Alas, Abby’s revelry doesn’t last long. Gilbert Sweeny, the man who donated the painting to the auction calls Abby and confesses that the painting was his step-mother’s and he took it without her permission. Gilbert offers to buy the painting back. Abby declines, citing the fact that she has sold the painting to her on-again, off-again boyfriend police detective Greg. The next day, Gilbert is found dead, apparently a suicide, with a note that points the blame toward Abby and the painting.

As the news of Abby’s find starts to work its way through the small antiques community, Abby and her family begin to encounter stranger and stranger characters: Marina, a woman who Abby saw at the auction shows up on Abby’s mother’s doorstep several days later, claiming a family connection to the real Van Gogh, Freddy, a motorcycle rider who hits on Abby’s daughter Susan, and John Trap and his brother Mouse, who are rumored to have murdered their parents many years before.

All the craziness culminates when Abby and her mother are invited to dinner at the house of Priscilla Hunt, the most socially important woman from Rock Hill, SC (according to Abby’s mother) and the hostess keels over after some rumaki. Still, this doesn’t cause Abby to go charging off to investigate, she is still too wrapped up in her painting, even after her mother is temporarily suspected in the crime.

Estate of Mind, the sixth Den of Antiquity mystery is not all that mysterious, and many times is downright silly. You know from the outset that there is no way Abby will ever get away with auctioning this lost art treasure and reap the benefits for herself. Neither Gilbert’s death nor Priscilla’s death cause Abby to break a sweat. Only the kidnapping of Abby’s beloved cat Dmitri forces a confrontation with the murderer and everyone who is after the painting.

All this aside, the characters make this book a fun read. Abby is a feisty southern woman with a single-minded mother. Her fellow antique dealers, Rob, Bob, CJ and Wynnell are all colorful characters and a strong support network for Abby. One character that did not make a whole lot of sense was Rob and Bob’s Asian cleaning lady that Abby hired part time to work in the shop. She appears to have strong possibilities as a character, but is only mentioned in one chapter and not heard from again. Perhaps she is being saved for Abby’s next adventure. While this book can be read alone, it is stronger when backed by the previous five titles.

----Jennifer Monahan Winberry