The Rug

Loring Crankshaw, the antihero of this book, is a charming scoundrel who acts as a decorator for older clients who are moving out of their large houses into retirement communities. While helping with their move, he helps himself to their treasures and enjoys romancing the widowed customers. Son of a famous artist, Crankshaw is handsome, amusing, and understands the subtleties of Massachusetts society. Families feel he is a good man to have during the stressful relocation time and most either don't notice of don't care about his stealing a few things. On the other hand, Ted Bumblechock, a member of an old Plymouth family discovers a Persian rug in a house in Plymouth that had belonged to his Grandmother. Apparently nobody in his family had noticed that it and many other treasures had gone missing. He tries to put a stop to Crankshaw's illegal and immoral practices. Part love story, part mystery, the novel deals with the indignities of old age with humor from the point of view of the old people themselves, who prefer not to be treated with condescension.