I do enjoy good British books and mysteries. This book has both. It has lots of action and adventure with a good solid pacing. Charley is a strong heroine/sleuth. I liked her energy. It's a good cozy and that's a fun thing. I'd read more of this series and just skip the few things that bother me. A great read for a beach or relaxing day. There's only one downside, it's not a clean read. It does contain some sex and cursing.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

The Antique House Murders by Leslie Nagel
Book #2: The Oakwood Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

One would think suburban Ohio would be a safe place to live, laugh, and love. As it turns out, no and Charley Carpenter is once again caught up in the middle of the mess and her boyfriend, Detective Marcus Trenault is once again furious.

To be completely fair to Charley, getting caught up in yet another murder mystery wasn’t he intention at all. In fact, the only two things tying Charley to Mulbridge House and all the drama is a truckload (literally!) of vintage clothes for her shop and the auction house owner, Calvin Prescott. Calvin has been a family friend and mentor for many, many years and to find him dead in his shop is a blow to both Charley and her family. Outside of Charley’s family, Calvin was a well-liked and respected member of the community, a man no one could have possibly wanted dead. Of course, such a heinous act only leaves with Charley with more questions than answers and those questions lead her to Mulbridge House, Calvin’s last project.

It only takes Charley about two questions to figure out Mulbridge House isn’t just a dilapidated old home, but a home at the center of a huge community fight. The heirs can’t wait to tear the old home down and start selling off the land for a ginormous profit, the local preservation group wants it for a museum, and the neighbors and community at large are split down the middle. At stake is quite literally millions of dollars with the players ranging from sketchy heirs, to town planning committee members, to drug dealers, to the actual police, to one vintage clothing store owner with no sense for her own safety or self-preservation.

From the very beginning, Charley is warned by her boyfriend, the DETECTIVE to keep her nose out of the investigation and let the police do their jobs. From the beginning, Charley lies to Marcus and continues to poke around until she’s blown everything wide open, gotten one officer suspended, her boyfriend not talking to her, some bodily damage, and one desperately crazy killer identified. In all, a typical week for Charley 😊

The Bottom Line: I’m beginning to really like suburban Ohio and all the trouble it seems to crank out. Charley Carpenter isn’t always the smartest kitten in the litter, but she has a ton of good intentions and a can-do attitude! Much to her long-suffering boyfriends great displeasure. With the core characters established in the first book and the general scene set, there were fewer slow spots in this read which kept everything moving steadily from start to finish and made me a far happier reader. Of the core characters, there is some evolution and growth; of the secondary (and new) characters there are some expanding story lines that will certainly play out further in future reads. The plot is twisty and turny with just the right amount of action and violence for the cozy mystery genre. There’s no sophomore slump here and I’m ready for book three and Charley’s next adventure.

A small enough city in Ohio, where everyone seems to know everyone. Where Charley is already getting a reputation as a young Miss Marple, her dad, a former football Coach, who has had a stroke, and has a very kind live in Caregiver, who dates the owner of Slash, an upscale hair salon. Then, we the Police department, where a tall, dark , handsome Detective Marc Trenault, is mad about Charlie. In typical Feminist fashion, she wants his body, but nothing closer! Or does she? I truly have no idea, because at 28, she seems to like living in her little girl bedroom at home!? She has had a crush on him since High School, and for some reason, I have yet to understand, he is head over heels for her!? Personally, I, being from the South, would have already had him down the altar, we don't let the good ones, get away. I am new to this Author, I know another book is coming out, early 2018, let's hope she moves this part further along, or she will lose a new interested reader. I highly recommend! Thanks ! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

Oh the heartbreaking moment of finding this victim was saddening. Charley was crushed but powered through to find the murderer. That is the style of character she is, when the going gets tough, Charley gets on the case!

Leslie Nagel brought this story to life with her descriptive language and plot that made this reader keep swiping left into the wee hours. One aspect was how she painted the falling down house. The smells and sights were enough to make you feel the creaking old floor boards.

Though we lose a dear character, we gained a great mystery in the Oakwood Mystery series. I can't wait for the next book!

The Antique House Murders, book two in the Oakwood Mystery series was such an enjoyable read. I loved book one in the series and book two did not disappoint.
We are once again enchanted with Charley as she tries to figure out who murdered her friend and mentor. This story had a very strong mystery and a plot that was not easy to guess but very easy to get lost in and enjoy. The authors writing style is top notch, and I love getting swept away in the story.
Overall this was a strong second installment to what is a great series in the making. I cannot wait to see what else this quirky cast of characters gets into.

Although I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, all opinions remain my own.

This was a wonderful who-dunnit book. Kept me guessing until the end. This is the second book in this series I have read and I liked this one just as much as the other. Charley is such a fun character and it is interesting to watch how her mind works. How she works around her deceive boyfriend's order not to get involved in the case. In the end, Charley is all up in this case.

Great read overall.

Leslie Nagel has created an interesting set of characters in her cozy, The Antique House Murders. The complexity of the players in her novel is to be commended. Some of the people will stick in my memory for a long time to come, which is a great compliment, as I am an avid reader.

The action was well-paced and I found myself flipping pages as rapidly as possible to discover who was truly responsible for the terror in the town.

Yet, this is not a book I would whole-heartedly recommend. Language and situations made me uncomfortable. The book would have been just as good without them.

This is the first book I have read by this author, but I'm going to buy book 1 so I can experience the whole series. I loved this cozy mystery. I loved that there wasn't a slow build up to the action, it was gripping and intense. I absolutely love Charley! She is intelligent, brave, and so like-able. I enjoyed the relationship between Charley and Detective Marc. The story had a wonderful flow and I was kept guessing about the identity of the killer until the very end. I would recommend this to all of my cozy loving friends.

Antique House Murders was billed as a cozy mystery and it lived up to its promise. It was a pleasant diversion.

Quite a wild pace!The lead character doesn't have a quiet moment.
Rich characterization.
I'm still wondering where the demolition guys went.

This is the second book in the Oakwood Mystery series and I loved it even more than the first! It’s so easy to fall into the world of Oakwood, Ohio, Charley and her friends are an enjoyable bunch, and a new character promises to lead to a really cute story line in future books. I love the author’s writing style, the story is told from different characters at some points, and lends more depth to the story. The supporting characters are so much more than background noise and it adds a lot to the story. The great plot was a real rollercoaster ride, with so many good suspects and red herrings that it was easy to get thrown off the trail (like Charley did, I guess!) and the great pace kept the suspense building to a thrilling conclusion that will get your heart racing.

Although labeled as a cozy mystery, I’d put it on the outer fringe of cozy, with a few cuss words and a little bit more steamier romance than you’d find in a cozy mystery (although not graphic and certainly just a minor part of the overall story.) It’s not a detractor for me, and I think Marc and Charley are just adorable, and watching their relationship evolve adds a fresh aspect to the genre, a little bit of realistic interaction I don’t often see in books.

The Antique House Murders is an excellent second book in the Oakwood Mysteries series, and one I definitely recommend to readers looking for a not-your-average-cozy mystery. Definitely a series to watch!

I hadn't read the first book in this series, but it stands alone well.

There was the main murder plus a couple of subplots so there was a lot going on which kept the story chugging along.

I like the characters, both quantity and variety. In this series, one of the characters is a detective (the main character's boyfriend). In some series they work as a team to solve crimes, in others it causes tension. In this series (at least this book) the author goes the tension route. I'm a bit tired of this. He is a bit of a controlling d*ck, but Charley routinely doesn't share important info in a TIMELY manner...putting her in danger of course. I could use less of this, still I enjoyed the book. 3.5/5

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The second book in the Oakwood Mystery series by Leslie Nagel is The Antique House Murders. I had read and reviewed the first book in this series. The romance and foul language were toned down a bit in this book. Charley is buying items from the estate of Augusta Mulbridge for her vintage clothing store with help from her mentor Calvin Prescott. When she goes to collect her items, she found Calvin dead. Despite warnings from her police officer boyfriend, Charley dives into the complicated investigation. I liked the book. The ending was exciting but seemed to drag on slightly. I found the improvements over the last book to be enough to have me looking forward to book three!

I like the setup in this and the mystery is good, but it is hampered by a too-stupid-to-live heroine and an author who isn't very good at disguising this fact. Fun, but needs work.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I love this story. The characters are fun and seep into your soul. You feel like you are in the middle of the action. The action is intense and the romance between Charley and Marc is just right. Love the supporting characters (friends).

I read lots of cozy mysteries and loved this one! The characters talked like real people and had real interactions. Some of the cozy series are sickeningly sweet and unrealistically chaste. This book didn't fall into those traps. The mysteries kept me guessing and I can't wait for another in the series.

Charley Carpenter, owner of a vintage clothing store, is given a sneak peak at an estate sale where she buys vintage clothing before the final auction. When she goes to the auction house to pick up her purchases, she finds her friend, the auctioneer,dead. Convinced that the murder was related to the upcoming demolition of the estate building, Charley gets involved in the investigation and nearly ends up like her friend.

Several twists and turns kept the mystery hopping so that it was fun to figure out the culprit along with Charley.

Loved the first installment of this series, but this one felt like a little forced.
There is great opportunity to develop an amazing story, and the plot surely reflects it.
There are some twists and an unexpected finale, but the cockiness of the main character makes it hard to follow up with the story line.

This is a great little whodunit. It's set in Ohio, which is always a plus for me. I love a cozy mystery mixed in with my typical gritty reads. I like something quick and easy to change my pace. This did exactly that. I am typically very strict about not starting a series in the middle (this is book two), and I could tell there were some things I missed out on by not reading book 1 first, but for the most part, it stood alone well. Good story. Good characters. Good mystery. Would definitely read more in this series and by this author.