A former FBI agent now an antiques picker is among those discovering the body of the bait shop owner near their fishing retreat. The female sheriff has suffered a recent bout with cancer but is back on the job and a quite likeable character. As the plot deepens and circumstances really heat up, Jeff calls in his former mentor and partner to assist. The main issue with this one was plausibility (in some places) for me. It held my interest, and the use of antique fishing lures made it unique. Technology is probably what dated this novel most. No one uses "Ask Jeeves" anymore and the site became known as ask.com. Still today's users would "google" it. Cell phone technology evolved since this one was written as well. It has been many years since I read the first in this series. Hopefully I'll get to the next one a bit sooner. I listened to the audio version of this one. ( )

Deborah Morgan’s THE WEEDLESS WIDOW (Berkley Prime Crime), is her #2 entry in her Antique Lover’s Mysteries series. The series stars Jeff Talbot as an ex-FBI agent currently in the antiques business. This book would be classified as a “cozy mystery”.

Being that I’ve been interested in antiques forever and am well on my way to becoming one myself, I was hooked by the book’s description. In this episode, Talbot attends a getaway weekend fly-fishing with three friends at a cabin that one of them owns. When he gets to the local bait shop he finds the owner dead on the floor. Antique fishing lures are missing from the dead man’s collection. Several locals have motives and opportunity so Talbot takes it upon himself to begin investigating.

This isn’t fine literature but I did enjoy the discussions of antiques. Don’t take the book too seriously; there are flaws in the credibility of a couple of scenarios. If you want a quick read and also like antiques then this would be a good book choice.

I liked the book insofar as I needed something light to read between the more complex books in my book bag (600-page fantasies) and this one included a subject treasured by me. Recommended. ( )