by Victoria Tait (Author)

Although this cozy mystery is listed as a Dotty Sayers Antique mystery, author Victoria Tait has combined two of her series’ characters in this book.  Dotty, returning from antique work in other parts of the country, has only recently settled down again in the Cotswolds to open her own shop. Sergeant Keya Varma has her own Waterwheel Cafe series that is progressing very well. But recently, the part-time policewoman was seriously injured in an investigation and has taken some time off work.

Keya and Dottie have been friends since the first ‘Antiques’ mystery and have occasionally appeared in each other’s series, from a phone call to say hello to Keya’s helping Dottie get out of jail.  But this time, the two women have almost equal parts in the book, with their boyfriends along, no less.  I love crossovers!

Dottie has an auction to attend in Dublin for a wealthy client. Keya’s boyfriend Sujin’s Celtic Twisters band has a gig there at the Halloween-Bram Stocker Festival.  Keya decides to go, and they convince Dotty to invite her long-time-no-see boyfriend Zack (from Daffodils and Deadly Crimes) to tag along.

The foursome has fun dressing in costumes and attending events in Dublin…. until someone is murdered.  Sujin and Keya jump into action to help the understaffed Garda. Dotty is not official, but oh, does her mind work!

Of course, the band members are the likely suspects, although the unsavory man was stabbed with a trident in the middle of a raucous parade surrounded by mermaids. Everyone is interviewed by Paddy (even Keya & Dottie).  There are other suspects, too, including two tough-looking thugs who know the victim.

Unique in this book is that Dottie attends and works at a very posh auction, which is covered in a lot of detail. Lady V., the owner of the castle the items come from, makes friends with Dotty and guides her through buying over 50K pounds sterling of antique items.  Usually, I don’t like other side things in the mystery, but Tait made these sessions absolutely entertaining.

Of course, (since it IS her book series, after all), Dotty finds the final clue to solve the murder (not entirely unexpected), and everyone can return to England.

But what of Dotty and Zack?  There has been some progress (forward, then backward), and some kind of understanding has been made, but it’s all still so ambiguous.  I admit, as in Dotty’s two other books where he appears, I don’t like the fellow. There, I said it.  I’m rooting for a more stable man who is older-acting, if not older, and in the line of Dotty’s work.  (Yes, I know, there were a couple of those that didn’t work out.)

But I’m confident the author’s mind and right to write whatever she wishes will prevail.  Overall this has been a very fun, interesting, and fast-paced mystery, with both intuitive and police crime-solving.