Karen Maxwell has returned in another cozy mystery dealing with old things. In Worth Its Weight in Old, the soccer mom turned private investigator goes undercover as a salesperson at the Blue Moon, an art and antiques shop. Her task is to discover who is damaging antique furniture and paintings. Could it be one of the two handymen, the perky sales clerk with a past connected to one of the artists, or is it the owners themselves? And what would the motive be, since there haven't been any insurance claims?

It's an interesting dilemma, but that isn't all that complicates her life. Karen is having boyfriend troubles, her kids are suddenly misbehaving, and her brother the boss has hired an efficiency / feng shui expert who has her office torn apart and all of their business systems in disarray. Once again Karen Maxwell rises to the occasion as a mother, a girlfriend, and an investigator.

Worth Its Weight in Old is a delightful glimpse into the chaotic life of Karen Maxwell. Her struggles as a working mother embarking on a new career really resonate with readers. I find K. D. Hays' characters believable and very eccentric, and her plots are often the stuff of real private investigators, not the glitz and glamor of Magnum PI. They always take me away from my day-to-day struggles.

K. D. Hays is fast at work on the third book in this series, dealing with a dead parrot and a jump rope. I can't wait!