Archie’s Antiques Mystery Puzzles: Book 1
Archie’s Antiques is a charming fictional antique shop set in a small town somewhere in Australia. And inside Archie’s are a wonderful group of characters; Sam, the knowledgeable owner of Archie’s, his clever friend, the retired policeman, Edward Destranger, and his young niece, Sandra. Also, you will find a surfeit of mysteries and puzzles.
Archie’s not only attracts all sorts of curious questions but also interesting people. It welcomes through its doors a parade of charlatans, frauds, and pranksters, who arrive with a variety of dishonest schemes and ingenious tricks. It also attracts ordinary townsfolk, and Sam’s family, and friends who bring their troubles and problems through its door in search of answers.
Robin Hillard’s Archie’s Antiques Mystery Puzzles books each contain twenty-eight small mysteries, or puzzles, that the shop’s staff, and you the reader, can investigate and solve. The mysteries in these books often include intriguing snippets of general knowledge that may entice you to look deeper into things, or they may involve exposing the type of scams that can easily take in the unwary. As Sam, Edward, Sandra, their family, friends, and Archie’s customers struggle with these mysteries you can try to match your brains against theirs, in finding a way around every problem, and a solution to every mystery.
Excerpt from puzzle: 12. THE NAMESAKE RING
Sam was showing his latest acquisitions to Edward Destranger, but his friend barely looked at the small inlaid table or the dainty sewing box. Noticing this, Sandra said, “Your body might be with us, but you’ve left your mind at home.”
“I’ve been a bit distracted lately,” Destranger apologised. “I’ve been dragged into a family quarrel. It’s my brother-in-law’s aunt. She’s got the girls into such a state their mother called me to referee.”
“What did the old lady do?” Sam asked.
“She died. And left a will.”
“Most people do,” Sam said dryly. He’d had some experience of deceased estates and believed if there was one thing guaranteed to set relations at one another’s throats it was the will. “Fighting over the fortune, I suppose.”
Edward laughed. “Hardly that. The old girl didn’t have very much. And most of her stuff was left, very properly, to my brother-in-law. What has got the girls upset is one of her rings. It’s not worth much in money terms, but the trouble is in the wording of the will. It states that the silver ring with little stones should go to my namesake niece.
“I’ve taken possession of the blasted thing,” he added, showing Sandra and Sam a silver band set with seven tiny green, yellow, and red gemstones. “It isn’t much to look at, but it belonged to the great aunt’s grandmother, and two of the girls have set their heart on it.”
“Odd combination,” Sam said, “beryl,” looking at a small green stone, “amber and ruby, another beryl, a second chip of amber and small ruby, then a final amber chip. Isn’t Beryl the name of your sister’s oldest girl?”
“Unfortunately, yes. And they called the youngest Amber, so you see why they both claim the ring.”
