What do you think?
Rate this book
A Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery #18
Antiques Slay Belles
Former sheriff, talented thespian and delightfully eccentric true-crime author Vivian Borne hunts down a Christmas killer in the new Trash 'n' Treasures cozy mystery
- "one of the funniest cozy series going" (Ellery Queen Magazine)
It's five days before Christmas, and Vivian Borne - septuagenarian antiques dealer, true-crime writer and enthusiastic amateur sleuth - and her long-suffering daughter Brandy are preparing a presentation of holiday antiques at the local country club's annual Christmas luncheon.
Distracted by their secret Santa gifts, the ladies of the club, to Vivian's dismay, are not giving her and her antique sleigh bells the attention they deserve. But when Norma Crumley, socialite and world-class gossip, falls face first into her plum pudding, it seems Santa has also delivered the sleuthing mother and daughter a a cracker of a case!
Christmas in small-town Serenity is (usually) a magical time. Can Vivian and Brandy - not forgetting Shih Tzu sidekick Sushi - make a killing from their holiday antiques, catch a devious murderer, and wrap up the case in time to eat their festive microwave turkey dinners?
This light-hearted, laugh-out-loud cozy mystery also features mother-daughter sleuths Brandy and Vivian's witty tips for buying and selling antiques, along with a selection of tasty recipes. Perfect for getting you into the holiday spirit - whatever the time of year!
It's five days before Christmas, and Vivian Borne - septuagenarian antiques dealer, true-crime writer and enthusiastic amateur sleuth - and her long-suffering daughter Brandy are preparing a presentation of holiday antiques at the local country club's annual Christmas luncheon.
Distracted by their secret Santa gifts, the ladies of the club, to Vivian's dismay, are not giving her and her antique sleigh bells the attention they deserve. But when Norma Crumley, socialite and world-class gossip, falls face first into her plum pudding, it seems Santa has also delivered the sleuthing mother and daughter a a cracker of a case!
Christmas in small-town Serenity is (usually) a magical time. Can Vivian and Brandy - not forgetting Shih Tzu sidekick Sushi - make a killing from their holiday antiques, catch a devious murderer, and wrap up the case in time to eat their festive microwave turkey dinners?
This light-hearted, laugh-out-loud cozy mystery also features mother-daughter sleuths Brandy and Vivian's witty tips for buying and selling antiques, along with a selection of tasty recipes. Perfect for getting you into the holiday spirit - whatever the time of year!
208 pages, Hardcover
Published November 5, 2024
About the author
Barbara Allan
67 books190 followersBarbara Allan is a pseudonym used by Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is a writer of mystery novels, screenplays, comics and historical fiction. Collins has collaborated on numerous short stories with his wife writer Barbara Collins. Together they also write the successful “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries – their Antiques Flee Market (2008) won the Romantic Times Best Humorous Mystery Novel award in 2009.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Max Allan Collins is a writer of mystery novels, screenplays, comics and historical fiction. Collins has collaborated on numerous short stories with his wife writer Barbara Collins. Together they also write the successful “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries – their Antiques Flee Market (2008) won the Romantic Times Best Humorous Mystery Novel award in 2009.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 17, 2025
If I didn't read there will be at least one more book in the series, I'd think this was the end.
Brandy is on the outs with her super-cop boyfriend when a murder happens at a secret Santa exchange. The Borne girls get on the case, but there is a deadline, as Brandy's son is coming to live with them on the condition of no more investigating murders.
Funny, but one could come away from this wondering the police are actually doing any investigations at all, or just letting the Borne girls do their job for them.
Brandy is on the outs with her super-cop boyfriend when a murder happens at a secret Santa exchange. The Borne girls get on the case, but there is a deadline, as Brandy's son is coming to live with them on the condition of no more investigating murders.
Funny, but one could come away from this wondering the police are actually doing any investigations at all, or just letting the Borne girls do their job for them.
January 16, 2026
Brandy Borne and her mother Vivian are drawn into (another) murder mystery that plays havoc on their relationship as well as relationships with other people they know and love.
About half the book is told from the viewpoint of Brandy, the other half from Vivian. This is definitely a schtick to try to pull in readers, but it's still pretty clever. The big problem with this is that Vivian's chapters are not good. Vivian is not funny, though the writers seem to think she is, and she goes off on tangents that add nothing. The first chapter told from her viewpoint comes right after a murder and it goes into a diatribe about the proper use of the word "actor", then a page or two rambling about actors in politics, then we finally get back to the actual scene of the murder! Points for Vivian sounding realistically like an older woman who likes to ramble and thinks she's always right (and funny), but this does NOT make for a likeable character.
While Vivian is consistently a pest, she is (thank goodness) never as annoying as she is in that first chapter of hers. Brandy, on the other hand, is more sympathetic, and has a fairly decent wry sense of humor.
Things happen too conveniently throughout the book, but it's still (almost surprisingly) pretty entertaining. Emotions run high and Brandy has to do a balancing act between various people she loves. Clues are a little easy to find (and the local sheriff is ridiculously willing to let Vivian and Brandy run wild in their own investigation), but it's still a tolerable mystery where the main characters actually use their brains to figure things out and their wits to survive various dangers. I know that's not high praise... but compared to the slew of cozy mysteries I've read in recent years where the main character(s) was as proactive as a toadstool, this read was a pleasure!
... almost a pleasure. Looking at you, Vivian.
About half the book is told from the viewpoint of Brandy, the other half from Vivian. This is definitely a schtick to try to pull in readers, but it's still pretty clever. The big problem with this is that Vivian's chapters are not good. Vivian is not funny, though the writers seem to think she is, and she goes off on tangents that add nothing. The first chapter told from her viewpoint comes right after a murder and it goes into a diatribe about the proper use of the word "actor", then a page or two rambling about actors in politics, then we finally get back to the actual scene of the murder! Points for Vivian sounding realistically like an older woman who likes to ramble and thinks she's always right (and funny), but this does NOT make for a likeable character.
While Vivian is consistently a pest, she is (thank goodness) never as annoying as she is in that first chapter of hers. Brandy, on the other hand, is more sympathetic, and has a fairly decent wry sense of humor.
Things happen too conveniently throughout the book, but it's still (almost surprisingly) pretty entertaining. Emotions run high and Brandy has to do a balancing act between various people she loves. Clues are a little easy to find (and the local sheriff is ridiculously willing to let Vivian and Brandy run wild in their own investigation), but it's still a tolerable mystery where the main characters actually use their brains to figure things out and their wits to survive various dangers. I know that's not high praise... but compared to the slew of cozy mysteries I've read in recent years where the main character(s) was as proactive as a toadstool, this read was a pleasure!
... almost a pleasure. Looking at you, Vivian.
June 7, 2026
Antiques Slay Belles is the 18th entry in the long running cozy mystery series by husband and wife team Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins. Lightweight, silly, familiar as an old shoe, populated with oddball characters in the small city of Serenity, Iowa, these books always deliver the goods in a few hours of enjoyable reading with old friends. Antiques Slay Belles has a Christmas theme, a well plotted mystery and some elements of soap opera. I was well entertained and look forward to reading the next book by Barbara Allan.
September 18, 2025
This book of Antiques Slay Belles that was written by Barbara Allan talks about Vivian Borne. There was a
Septuagenarian in the antiques dealer.
There was a true crime writer and enthusiastic amateur
Sleuth. Her daughter Brandy was suffering and
Preparing a presentation for holiday antiques at the
Local country club’s annual Christmas luncheon.
I hope everybody is having a good day. I will be back
With another update with more books.
I’m not sure when. Bye.
Septuagenarian in the antiques dealer.
There was a true crime writer and enthusiastic amateur
Sleuth. Her daughter Brandy was suffering and
Preparing a presentation for holiday antiques at the
Local country club’s annual Christmas luncheon.
I hope everybody is having a good day. I will be back
With another update with more books.
I’m not sure when. Bye.
March 13, 2025
I've read several the "Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery books and I always come away from one of them wondering why I wasted time reading it! Yes, it happened again with this novel. I will give the series points for a quick read that doesn't strain the brain. I'm sure there are many readers who will not agree with me. Not an offensive book but not a stimulating one either.
January 14, 2025
And to all a good night?
Vivian and Brandy are excited for Christmas when things start going downhill for people in town. Trying to figure out the connection is challenging until they get a blockbuster clue.
Vivian and Brandy are excited for Christmas when things start going downhill for people in town. Trying to figure out the connection is challenging until they get a blockbuster clue.
June 22, 2025
This series remains one of my favorites! I love Vivian, she's so whacky and funny and Brandy has grown on me. She makes terrible life choices but she's a good person. The mysteries and investigations are always fun, especially when we get to take a ride on Vivian's Vespa!
October 30, 2026
A Christmas adventure for the Borne Girls. A theater, a Christmas lunch, trouble for Brandy's son Jake and time limit on finding the killer. Will Vivian and Brandy catch the killer or become the next victims?
December 28, 2024
At least 3.5. Entertaining and quick
April 20, 2025
Brandy's son comes to live with them, while they are trying to solve a Christmas murder or two.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews