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Dani O'Rourke #2

The King's Jar

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"Wickedly funny." —Kirkus Reviews
"A layered, smart, surprising plot." —Booklist
"Fresh, fast-paced, and great fun." —Library Journal

Acquisition of the King's Jar, a priceless African artifact, is a major coup for San Francisco's prestigious Devor Museum of Art and Antiquities—and the gala celebration honoring its donors is a high-stakes affair. Dani O'Rourke, Devor's chief fundraiser, is a pro at dealing with wealthy patrons, demanding bosses, big egos, and museum-world politics. Murder, however, is way above her pay grade, and definitely beyond her comfort zone.

When the renowned archaeologist who authenticated the King's Jar turns up dead, and the invaluable relic vanishes, Dani suddenly finds herself trapped in a real-life game of Clue—with a gallery of glittering suspects, and a killer who's playing for keeps. But drumming up donations from society swells is a far cry from matching wits with homicidal thieves. And juggling the amorous advances of a police detective, a TV celebrity, and her own playboy ex-husband—while sparring with an African ambassador, an obsessed archaeologist-in-training, a billionaire and his trophy wife—certainly doesn't make it any easier to figure out who's lying...or keep anyone else from dying.

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2013

9 people are currently reading
270 people want to read

About the author

Susan C. Shea

13 books48 followers
Born in NYC, raised on as diet of reading and art, transplant to Northern CA, satisfying career in journalism, higher ed exec, and then leapt off the diving board to become crime author.

I have an author page on Facebook. blog on 7CriminalMinds with 9 other crime authors, have an active web site with lots about France and, yes, I'm a Francophile!

NEW BOOK coming March 2023 - more Burgundy, but with a new theme...

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5 stars
16 (18%)
4 stars
33 (38%)
3 stars
26 (30%)
2 stars
8 (9%)
1 star
2 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Rachel Gimbel.
70 reviews
July 13, 2022
the mystery was ok but the rest of the story. I was disappointed by the author characterization of the fake African country relied on harmful stereotypes about corrupt governments and undeveloped regions. I’m glad the author did speak about the importance of artifacts belonging where they were from and stopping the movement of cultural items to the west. Also many characters full description ended at them being fat/ out of shape / full figured and this just rubbed me the wrong way.
Profile Image for Jessica.
269 reviews83 followers
April 22, 2013
Susan C. Shea’s The King’s Jar is the second book in her Dani O’Rourke series. If you haven’t read the first book, Murder in the Abstract, don’t fret. I planned on reading it prior to The King’s Jar, but decided to go in without any previous knowledge as most new readers in a series do. It’s not necessary to read Murder in the Abstract but be aware Shea does mention a few situations from the first book that may be viewed as spoilers, but I don’t think they are.

The Dover Museum of Art and Antiquities is aflutter with the upcoming opening exhibit of the King’s Jar, a priceless African artifact. Dover’s chief fundraiser Dani O’ Rourke is one of the last people to see Dr. Rene Bouvier alive. He was the archaeologist who authenticated the jar and on the day of her meeting with Rene, she learns of his dislike for television presenter Simon Anderson. Despite Rene’s death, the exhibit is scheduled to open as planned, until the King’s Jar goes missing and no one knows where it could be. When a socialite connected to the jar turns up dead, questions begin to arise and everyone is a suspect. Dani knows the only way to bring a murder out in the open is to find the artifact. Will Dani locate its whereabouts before another murder is committed or will the jar be forever lost?

I really enjoyed The King’s Jar. The writing is engaging and witty. I laughed out loud a few times. I like that Dani is a real woman with real issues. She’s still dealing with the fallout of her divorce, but she’s not hung up on what ifs. She’s not afraid to stand up to her ex-husband or anybody for that matter. Shea combines her real life experience as a nonprofit executive with Dani’s career as a fundraiser. Dani’s career comes to life and a few times I was exhausted for Dani and her workload! In terms of characterization, Shea doesn’t go into deep characteristics and there’s a reason for this. The King’s Jar is told in Dani’s perspective, but unlike most first person point-of-view narratives, we get in-depth descriptions. We may not read exactly what a secondary character is thinking, but Shea goes to great length to describe facial expressions and body language. It almost feels as if the reader is standing in a room with the characters and part of the action. There’s a series of secondary characters you’ll easily come to love. As a reader, I’m not suppose to like Dickie, Dani’s ex-husband, who cheated on her, but I adore him. It’s clear he still cares about her and wants to make up for his mistake and I’m quietly trying to shake some sense into Dani. Then again, I quite like Charlie, the police investigator who is always busy too date.

As for the mystery, there’s no shortage of suspects. Shea does a phenomenal job feeding the reader clues along the way. While the initial twist we’re given at the end isn’t what I expected, it fits, especially when you consider the implications and expectations of high society. I’m pretty good at putting clues together, but Shea threw a few curveballs. We have creepy grad student Oscar and playboy television presenter, Simon, both of them make great suspects. Then throw in the possibility of a foreign government committing murder and the question regarding ownership of the jar and we're left with a string of suspects. I was kept on the edge of my seat and it was a fun read.

I debated heavily with the rating between a four and a five and in the end decided on a five. The reason primarily is the twist I mentioned and for the rich descriptive passages. It’s not a fast paced read and I really like that. Sometimes a reader needs a drawn out story and just to get lost in the world the author creates.

I’m going to take a moment to discuss to the paperback copy of The King’s Jar. It’s the first Top Five Book, I’ve physically held and it’s a gorgeous book! The paper used is nice and thick and a real treat for the hands. The cover design is beautiful! I know the physical copy is a bit pricey when compared to the ebook price, but if you can get your hands on a physical copy, do.

If you’re fan of mysteries, I recommend Susan C. Shea’s The King’s Jar. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, but in the meantime I have Murder in the Abstract to read.

Review originally posted at Literary, etc.
1,003 reviews13 followers
April 30, 2013
In The King's Jar, Dani is a fundraiser for a museum and also happens tp get involved with murders. A celadon jar goes missing when the professor caring for it is found murdered. Suspects abound, among the super rich and the staff. A fun read.
487 reviews28 followers
July 4, 2018
I enjoyed this despite not having read the first one, and hope she has more in this series. The characters were engaging, and the plot had some unexpected twists.
Profile Image for Kelli.
220 reviews2 followers
June 2, 2013
**This review is for the paperback copy of The King's Jar: A Dani O'Rourke Mystery provided to this reviewer by either the publisher or author via the GoodReads First Reads giveaway program. I am not being compensated in any manner for my review, and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer and do not in any way reflect those of GoodReads or anyone or any entity otherwise associated with this book.**

When I first started reading The King's Jar, I couldn't get over the feeling that I had read it before, which I know is not possible. However, there was such a sense of familiarity to it that for at least the first half of the book, I could swear I had read it at least once before. Luckily, that feeling faded as I progressed through the book, but it was unnerving at first.

Overall, The King's Jar is a decent read despite being heavy on high society shenanigans, which I'm not much in to. My copy was not designated as an ARC, but there was a major printing error within the pages in that after page 124, the next page is 93, and it continues on from 93 to repeat those pages already printed. Not a major deal, though a bit wasteful on the printer's part and just a little confusing if you don't keep track of page numbers as you read as I don't.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the story, though I don't think I'll be looking up the previous books in this series. It's not that they're not worth going after, it's just that if they have as much to deal with high society and the insanely wealthy as this one did, I'm just not interested. It does have a great mystery to it, and the twists and turns in the last half of the book definitely keep you guessing. I would say, if you're on the fence about this book, go ahead and get it, especially if you've already read the previous books. It's worth continuing with if this series is your thing.
Profile Image for Sheila York.
Author 6 books7 followers
October 15, 2014
I’ve made a wonderful discovery: the Dani O’Rourke mystery series, a deft mix of humor, mystery and the pleasures of peeking into what it’s like among the very rich and very entitled.

Susan C. Shea’s heroine and amateur sleuth, Dani O’Rourke, is a savvy, funny, determined, and well-connected fundraiser for the prestigious Devor Museum of Art and Antiquities in San Francisco, and a woman recovering from a (now ex) husband who strayed in a very public fashion, embarrassing her in front of the wealthy people she has to ask for money. Which does not stop her from trying to get back in the game, with a dashing adventurer and a handsome police detective, whose level of interest in Dani is intriguingly unclear.

Her attention at the moment is focused on the museum’s glittering soiree: a billionaire and his trophy wife are set to donate the priceless King’s Jar to the museum as the centerpiece of a new exhibit. A triumph for the museum and for Dani, who has helped plan the event in meticulous detail.

What could go wrong?

Oh, the murder of the man who’d challenged the billionaire’s right of ownership. And the disappearance of the King’s Jar. For starters.

Dani’s list of benefactors suddenly becomes a list of suspects, including the dashing adventurer. And who better to find the killer than the women who knows them well enough to charm millions from them? Of course, warnings from the handsome police detective to keep her nose out of the investigation won’t make one bit of difference. Not after there’s another killing, and Dani discovers she has a stalker.

Stretch out and enjoy with an iced cocktail (maybe a Saints & Sinners). Good fun.
Profile Image for Linda.
339 reviews23 followers
May 6, 2013
“The King’s Jar” by Susan Shea is a glimpse into the world of the privileged few who have the means and passion to own or work in the field of rare and exotic artifacts and other works of art. Dani O’Rourke is a young woman who is responsible for the necessary fundraising needed to acquire and preserve fine works of art at the Devon Museum. She is a delightful young woman who lives with her cat and has been involved with variety of men from her super wealthy ex-husband Dickie to the famous and handsome Simon and the intriguing Charlie, homicide detective. Somehow she always finds herself in the middle of a mystery.

In this book, her second in the O’Rourke mystery series Dani finds herself caught up in the lives of both the rich and famous patrons and the scientists or archeologists who are needing the patron’s money to support their explorations. An extraordinary find from South Africa, the King’s jar is being featured at a huge gala at the museum when it turns up missing. As in her first novel “Murder in the Abstract,” people around Dani seem to be frightened and even murdered. In this fast, easy to read novel, you will meet characters that are both believable and likable and others who are not as well identified or developed. As a small side note, I continued to be bothered by the number of times ‘Kenobia’ was mentioned. I did enjoy this light or cozy mystery and would recommend it as a fun and easy summer read. Thank you to Librarything and to Top Five Books Publishing for sharing this advance reading copy with me. I give it a 3 star rating.
Profile Image for Jeannie and Louis Rigod.
1,991 reviews39 followers
May 24, 2013
San Francisco's Devor Museum of Art and Antiquities is all aglow about having a priceless African Song Dynasty piece known as the 'King's Jar' to spotlight their newest exhibit. Chief fundraiser, Dani O'Rourke is busily planning a huge socialite dinner in New York City to earn funds to maintain the exhibit.

All is placed in jeopardy when the renowned Archaeologist is found murdered and the jar is found missing. Suddenly, the mix of police, high society donors, and museum politics are merged with the media watching and Dani finds herself involved whether or not she intended to.

I expected more action and this novel was a cerebral mystery. It did offer a good look at acquisition politics of differing nations. This novel is not for a quick read but a studious one. We follow the mindset of Dani as she tries to figure out where the Jar is and why the senseless killing. We are thrown twists and turns and Dani tries to figure out why she seems to be a target? Using the art of suspense-building, we are taken to NYC and keep expecting action, but, no the tension builds. Clues are given but often I did not pick up on them.

Even Dani's romantic involvements were not action but the promise of 'might be' or 'should have been'. Again the suspense builds but doesn't burst out as we have grown used to in modern mystery novels.

It will be interesting to see where Dani travels next.

Profile Image for Steve Shea.
115 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2016
OK, this is strange. I don't like mysteries. Perhaps I'm biased because the author is my mother, and because I helped with the research, but Dani O'Rourke has just the kind of half-successful introspection that drives YA fiction - only in the voice of a mid-career art museum executive. In a less deft hand, the events of the story might not have come alive. What raises this above standard writing is the presence of three-dimensional characters - an unbalanced personal assistant, a detective who's got no time to realize how attractive he is, an archaeologist who can't stop doing just that - engaged in very lively dialogue. With quotidian scenes of career infighting and domestic solitude broken up by real danger and intrigue, The King's Jar was an enjoyable read even after I'd seen the book in draft for a year. For backstory, you might want to start with Murder in the Abstract, though readers won't have difficulty understanding any of this story or the characters without it.
Profile Image for Sheri Lind.
44 reviews
July 27, 2014
The bad news is, I didn't LOVE it. The good news is, I didn't HATE it! In fact, I was rather impartial to this book. Perhaps because it had a lot to do with archaeological pieces and museum curators and fundraisers extremely rich people and such, which are all subjects that I have a rather limited knowledge of. It is a world that I have no familiarity with (other than enjoying going to museums) and so there were many points of reference that I could no relate to. The basic human story however was fine. A little difficult to follow who did what and why - wasn't always clear, even in the end. Also, there is clearly a book before this that most of the main characters appear in, that I haven't read, so was missing a lot of the back story. I will say that it was mostly clean - not a lot of swearing or gratuitous sex scenes, so that was good.
Profile Image for Kristin (Kritters Ramblings).
2,244 reviews110 followers
August 4, 2013
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

Dani O'Rourke is the VP of fundraising for a museum in San Francisco and although her job should be filled with dinners with potential donors and days spent on the phone with current donors, she is quickly put in the middle of an international scandal involving donors, museum employees and a priceless artifact from Africa that is the centerpiece of her next exhibition. Although she is not a detective, she puts herself to the task to find this article and solve a murder.
41 reviews
Read
April 14, 2013
My initial impression the premise of the book is a good one. I was approximately 50 pages into it before deciding to finish reading it. Sadly, I did not become "involved" with the main character and the story line had to many needless descriptive passages/pages. The writing could have been significantly tighter for a faster moving story. My hope was to love the book. At the end my feeling was this was an okay read. This is the author's second book in what looks to be a series. I won't be reading any more, I am sorry to say.
Profile Image for Tempa Pagel.
Author 4 books5 followers
May 17, 2014
Susan is an excellent writer who parlays her background expertise into a mystery set at a famous art and antiquities museum. Her protagonist, fundraiser Dani O'Rourke, is intelligent, funny, and unflappable in the face of ego-driven patrons, international politics (An African ambassador is involved), a missing priceless African artifact, and a couple of murders. The plot moves along nicely, with twists and turns and plenty of colorful (and suspicious)characters, to a satisfying ending.
Profile Image for Rachel.
188 reviews4 followers
September 4, 2015
I found this one on a Book Bub list, for free, and finally got around to reading it. I did enjoy it, although I had a hard time relating to the main character:she is divorced, running in rich art and archaeology circles. However, Dani provides a window into another world I will probably never enter.
Not too shabby for a mystery! I didn't figure out who was the murderer until the end, as it should be.
Profile Image for Julia Stephanie.
2,108 reviews6 followers
September 10, 2013
I really enjoyed this story and was pleasantly surprised by the many layers of mystery! It centered around high-society, but I liked that. As a second in the series, I was also happy that you did not need to read the first to get into this one! I picked it up at the base's local paperback exchange for free and couldn't resist- I'm very glad I did! I would recommend this story to others!
5,950 reviews67 followers
February 11, 2014
A billionaire's gift of an historically valuable African artifact disappears before it can be moved to the Devor museum, where Dani O'Rourke is head fundraiser. Everybody is looking for the jar, which is very old and fragile, until a woman is found murdered. Too many people think Dani knows where the jar is, or can help them find it, which may put her in danger.
1,046 reviews5 followers
February 23, 2014
I don't agree with some of the comments that say it was hilarious...or even funny. There was wit, but the book didn't need to be funny. I enjoyed the plot. O'Rourke's sleuthing is believable, though I wouldn't want to be in her shoes, considering all the danger she finds in daily life! I'd read another in the series.
Profile Image for Exapno Mapcase.
247 reviews2 followers
April 18, 2013
This is a very nice journey into the world of museums and their privileged patrons. I liked the pacing and the way the mystery was laid out with the clues spread out throughout the book. It’s not a slam bang action mystery which allows the reader to have a nice journey.

Free review copy.
Profile Image for Ellen Kirschman.
Author 11 books99 followers
January 2, 2014
"The King's Jar" by Susan C. Shea. It's a delightful romp through San Francisco's world of art and high society led by the intrepid fund raiser Dani O'Rourke. Dani's life is a lovely tangle of romance, murder, and diets gone bad.
Profile Image for Linda Howe Steiger.
Author 2 books6 followers
September 2, 2016
Clever plot--took me a while to work it out--though less emphasis on solving the murder than finding the missing artifact. Enjoyed learning a bit about the business of being fund raiser for a major museum. Not sure why so much effort made to "mask" some very familiar places in San Francisco.
Profile Image for Jay.
632 reviews
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July 1, 2013
this was a dnf for me. Not a bad book, just didn't quite grab me and it was a library book so I didn't have time to wait until the spirit moved me.
Profile Image for Barbara.
40 reviews
Read
July 13, 2013
Just completed reading this book, it was ok it kept me guesting at who did it.
Profile Image for Jeanette Hubbard.
Author 3 books24 followers
June 19, 2016
Witty, clever plotting. A look behind the scenes of museums and the rich people who help fund them. You'll like Dani O'Rourke, I did. I look forward to reading more in this series.
Profile Image for Skye.
591 reviews
September 27, 2014
Fun, quick-paced and sometimes kind of eye-rolling inducing whodunnit.
Profile Image for Krisanne.
130 reviews4 followers
May 22, 2018
fair book, maybe went on three chapters too long
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