Book Review: Sell Low, Sweet Harriet by Sherry Harris (Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries #8)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mysteries, fun sub-plots, great characters

Cons: Maybe the pacing early on

The Bottom Line:

Two strong mysteries

Cast of well-loved regulars

Fantastic entry

A Killer on Base and a Challenging Estate Sale

Whenever Sarah Winston has a new adventure, I make sure it fits into my reading plans.  Author Sherry Harris has created a wonderful character and continues to give her such fantastic adventures.  Sell Low, Sweet Harriet is her latest adventure, and it is fantastic as always.

Tragedy has struck Fitch Air Force Base.  One of the wives of the men stationed there has been murdered in her own backyard in the middle of a cold January night.  While Sarah Winston no longer has any official connection to the base since she is divorced from CJ, her husband who was stationed there, she did know Alicia since both of them volunteered at the base thrift store.    She is surprised, however, when she is asked to use her position on base to help figure out what happened.  No, she’s not supposed to do any investigating.  Instead, she is supposed to listen, and listen only, and pass on anything she might hear that would help the case.

Meanwhile, Sarah has a welcome client for her garage sale business.  When she is asked to run the estate sale for a couple who recently died, she jumps at the chance since her income is very small during the winter months.  The couple were retired CIA agents, and their home is full of all kinds of treasures from around the world.  However, Sarah quickly begins to question how safe she might be in the house.  Is someone after something hidden inside?  Can she get ready for the sale and solve the murder as well?

While the murder is the main plot of the book, the estate sale is a very strong sub-plot.  Both stories kept me going, looking forward to whatever twist or clue Sarah was going to uncover next.  I did think the pacing was a tad off early on, but that might have been just me, and it certainly didn’t last for very long.  The ending made perfect sense by the time Sarah figured everything out.

And I haven’t even mentioned another couple of sub-plots in the book, which give some of the supporting players chances to shine.  They popped in and out as sub-plots should, never overwhelming either of the main stories.

I’m not going to complain that so much is going on since I love these characters, and the sub-plots give us a chance to see many of them.  Sarah has built a strong community out of her friends and neighbors, and it always makes me happy to spend time with all of them.  Sarah is continuing to grow as a character as she deals with what life has given her, and everyone else gets their moments to shine as well.  This truly is a fantastic community.  Naturally, we get new characters to fuel the mystery.  They don’t all get equal page time, but they all seem equally strong as the series regulars given the page time they do get.

There are a couple of very funny moments that could easily make you laugh out loud.  I loved them!

You can’t go wrong picking up any of Sarah’s adventures, and Sell Low, Sweet Harriet is no exception.  This book will keep you engaged until you reach the final page.  Now comes the long wait while Sarah readies her next garage sale.

Missing a sale?  Here are the rest of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.