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.

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.

In this cozy series debut from Laura Gail Black, Jenna Quinn finds her uncle murdered in his antique bookstore, and Jenna--his primary beneficiary--becomes the prime suspect. Trouble follows Jenna Quinn wherever she goes. Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna accepts her uncle's gracious invitation to stay with him in small-town Hokes Folly, NC. In exchange, she'll help him out in his antiquarian bookstore. But soon after she arrives, Jenna finds her uncle's body crumpled at the base of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore. Before the tragedy even sinks in, Jenna learns that she's inherited almost everything her uncle owned: the store and apartment, as well as his not-so-meager savings and the payout from a life insurance policy...which adds up to more than a million dollars. This is all news to Jenna--bad news, once the police get wind of her windfall. An ill wind, indeed, as a second murder cements Jenna's status as the prime suspect in both deaths. Jenna can hit the road again, taking her chances that she can elude trouble along the way. Or she can stick it out in Hokes Folly, take over the bookstore, and try to sleuth out her uncle's killer. On the one hand, she's made some wonderful new friends, and she feels she can thrive in the genial small-town environment. On the other hand, trouble knows her address--and so does the killer, who is determined to write the final page of Jenna's story.

“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.

Cats, haikus and cadavers—amateur sleuth Lola didn't expect that her new inheritance would come with such killer poetry. Lola thought she’d find the island's small-town peace when she returned to inherit the coveted antique shop. But between a snarky telepathic cat compelled to pen poems about the deserving dead and a trail of chilling haikus left on murder victims, peace and quiet may be too much to ask… When the handsome out-of-town detective arrives to lead the investigation, Lola vows to solve the case and clear her name before she's the next to end up in the killer's rhyming couplet. With gossip spreading faster than facts between her friends and the locals, Lola will have to learn the truth behind the poetic murders quickly, before she's the next to fall victim and become the talk of the town’s wagging tongues. For an empath whose cat has a direct line to her own mind, it's all in a day's work, though Lola could do without the impromptu eulogies. Karma may love a good haiku, but Lola is more of a free verse kind of girl...

Ffilled with the actual details that led to the murders and the conviction, the sentencing, the escape. Flowers does an adroit job of showing what can be done by law enforcement agencies and their personnel.