Sarah’s latest client, Alice Krandle, is sure she has a fortune in antiques on her hands. She’s already gotten a generous offer for the whole lot before her garage sale has even begun, but she thinks she can earn more with Sarah’s expert help. The problem is that while Sarah’s sorting through items from decades past, her landlady, Stella, faces a clear and present danger.

Stella’s kidnapper has contacted Sarah with a set of instructions, and “Don’t call the police” is at the top of the list. But they didn’t say anything about Sarah’s friend Harriet—who happens to be a former FBI hostage negotiator . . .

Sarah Winston is preparing for a garage sale when she receives a phone call from a stranger saying he’s kidnapped her neighbor Stella, and unless Sarah does what he wants without informing the police and friends, he will harm her. The kidnapper gives her 6 days and many tasks to figure it out.

I’ve read all books in this series but I was still surprised to find this is already number nine. While the others were enjoyable, Absence of Alice hits it out of the park and takes the series to the next level. The reoccurring diverse characters of course help make the series wonderful, as does the addition of a new relative of the DiNapoli’s, but the mystery and stellar plot of this book really make it stand out. I enjoyed that Sarah wasn’t continually back and forth to the base, and the plot was unique and hard to figure out who was causing the trouble. It was a totally unexpected ending that I didn’t see coming. As usual I love reading about garage sales and the Boston suburbs.