Stealing Lumby

Lumby #2

by Gail Fraser

2017 Edition! Book #2 in the Lumby series. What Garrison Keillor did for Lake Wobegon and Jan Karon did for Mitford, Gail Fraser has done for Lumby - a town so heartwarming and endearing, you'll be forever transported. When one of the most important paintings of the twentieth century, The Barns of Lumby, is stolen from an international gallery, the small town of the painting’s setting is pulled from anonymity and spread across the front pages of every major newspaper in the country. As a media frenzy descends on Lumby, and the camera-shy owner of the barns tries to find shelter on her farm, one of the two actual barns disappears from the landscape—and pieces of old barn wood begin showing up all over town, and in the strangest of places. It even has the monks mystified; how could the new pews in the chapel at St. Cross Abbey be linked to the stolen barn? Inn owners, Pam and Mark Walker, roll up their sleeves to help the brothers as well as the town while trying to manage their own projects, including planting gum trees for their bees to produce rare honey and caring for an expanding critter collection. Town matriarch, Charlotte Ross, has a very personal connection to the painting—and to the artist, Dana Porter, but she keeps her story close to her heart. When Dana Porter finally returns to Lumby, it might be too late to relive his past, but the town and painting give him a new outlook on life—one that he will forever remember. And he quickly learns that when times get tough in the town of Lumby, there is no better person to turn to than your nearest neighbor or your closest friend.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2007

About the author

Gail Fraser is the author of the Lumby series, which includes "The Lumby Lines," "Stealing Lumby," "Lumby’s Bounty," "The Promise of Lumby," "Lumby on the Air," "Lost in Lumby" and "Between Lumby and God" (early coming 2018). Along with her husband, folk artist Art Poulin, Gail also co-authored the celebrated non-fiction illustrated hardcover and ebook entitled "Finding Happiness in Simplicity: Everyday Joys for Simple Living Throughout the Year" (Globe Pequot 3/2012).

Prior to changing her life and becoming a novelist in 2004, Gail had a long and successful career in 'corporate America' holding senior executive and upper management positions in several Fortune 500 and start-up corporations. During her career, in addition to living throughout the United States, Gail traveled to 22 countries and had extended stays in Australia, Japan, Brazil and several countries in Europe.

Gail was born and raised in Rye, New York, and attended the Rye High School and then majored in English and received an AA from Colby Sawyer College. After graduating, Gail studied at the University of London and returned to Skidmore College where she earned her BA in English Education. She completed her MBA at the University of Connecticut, with graduate work done at Harvard University.

Gail and Art have built their own 'Lumby' at Lazy Goose Farm in rural upstate New York. Featured in several magazines, newspapers and on PBS, Lazy Goose is a 40-acre gentleman's farm that is demarcated by a 200-year old stone wall, and has views of the Catskills, Adirondack and Vermont mountains. Gail is also an avid heirloom tomato gardener, long-distance swimmer and flute player. When not following her passions, Gail tends to their orchard and beehives most every morning.

Reviews

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stealing Lumby is the second in the Lumby series. Do not worry about reading them out of order. I read #3 first and had no problems going back and forth.

Lumby is a wonderful little town which reminded me of Mayberry complete with a loveable Sheriff. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows your business. And that's not in a bad way - they watch out for each other and are there for each other in good times and bad.

Located in the far northwest, Lumby's citizens are quite the characters. Odd things happen in Lumby sometimes (like when a dog ran for Mayor in book 1 - and won, which may not be a bad idea actually).

This particular book revolves around the theft of a 12th century beloved painting called The Barns of Lumby. The media picks up on this story and soon the little, tight knit town is over-run with strangers. Even weirder, pieces of a real barn in town are disappearing and are being found in very odd places.

It's a heartwarming series. Think Garrison Keilor and Mayberry and there you have it.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Charming vignettes of quirky small-town living.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sequel to the Lumby Lines, we once again find ourselves in the small friendly town of Lumby. Familiar faces abound, such as Mark and Pam Walker, the Monks of Montis Abbey, Hank the Flamingo, and other prominent Lumbians. In this story, we are introduced to other residents of Lumby, such as Kate the owner of the barns of Lumby, which were inspiration for the stolen Barns of Lumby painting. We also meet Dana Porter, the octogenarian artist, famous for said stolen painting. We read about his history with Lumby and why it holds a piece of his heart.


Dana's story is interesting because he was in Lumby for only a short time in his youth, but what a special time it was. Lumby and in particular, one of it's most lovable residents, left an indelible mark on Dana. Spending time in Lumby enabled Dana to create the most famous painting of his career. I think his experiences in Lumby also changed his perspective on life.

Lumbians are good, kind hearted people who strive to see the best in everything. They help each other out in times of need, and they have a very true sense of community and family. They also know how to have fun in their own unique way too, such as the Moo Doo Iditarod, which is cow racing. Yes, cow racing. That part of the story was very cute.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters and goings-on in Lumby always put me in a happy place. Lumby is my escape from the big city, and I always enjoy a chance to feel warm and fuzzy and happy.
Here is a quote which I think sums up what this fictional community is about and why I enjoy visiting there:
"But now looking out at all of you, the community of Lumby who cared enough to gather tonight, words come easily- words about the depth and richness of the quality of our lives and how one act of stupidity and greed could never penetrate what you have made together with family and friends." pg. 128

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s very laid back & relaxed. A little too much so, for me. Somewhere I read a comparison of this series to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Woebegone. About 3/4 of the way thru it it struck me that it was also like the tv show “Northern Exposure”. I couldn’t get into Lake Woebegone, but I loved Northern Exposure. I liked the samples of the Lumby newspaper better than the story plot, actually. Maybe I should’ve read the first book first, but this is the one I happened across.

[Leila Kern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book of the series. The series is growing on me with its small town feel and quirky characters! Something seems to be happening in the town every other minute and I love the Lumby Police Blotter! I want to live in Lumby and be a part of the goings on!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure I'll continue with this series. Think it might make a wonderful TV series, though. All the cute stuff done by small town folk can eventually become more annoying and tiresome than amusing. Moving on .

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming and light read. Nice and entertaining.

[Deann Doolittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series so far

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute series

[Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dana Porter is a famous painter whose most famous work, The Barns of Lumby, is stolen en route to a London museum. The owner of the painting, Norris Fiddler, is raising a lot of hue and cry, while at the same time, milking the theft for all its worth. Back in Lumby, home to the barns in the painting, the residents are thrust into a limelight they do not want, as reporters from across have set camp in town to glean more news. While the FBI and several detectives try to crack the global case of a stolen painting, Lumby has its own quirky mysteries. Town's octogenarian, Charlotte Ross, seems to have a strange connection to the barn and the painting. The flourishing rum sauce business of the monks of Saint Cross Abbey is the victim of a hostile takeover. Katie is puzzled by her missing goats and low goat milk yield on one end, and by her growing feelings for a reporter.

Stealing Lumby is the second book in the Lumby series by Gail Fraser. These books do not have to be read in series to be understood, though that obviously helps to know the background history of some characters and events. For those not aware of the Lumby series, Lumby is a fictional town in the US, whose people are very quirky. In fact, as former New Yorker Pam Walker says to Brother Matthew when he catches her reading the New York Times,

"...it's so different from The Lumby Lines that it's almost unbelievable that we live in the same country. Their stories cover pension funds and murders, and ours are about wiener dog races and a bovine Iditarod."

After reading the highly entertaining The Lumby Lines, I was a tad disappointed with Stealing Lumby. Both books are very predictable, with mysteries that aren't hard to solve. The pace of the series is slow with conversations detailed. While these are usually characteristics that turn off readers, the Lumby books stand out in that the town and the characters are charming in their innocence. The pace and the predictability in no way interfered with my expectations. These are the kind of books you want to read after some heavy reads.

That said, Stealing Lumby had way too many central characters. The Lumby Lines had a lot of characters too, but the focus was primarily on a small group of them. Keeping track of all the characters was not a trouble at all, but I would have loved the focus to be on just a few of them. Still, the aspect I liked was that being the second book of the series, I already knew most of the characters, so they didn't feel like "new" characters to me. But someone reading this book for the first time could likely be bothered by that. Moreover, some features that made The Lumby Lines entertaining, such as the regular appearance of Hank, the flamingo, and the frequent Sheriff reports of silly town problems were missing. Both were there in this book, but they were hardly observed.

The biggest difference I observed between the two books was in how much tinier the Lumby town as a character was. The book's enjoyment owes to the quirkiness of the town, but with so many characters to keep track of, that was somehow lost. I couldn't feel the charm of the town as much as in the first book. Aside from that, this was still enjoyable and the characters lively. Lumby is the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone else and everyone knows when to respect others. They stand up for each other and come together when help is needed. You don't see such towns anywhere, which is why this is fiction. I still wished to go to Lumby for real as I was reading this book.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second offering of a series is just as good as the first book and so I'm eagerly awaiting the third vol that's on its way by the mail. I didn't want to wait for the other readers from our library to read it, so ordered my own copy through amazon.

Anyway, this second installment has a priceless painting worth millions, being stolen from the New York Museum of Art. This painting is entitled The Barns of Lumby, which was painted by a world renowned artist by the name of Dana Porter, who came to Lumby 50 years earlier and fell in love with the barns. When one of the paintings actual barns turns up missing overnight, and its pieces turn up in the strangest of places, the townsfolk take action.

We get more of the daily Lumby Lines newspaper, with all the police reports of all the happenings going on.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's an absolute delight. You can go to this website to join in all the fun of all the Lumby-ites.

At the end of this volume, wse hear from Charlotte Ross, the town matriarch, Chuck Bryson, the town Beekeeper and Charlotte gives us her great gardening advice and we even get a little sampling of cuisine from Lumby.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess the folks at FSB liked my review of The Lumby Lines because after it was published they offered me review copies of the other books in the series. Stealing Lumby is the second book. While some of the backstory from The Lumby Lines helped, and added depth to Stealing Lumby, I think it would work as a stand-alone.

Set in Lumby, a small Northwestern town, Stealing Lumby revolves around two thefts--the theft of a famous painting of some barns in Lumby, and the theft of one of the barns. In some ways it is a cozy mystery--I don't think I ever doubted that they'd figure out who dunnit, and I wasn't a bit surprised to learn who the perpetrators were. As with The Lumby Lines, it is really more a story about the characters than anything else. There are hints about one character in particular, and things she may not want revealed, but those things aren't revealed in this book--maybe in a later one we'll learn why everyone is so protective. There are a couple of more we learn a bit more about, but though I enjoyed the book, for characters I've read over 600 pages about, I still don't feel I know them as well as I could.

[Lydia Presley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was provided copies of the Lumby Books from the publisher after a favorable review of The Lumby Lines - but copies or no, I already had these books on my library list.

I really loved revisiting Lumby - it was fun meeting up with Pam and Mark again, fun seeing the monks and I had the most fun reading the stories in the Lumby Lines newspaper and the Sheriff's Reports.

That all said, I didn't enjoy the plot of this book as much - yes, it seemed a bit far-fetched that Lumby would become such a media hotspot, but I could handle that, I understand that when a famous painting goes missing something like that would happen.

My issue was with a missing barn. I just had a hard time with it and it felt as if things were really going a bit too far and trying too hard.

Also, as much as I loved Charlotte, the woman just seems made out of money and an easy way out in this book - I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

Overall, the book was a fun read, just a bit too far-fetched for me to enjoy as much as I loved the first one.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Lumby Lines, and I found this installment just as charming. The residents of Lumby all have such unique and interesting stories. Fraser does a wonderful job at weaving the individual stories into the overall picture. She is able to connect the residents of Lumby with the famous artist and the national story about the painting without losing the charm of life in Lumby. Many familiar characters return in Stealing Lumby and there are a few new friends introduced as well.

It is very rare that a book will actually bring a smile to my face or cause me to laugh out loud. Stealing Lumby is a fun book and a great break from the darkness often found in the books I read. It was actually a perfect follow up to Susan Kelly's By Accident because it was such a change of pace.

[Theda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“On very rare occasions, he would allow someone into his life, but even then they found themselves swimming by the shores of his vast lake, never venturing into the deeper waters where he always stayed.”
“Duct tape if it moves and it shouldn’t, WD-40 if it doesn’t move and it should. That’s one of life’s simple rules.”
“…we’re such a torn nation, and [good] art is one of the few things that unite us despite our politics or religion or race.”
“And in that moment she thought about how often she ruined wonderful moments in her life for fear of something going tragically wrong.”

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I'd reviewed this one already.
I really enjoy these books. This one brings together an artist who many, many years ago had come to Lumby, fell in love with a woman and with a new style of painting. The painting he made there, brought him fame and fortune.
Then, the painting disappears and the people of Lumby bring him back to paint it again.
As always, there is laughter and inspiration.

[Lynne Antunes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lumby is a small town located somewhere in the Northwest US, possibly Washington state. It is a beautiful, agricultural area with a slower pace of life. The town is inhabited by some very eccentric characters and has some very unique customs and celebrations. The police report in the local newspaper features items such as "Car vs. moose - the moose won." They are a fun, easy read, and I think this series would appeal to people who enjoyed Jan Karon's Mitford series.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lumby town matriarch Charlotte Ross has a very special connection to the painting "The Barns of Lumby" and to the artist Cana Porter. As a media frenzy descends on the town due to the painting being stolen, one of the actual barns disappears overnight from the rural landscape, it's pieces appear in the strangest places.

This book is so good and funny, I really enjoyed reading it and am eager to start the next one. Gail Fraser did a really good job in the Lumby series, love the humor.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd in a series of books about the people in a small town in the Northwest centered around a couple from big city life on the East Coast who buy an abandoned monastery and convert it to an Inn. A lot of quirky characters and very well written. In this one the plot revolves around a famous American painting of some barns near the town that was stolen.

[Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I broke my cardinal rule, and read this book even though I had not read the first book in the series. I did not think that I would like the book, and didn't want to bother hunting up the first title. Big Mistake. This book and the town is populated with an extraordinary collection of characters. If I could find a town like this I would move there in a flash. Enjoyed this book very much.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a bit more than the first one. Jumped right into it (unlike the first where I felt lost for the first 100 pages). It was a fun side story to Lumby--same characters are in it but it focuses on a different set of the town members this time. But still includes enough from the original (like the inn owners and the monks) that you feel like it is a sequel. Fun, easy read.

[Betsy Costi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This easy reading story of a couple from New York who bought an Inn in the Northwest, previously owned by Monks, progresses through time, in west coast time of course, to the point where someone stole a famous paintin of two barns and then proceeded to tear down one of the barns for use in furniture on the black market. These books are about 330 pages.

[NancyInWI · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried....I got to page 100 and decided I have way too many books here to read to continue reading this boring book. I wanted to like it because I enjoyed the first book, but I just couldn't get into it.
First of all, tons of reporters/media descending on this small town because a painting had been stolen? The whole premise was faulty for me from the start.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed venturing back to Lumby with all the great characters. especially the beloved Hank the Flamingo. Of course there were sad parts to this book, but the humor was overwhelming. I am always amazed and how Gail is able to write from various viewpoints like the Monks at the Abbey, the two trouble maker teens etc. A book I would definitely read again if I needed a good laugh.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reveals some mysteries past and present. Again, humorous situations only found in small towns. Very calm look at humanity - good, bad, and normal.

Only flaw is that the main characters always seem to have more than enough money. Does that really happen in small towns? Why doesn't it happen in mine?

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in a series of five about a charming small town and it's quirky residents and comical events. Each book has a central story as the characters are more deeply developed. These are people I'd love to meet and spend time with. It's a place I wish was real for I'd definitely like to spend time there. Very pleasant and enjoyable reading. Can't wait to read the rest!

[Stitchywoman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the characters were still interesting, I did not find this book as enjoyable as the first. I felt the story was trying to take itself too seriously which the characters and the make up of the town just don't support.

[Marietta Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Lumby series. If you like *town* series, then you will fall in love with quirky Lumby. There's humor, love and caring for one's neighbor and even a bad apple or two. This town is a town where I would like to call home, quirkiness and all.

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

great feel good book about a small town.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this series of books. I have read all of them and looking forward to more in this series