As Thanksgiving approaches, Jordan Bingham is grateful for her job researching rare books for Vera Van Alst, the infamous curmudgeon of Harrison Falls, New York. But when an uninvited guest makes an appearance, much more than dinner is disrupted—and Jordan is thankful just to be alive…
Vera Van Alst doesn’t normally receive visitors without appointment, but she agrees to see the imperious Muriel Delgado upon arrival. Shortly thereafter, Jordan is told that her position is being terminated. Evicted from the Van Alst House, Jordan is determined to find out what hold Muriel has over her erstwhile employer.
It seems Muriel has designs on Vera’s money and property—not to mention a particular interest in her collection of Nero Wolfe first editions. When Jordan discovers a deadly connection between Muriel and the Van Alst family, it’s up to her to put the house in order and stop a killer from going back to press.
Jordan Bingham loves her job helping Vera Van Alst manage and add to her collection of rare books. As a perk, she is sometimes locates great deals to add to her own modest book collection. She also has a beautiful, cozy room that she adores in Vera’s home. As part of her job, Jordan is always looking to upgrade Vera’s collection of Nero Wolfe novels and has come to appreciate the characters in these classic mysteries, especially Wolfe’s charming assistant Archie Goodwin. One evening, Vera receives a visitor and to Jordan’s surprise, Vera goes against her own rules and agrees to talk to the unfriendly and intimidating Muriel Delgado, even though she didn’t have an appointment. Vera won’t share any information about the visit, but the next morning Jordan is fired from her dream job and told she must leave Van Alst House immediately. Jordan goes back to her old room at the home of her uncles and is convinced her dismissal has something to do with Muriel’s arrival. Although she is hurt by her dismissal, Jordan decides to investigate Muriel Delgado to find out what her hold is over Vera and protect Vera from danger.
The Book Collector series by Victoria Abbott, a pen name for Mary Jane Maffini and her daughter Victoria Maffini, has become one of my favorite cozy mystery series. Jordan is an intelligent, likable character. Her best friend Tiff is MIA for most of this book, but is usually a great supporting character. As far as romance, whenever Jordan is around Lance, which again isn’t often in this installment, there is plenty of chemistry. However, things may be progressing more with Officer Tyler “Smiley” Dekker. Only time and future installments will tell!
This series is unique, in part because of Jordan’s uncles. They are not the typical cozy characters and are quirky enough to be interesting and entertaining, but not so exaggerated as to become ridiculous. Her three uncles are known to skate the law and the law-abiding Jordan is the “white sheep” of the family. Jordan’s uncles have their faults, but they are always there for their beloved niece and can be count on to do the unexpected!
The book-collecting theme plays an important role in the case and the tie-in to the classic series in the title is handled in an extremely clever way. Jordan explains the parallels between Vera and Nero Wolfe and herself and her literary crush, Archie Goodwin. This is clever and fun and Wolfe fans especially will be entertained by the comparisons. With Archie as her muse, Jordan does whatever it takes to protect Vera and hopefully get her job back, from talking tough to donning disguises. I was intrigued by the case from start to finish and was sad to see another installment of this excellent series come to an end. However, I was delighted by the surprising and satisfying conclusion. Readers who read the prior two books in the series won’t be disappointed and fans of Erika Chase, Ellery Adams, or Rex Stout will want to put The Wolfe Widow on this fall’s reading list.
Reviewed by Christine
