Treasure of Darkness

Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series, Book 2

By: S.W. Hubbard

Narrated by: Janelle Tedesco

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

What lies buried in a hoarder's house - precious treasure or ghastly secrets? One moment of misguided generosity throws estate sale organizer Audrey Nealon's life into turmoil. She loses a client's money, cripples her budding romance, and witnesses a murder. Strapped for cash, she accepts a questionable project: clearing out the home of a mentally ill hoarder who may have hidden valuable Civil War letters. What really lies at the bottom of 20 years' worth of collected buttons and dolls and stuffed owls and atlases? As Audrey digs through the hoarder's obsessions, she unleashes a vengeful response from all sides. The house has destroyed lives in the past. Will Audrey and those she loves - her friends, her father, and even her dog - be its next victims? As the final twist reveals, secrets can remain buried, but they never disappear.

©2015 S.W. Hubbard (P)2016 S.W. Hubbard

Really enjoyed this one

So glad I found this author / series. I loved the mystery but REALLY liked that the characters were nuanced. They weren't drawn as either all good or all bad but were presented as humans with facets. The "good guys" were shown to have weaknesses and "bad guys" were sometimes just blind....

Even better than the first!

This second book in the series is even better than the first! The characters are even more developed and the reader maintains all the same voices which are perfectly matched to each character. The story took me right in! I could feel the anxiety as they search for answers-what happened to the money? Will they find what they are looking for in the hoarders house? Once again, excellent writing and fantastic reading! Looking forward to book number three.

Great Cozy Mystery!

Any additional comments?

Wonderful book in the continuing life of Audrey and her estate sale company Another Man's Treasure. While cleaning out a house Audrey and her crew are asked to handle donating unwanted items to registered charities. They pack up the cans of food in the pantry and send them off to a local food bank. Due to some confusion caused by a language barrier a day laborer ends up taking the cans home with him instead. Only problems is some of the cans don't contain soup anymore. The eccentric home owner had been cleaning the cans, filling them money and welding the lids back on. His family realizes what has happened when one of them opens one of the few cans they had taken to their home and instead of soup they find $100 bills rolled up inside the can. Audrey and her crew are off on a wild adventure to try and retrieve the money. The vengeful daughter has been working hard to ruin Audrey's business. So to be able to pay the bills they end up working to clean out a hoarder's house. This sets off another round of angry folks. Many of the neighbors just want the house to be condemned and leveled and if Audrey and crew can get the house clean enough the health inspector won't condemn the house. So they end up with protesters on the street. They also seem to have angered someone with something to hide. Will Audrey and her crew managed to find out what is so important or valuable it is worth killing to keep secret? Will they find enough of value in the house for Audrey to pay the bills?

I received this book for free from AudioBlast in exchange for my honest review.

Story telling at its best!

Great second book it the series! We read Another Man’s Treasure for the November meeting of our book club. Everyone loved the book and most of them have read the rest of the series and loved them. Great twists and turns, characters that you really get to care for. That continued in Treasure of Darkness. I can not wait to see what is in store for the Palmyrton Estate Sale crew in the next books. If you like mysteries, both of Susan’s series are well worth your time to read. You will really enjoy them.

Amazing 2nd book in Series

stories in this series reveal realistic investigative procedures and the characters are well developed. Her stories are well written and readers can easily become drawn strongly into the story line. Highly recommend.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Hoarders delight!

This story hit close to home since I live next to a hoarder. The story had lots of twists and turns and always left you wondering what treasures they might find. I am looking forward to the 3rd book.

Not as good as the first book.

This book seems to have a lot of very liberal attitudes more-so than the first book.

Treasure of Darkness

You never know what you may find when dealing with a hoarder.

Audrey may have gotten in over her head when everything starts crumbling around her... will she find the rare treasure that will fix everything, or will things crumble beyond repair?

This is not only a great mystery, but a touching story as well. S.W. Hubbard’s portrayal of a character with a mental illness was very tastefully done.

I was in awe of Janelle Tedesco’s performance. Her narration was flawless and full of emotion. I really feel like I know and understand the characters. I just couldn’t stop listening!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Good story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but I wish I had heard the previous book. I missed some of the background but was able to understand the story well enough. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A great mystery with sympathy for mental illness

I loved the first book in this series and gave that five stars, but this book exceeded the quality of that book by far!

It contains several plot lines that wind together and separate again in a very clever manner. The main plot point deals with issues of mental illness and the stigma associated with it. Harold holds a degree from MIT and worked as a top engineer all over the world until his PTSD got in the way. His OCD led him to become a major hoarder, as he is obsessed with the fear of throwing away anything that could have a use. His house has now become a derelict fire hazard because every space in the home is filled with stuff. Jill, Lindsey's assistant, is determined to help Harold get his house in order, eventually getting Lindsey to join her. In the meantime, the neighbors are fighting to get the house torn down.

In the midst of this, they also seek a murderer, while Audrey finds herself getting stalked by a scary thug who threatens her.

I really loved this book, with its unique twists and angles. It has many threads of plot that I couldn't even get into here but which provide good supplements to the rest of the plots. I appreciated the sympathetic way the book demonstrates the concerns of mental illnesses.

I can't wait for the next book to be released on audio!