Antiques To Die For

Since Josie Prescott left a high-paying job in New York to set up shop as an antiques appraiser on the rugged New Hampshire coast, her life has not gone exactly according to plan. In many ways, it's gone better: She has a booming business, good friends and neighbors, and even a promising romance. But dead bodies do seem to keep crossing her path. And now her friend Rosalie has been killed just hours after confiding a secret to Josie, leaving a bereaved twelve-year-old sister, Paige, who reminds Josie of herself when her mother died. It turns out that Rosalie had other secrets too: a mysterious treasure she told her sister she was leaving behind—and a secret admirer who now seems to be turning his creepy attention to Josie! As Josie races to solve the crime while helping Paige and trying to keep her business afloat, Jane K. Cleland brings us an irresistible new blend of coziness, crime, and collectibles.

Josie Prescott's friends thought she was nuts when she left her high-paying New York auction house job and her boyfriend to live on the rugged and beautiful New Hampshire coast. Truth is, Josie wondered a little herself—never mind that her peripheral involvement in a well-publicized price-fixing scandal made the possibility of a new start incredibly enticing. Things are looking better, though, now that she's got her own auction business up and running and has made something of a success of her new life. That is, until she gets mixed up in murder, and the supremely eligible but emotionally distant local police chief seems to think she's the prime suspect. Josie has suddenly got a lot to lose and no desire to leave her new life—or the possibility of a little romance—behind. So she sets her mind on identifying the killer and making the best out of her unfortunate circumstances. After all, Josie is grateful for her second chance in life and knows a third is just too much to ask...especially with a vicious killer on the loose. Consigned to Death is the first novel in Jake K. Cleland's delightful series of mystery and antiques on the New Hampshire coast.

Crime-solving antiques dealer Josie Prescott is back—tracking down a doll collection to die for. On a sparkling spring day in the cozy coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire, with the lilacs in full bloom and the wisteria hanging low, antiques dealer Josie Prescott is showing a stellar doll collection she's just acquired to Alice Michaels, the queen of the local investment community. Moments later, Josie watches in horror as Alice is shot and killed. Within hours, one of Josie's employees, Eric, is kidnapped. The kidnapper's ransom demand is simple—he wants the doll collection. Working against the clock with the local police chief, Josie discovers that the dolls hold secrets that will save Eric and uncover the truth behind Alice's murder. With Dolled Up for Murder, Jane K. Cleland's Josie Prescott Anitques Mystery Series "continues to offer clever mysteries studded with enough information on antiques to keep collectors coming back for more." --Publishers Weekly

Fashions fade, but death is eternal in Deadly Threads, Agatha finalist Jane K. Cleland's irresistible new blend of vintage and vengeance. Josie Prescott has begun hosting classes at her antiques and appraisals shop, nestled in the cozy little coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire. The next class is on building a great vintage clothing collection. But when guest lecturer Riley Jordan is late, Josie begins class by reaching under a display table for a dazzling pair of Chanel heels. But instead of the heels, she finds Riley, dead. When it looks as if one of Josie's employees may be involved in the murder, she teams up with the local police chief to investigate, one clue, and one fabulous vintage accessory, at a time.

Jane K. Cleland returns with Jane Austen's Lost Letters, the fourteenth installment in the beloved Josie Prescott Antiques series, set on the rugged New Hampshire coast. Antiques appraiser Josie Prescott is in the midst of filming a segment for her new television show, Josie’s Antiques, when the assistant director interrupts to let her know she has a visitor. Josie reluctantly pauses production and goes outside, where she finds an elegant older woman waiting to see her. Veronica Sutton introduces herself as an old friend of Josie’s father, who had died twenty years earlier. Veronica seems fidgety, and after only a few minutes, hands Josie a brown paper-wrapped package, about the size of a shoebox, and leaves. Mystified, Josie opens the package, and gasps when she sees what’s inside: a notecard bearing her name—in her father’s handwriting—and a green leather box. Inside the box are two letters in transparent plastic sleeves. The first bears the salutation, “My dear Cassandra,” the latter, “Dearest Fanny.” Both are signed “Jane Austen.” Could her father have really accidentally found two previously unknown letters by one of the world’s most beloved authors—Jane Austen? Reeling, Josie tries to track down Veronica, but the woman has vanished without a trace. Josie sets off on the quest of a lifetime to learn what Veronica knows about her father and to discover whether the Jane Austen letters are real. As she draws close to the truth, she finds herself in danger, and learns that some people will do anything to keep a secret—even kill.

Josie Prescott is settling into her new life in New Hampshire. Her antiques business is thriving, she's beginning to make some close friends, and her relationship with the local police chief is becoming more interesting. Not bad for someone who has completely uprooted her life as a New York City auction house expert in order to get a fresh start in a small New England town. With so much suddenly to lose, Josie can't help but worry when murder invades her seemingly quiet community. Josie is sponsoring the Portsmouth Women's Guild Annual Black and Gold Gala and is looking forward to receiving a kindly worded thank-you for her efforts. Instead, the Guild representative, Maisy Gaylor, dies a horrible death in the midst of the banquet. Who could have wanted to kill earnest, drab little Maisy? "Funny, isn't it," muses the hostile Detective Rowcliff, "how a lot of people end up dead when no one has any enemies." Everyone who had access to the wine Maisy drank, including Josie herself, soon comes under suspicion. Can Josie manage to ferret out the truth, keep her business running smoothly, and continue to put down roots in her new town, or will everything prove too much for her to handle on her own?

Agatha finalist Jane K. Cleland brings us an irresistible new blend of coziness, crime, and collectibles... The autumn foliage is in full fiery glory on a beautiful day in the little coastal town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire. Josie Prescott arrives at the town's renovated lighthouse to conduct an antiques appraisal and is horrified to discover the bludgeoned body of her neighbor Zoë's beloved nephew, Frankie. The owners of the lighthouse are avid antiques collectors, and Josie soon begins to suspect that a scrimshaw tooth from their collection may be the key to solving the crime that has shaken Rocky Point, and broken her dear friend's heart.

“Sixteen dealers, sixteen keys. What a nightmare!” exclaimed the detective. A body has been discovered in a blanket chest at Cider Run Antiques. Could there be a murderer among the dealers at the popular and picturesque shop? Marv, retired history professor and founding partner, doesn’t think so, even though these are people with strong passions about antiques – and occasionally each other. Things had gone so well the first two years, the historic 18th-century stone building a perfect backdrop to showcase antiques. Everyone was enthusiastic, antiques-savvy, and caught up in their new venture. The shop was a stunning success. Yet there must have been something beneath the surface of high-spirited banter and good times, something unseen that would culminate in tragedy. The dealers decide to hold a marathon talk session to help solve the murder, but will the answer destroy Cider Run? Antiques To Die For is both a mystery and a glimpse into the dynamics of a thriving antiques business. Set in the Appalachians of central Pennsylvania, the story combines history, antiques lore, lively shop interplay, and collectors’ obsessions to tell its tale.