A new museum series: Get down from the soapbox

Fundraising the Dead, by Shelia Connolly

So, is this how physicians feel watching Grey's Anatomy? Simply horrified by the portrayal of their profession? Set in a "antiquarian society," this book had quite a few "oh my God, it's just like in National Treasure when they take out a freakin' hairdryer to blast the back of the Declaration of Independence" moments. I enjoyed the story -- the mystery is intriguing and I wanted to see what happened, but there were so many details that drove me CRAZY.

From Publishers Weekly: "Old families, old papers, and the old demons of sex and money shape Connolly's cozy series launch, which will appeal to fans of her Orchard and (as Sarah Atwell) Glassblowing mysteries. The venerable and cliquish Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society has a security problem. Documents worth millions are missing, and the staffer who uncovers the losses is found dead in the stacks. Nell Pratt, the society's director of development, is instructed by board member Marty Terwilliger to account for the absence of Marty's ancestor's correspondence with George Washington. It's a rare improbability--why ask the fund-raiser and not the director of collections or the board itself?--in an otherwise sturdily constructed plot. There are no real surprises, but the archival milieu and the foibles of the characters are intriguing, and it's refreshing to encounter an FBI man who is human, competent, and essential to the plot."

1. The PW synopsis addresses the main problem with this novel. Why the hell is the development director tasked with hunting down missing collection items? Why would she meet the board member/donor to go through document boxes without collection staff members present? Or without even notifying them? And how would she not recognize that she is part of the larger problem that lead to items going missing?

2. I have a very visceral reaction to managers referring to staff members as "my employees," "my troops," or minions. Power trip much? If you aren't signing the paycheck, your co-workers work for the same entity that you do; they do not work for you. And they are people (maybe even professionals?), not minions.

3. And what makes the same woman think that she can sneak into collections storage and handle fragile collection items during her lunch hour without telling anyone? What is wrong with (fictional) people?

The author, apparently, worked at a museum at some point in life and consulted with current museum professionals regarding protocol and policy. I do wish she hadn't let her readers believe these actions are appropriate. And I didn't even mention that she was sleeping with her boss. Of course she was. Ridiculous.

This is the first in a series that I'm not sure I will continue reading. Is ranting about all the inaccuracies super fun? Yes, but there are so many better books out there.