending was a huge disappointment. I won't be bothering to read any of the other books.
June 15, 2014
Second book in this series that I have read and I really enjoy them... Have about 6 or so to read yet..
October 10, 2014
Though I have come to enjoy some of the cozy mysteries that I have been reading, I was not too keen on this particular series. Though it was still a good story it was a bit on the "older" style.
December 22, 2014
very good story the series is very good good
Read
April 23, 2015Cute cozy mystery. Fluffy, but enjoyable. Very clean and free of profanity.
May 5, 2016
Another good Annie's Attic mystery. It didn't really start grabbing my attention until almost the end but I liked the way it ended.
May 9, 2016
I always enjoy the Annie's Attic Mystery books. I favor light reading for my bedtime choices and this was another easy story with it's friends and local events with a mystery happening throughout.
November 14, 2016
Loving these Annie Mysteries! This one is lots of fun.
December 18, 2022
Quick read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews