If you frequent estate sales, tag sales, garage sales and flea markets, you might recognise yourself in Sharon Fiffer's second mystery, Dead Guy's Stuff
Book Review
Dead Guy’s Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
St. Martin’s 2002
Once again, Sharon Fiffer proves she’s a card carrying member of the Estate Sale Shoppers' Union. In her second novel, Dead Guy’s Stuff, Fiffer further explores the psychology of the picker, in this case, Jane Wheel, but she could easily be describing me. Or you.
Jane loves the thrill of the hunt, the tantalizing promise of an old, locked suitcase, and the rich vein of back stories behind the objects, which she happily makes up when necessary. Fiffer pokes gentle fun at her heroines possibly obsessive compulsive picking techniques that include a lucky mechanical pencil for note taking, and a photographer’s safari vest with exacting specifications for locations of cash, checkbook, keys, tape measure and notebook.
Jane is charming, and you have to love her best friend, Tim, a gay, antique dealing florist, who revels in his caricature-hood. Tim has a good eye and a sharp tongue and is free with both. Dead Guy’s Stuff is a mystery complete with murder, burglary , blackmail and high cholesterol.
