Jane K. Cleland

This is book 11 in the long running Josie Prescott antiques mystery series, which is one of my all-time favorite mystery series. Not as light and humorous as a true cozy, but more personal, less procedural and far less gory than a mainstream mystery.

In this one, Josie is called in to appraise what may be an authentic Tiffany lamp, and is inadvertently caught up in a web of deception and murder. The plot is very complex and intriguing, and the sadness surrounding the crime is offset by more show more human moments in the lives of Josie, her employees and friends. It's a very good chapter in the ongoing saga. show less

Hidden Treasure by Jane K. Cleland has Josie Prescott and her husband, Ty purchasing their dream home in Rocky Point. It is a gorgeous Victorian named “Gingerbread House” that needs some work before the couple move in. Josie receives a call from Celia, a niece of the former owner, stating that her aunt has gotten forgetful in her age. Celia claims that her aunt, Maudie Wilson left behind a trunk containing a valuable family heirloom. Josie promises to keep an eye out. Josie is going show more through the house when Maudie’s other niece, Stacy arrives inquiring about the trunk. Stacy wishes to look around the house one more time, but she has no luck even in the far recesses of the attic. When the trunk is finally located, Josie will only turn it over to Maudie who is rightful owner. She finds Maudie to be active, bright woman who regrets letting others push her into doing things such as moving into the retirement facility. If the item in the trunk is as valuable as Josie expects, it will allow Maudie to travel as she has always dreamed (instead of handing it over to her greedy nieces). Josie responds to a phone call to return to Maudie’s apartment where she finds a woman dead and Maudie has disappeared. Josie sets out to solve the crime. I thought Hidden Treasure was well-written with developed, realistic characters. When not sleuthing, Josie is running her antiques business which allows us to get reacquainted with her staff, spending time with friends (Zoe needs her), dealing with the renovations of her new home, and spending time with her husband. I enjoyed solving this entertaining whodunit. There were viable suspects and good clues. I liked the author’s descriptive writing that allowed me to visualize the characters and scenes. The author provided just the right amount of detail (not too much to bog down the book nor too little). I found the information provided on the antiques to be interesting. Hidden Treasure is the 13th A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery. While this is the 13th book in the series, it can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series, but it will take you a couple of chapters to get acclimated. This was a fast paced and engaging cozy mystery. Hidden Treasure is a charming tale with covetous kin, renovation realties, a cat carving, a lost trunk, an absent aunt, and an anxious antiques authority. show less

Josie Prescott is the employer at Prescott Antiques in Rocky Point, New Hampshire, instead of an employee at someone else’s auction house. Josie needed a new beginning, distancing herself from New York for multiple reasons. However, as Josie’s life becomes more manageable with employees becoming a trusted and cohesive team, she becomes a prime suspect in a murder investigation in the eyes of a local police chief.

I enjoyed this mystery! By the end of the cozy, I had learned a lot about show more the behind-the-scenes business of an auction house as information was seamlessly woven into the storyline, not lecture/teaching sentences, as I call them, in-between forward movements of the storyline. I loved learning of the creative hiding places in antiques, wonders of days gone by, which also added possibilities to solving the investigation clues. As Josie needed a confidence boost, she’d remember her father’s advice, and I liked the format of his counsel in italics. Although I had my suspicion about the arrest, the twists had me second-guessing myself, taking me back to the reminder to stick with your 1st choice in multiple choice questions.

I’m curious about the new developments as Josie continues implementing her business ideas and moves forward, hopefully with more self-esteem and confidence. I look forward to reading more of the series. show less

Antique Blues is the 12th book in the Josie Prescott Antique Mysteries series. This is the first book in the series that I've read. I will definitely be going back and reading the rest of this series!

Josie Prescott is an antiques expert and amateur sleuth. A friend asks Josie to appraise a Japanese woodblock print that she just acquired. Mo Shannon bought the print from her sister's less than stellar boyfriend, Cal. The situation seems a bit off from the beginning, but even more so when Mo show more turns up dead and Cal disappears. Josie finds herself investigating not only her friend's murder but also some underhanded antique purchases.

The plot in this book is much more complex than the usual cozy mystery. There's a lot going on.....suspects, plot twists, investigation. The background theme of antiques and appraisals is an integral part of the plot instead of just background cuteness. I like the characters. Josie Prescott is one smart cookie. She knows the antique business and utilizes her resources and contacts to make progress in business and during investigations. The side characters are all interesting and come together to help solve the crime. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I really enjoyed this story!

I was easily able to jump in at book 12 and enjoy this story. There were no real spoilers of earlier books. Character backgrounds carry over from book to book, of course, but I was easily able to pick up enough info to get the general idea of who was who and what relationships between characters were. So, readers could jump in anywhere in this series and still enjoy the story. I'm going to backtrack and start at book 1 because this is a very well written cozy and I want to see how these characters have developed over time.

The cover art is great! :)

I don't often give 5-star ratings to cozy mysteries, but this one is well-written, interesting and entertaining. Full marks from me!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less