Follows to many characters that don’t add enough to the plot. Very long buildup for an ending summer up in less than one chapter. ( )

Colin's coming off his latest undercover assignment and scouting honeymoon locations in Ireland while Emma is fielding a visit from retired FBI Agent Gordy Wheelock in her Boston office. Gordy is still trying to finish the last case he was working on before he retired and is trying to pump Emma for information while concealing as much of what he knows as possible.

Meanwhile in Heron's Cove, Lucas is planning for the Open House for the newly remodeled offices of Sharpe Fine Are Recovery and has assembled quite a guest list. Among them are Oliver York who is a former art thief now working on the fringes of MI5 and Lucas's grandfather Wendell who began the business but who is semi-retired in Dublin. Also invited are Claudia Deverell and her father and brother. Claudia spent some summer's in Heron's Cove where her mother's family had long owned a summer home.

Claudia has been somewhat adrift since her mother's recent death from a fast-acting cancer. She's interested, as her mother was, in antiquities and was left her family's collection when her mother died. She had a brief relationship with Lucas and another brief relationship with the married Gordy Wheelock which both of them want to cover up for various reasons.

With rumors of antiquities - especially mosaics - stolen and sold to fund terrorists and both Wendell and Oliver stirring the pot, Emma and Colin have a lot to investigate before their upcoming wedding.

This story was less thriller or romantic suspense title than earlier books in the series. The murder that gets thing started looks at first to be a fall and a heart attack in an antiquities expert nearing ninety. The second doesn't occur until the story is almost over. The main focus of the book, which is told from Gordy's point of view and Claudia's in addition to Emma's and Colin's, is a twisty collection of secrets that need to be unraveled.

There is also a plot thread where Father Finian Bracken's youngest sister Mary comes to visit and gets involved with the various characters and plot threads as she comes to understand her brother's choice to become a priest - though she still wants him to return to Ireland when his year in Maine is finished.

It seems to me that this story would work best for those readers who are already familiar with the characters and previous novels in the series. There isn't much action to draw in a new reader but I found the story satisfying. ( )

This is the first book I’ve read about Sharpe & Donovan even though it is the 6th book in the series. The good news is, you don’t really need to read the previous books to enjoy this one, but if you are really interested in the series, I would say start at the beginning, I think there is a lot of history that could make this one even more enjoyable.

Agent Emma Sharp works for the FBI on a special task force that deals with art crimes. Her family has also been known for doing investigations into art, since her grandfather had started an art detective agency decades before she was born. The FBI was able to convince her to come work for them. Emma’s old boss Gordon Wheelock (Special Agent: retired) paid her a visit on the pretense he had some information to give her, but it felt much more like he was on a fishing expedition, looking for clues to a personal investigation. Emma was more frustrated with the man than anything, but felt obligated to start looking into the matter.

The clues also point at a possible connection/problem with her families open house, as they were having a grand opening of the newly refurbished offices. Even her grandad was coming back from Ireland for the occasion. He hadn’t been back since his wife had died 10 years previously.

Oliver York is also in the mix and that is never a good thing as far as Emmer or her new boss is concerned. They are all fairly confident he is an unrepentant art thief and the only reason he’s is free is they haven’t been able to find the actual proof of the crimes. Apparently MI5 has it’s claws in him which can make things a little more awkward as well.

Antiquities are a hotbed for illegal sales, as a way for terrorist organizations to raise money for their nefarious purposes. The rumors seem to be suggesting that someone has been helping facilitate these deals and has been getting away with it. Emma and her FBI fiance Collin, have stepped up to try and put truth to rumor or quell them as nonsense.

I found this to be a decent book, and I enjoyed reading it. I would not pass on the opportunity to read another one from the series. I think I would like to read one of the earlier books. Though I have to say that my favorite character in this book was Oliver York. ( )