The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea

The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller is the second in the series and just as entertaining as the first. Freya and her aunt are lured into more dealings with “The Collector” as they try to follow clues left by Freya’s late uncle and mentor. A painting theft and murder at a local museum are followed by treachery on an antiques cruise to Egypt and Jordan.
I really love Aunt Carole and her devil-may-care attitude especially along with brave but more restrained Freya. In fact, all of the female characters are strong women in their own ways with expertise in antiquities, business, archaeology, manipulation and more. Even though everyone was stuck on a ship there were enough different personalities and events to keep show more things exciting.
The plot is pretty well paced, with a couple of slow spots. Luckily the information about antiques does not weigh down the plot and is really fascinating. I have to admit I was surprised by the big identity reveal; there were plenty of red herrings to keep me guessing.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC. show less

Cruising with the Antique Hunters
A review of the NetGalley eBook ARC of the Atria Books hardcover/eBook/audiobook released February 18, 2025.

As with [book:The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|176450518] (2024) I had an odd introduction to antique hunters Freya Lockwood and her aunt Carole. Only 6 days before the release of book #3 [book:The Antique Hunter's Murder at the Castle|235992331] I was offered a NetGalley bundle deal of all 3 books in the series. That short time frame didn't allow for reading the earlier books if I was going to meet #3's publication deadline of March 17, 2026.

That meant I read #3 as a standalone and often felt lost when incidents in #1 and #2 were referenced throughout. Now I'm doing a catchup in order to fill show more in the backstory.

So book #2 Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea follows shortly on from the events in book #1 which actually ended with the invitation to the antiques related cruise on the Red Sea. Antiques expert Freya Lockwood and her aunt Carole are at first uninvited from the cruise but manage to wheedle their way on board regardless. Freya is following a trail based on a stolen painting donated to a museum by her late mentor Arthur Crockleford. This leads to the uncovering of an international cabal of antiques thieves headed by The Collector.

The cast of characters is further expanded by the introduction of internet whiz and hacker Sky who is hired by Freya to look after the Lockwood Antiques shop while she and Carole go off cruising. The FBI Art Crimes team are back along with Bella, the rather shady alternate antiques hunter. It all ends with a twist reveal at the end of the cruise with a visit to Petra, Jordan.

This one was actually my favourite in the series due to the more exotic international locales and an increased amount of discussion about actual antiques, which often seemed very cursory in books #1 and #3. Character development seems to be lacking. Having read book #3 I already know that things are not going to progress much further even later on. Freya remains reserved, Carole tries to liven things up, the budding romance of Freya and Phil is going nowhere, Bella remains suspicious and untrustworthy, there are too many villains with bland character names, it all wraps up too easily and conveniently. It is solid cosy territory though, so a light comfort read.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this retroactive ARC copy for which I provide this honest review.

Trivia and Links
Cara Miller is the author of the Antique Hunter's (2024-ongoing) series of cozy mystery novels, of which the first [book:The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|176450518] (2024) is currently the most popular on Goodreads. Her knowledge of antiques comes through the connection of her mother [author:Judith H. Miller|312171] (1951-2023) for whom she worked as editorial assistant on various editions of the [book:Antiques Price Guide 2008|2260354] and as a researcher for the Judith Miller Antiques Hunter's Guide to Europe (2001). show less

Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole begin their next case with a call from a small maritime museum. A painting donated by Freya's mentor Arthur Crockleford has been stolen and a body has been found outside the museum. Naturally, the police are more interested in the body than the missing painting.

Freya is trying to establish the Lockwood Antique Hunter's Agency in honor of Arthur and with the help of journals he'd written listing antiques and antiquities that he wanted to recover for their rightful owners. She hits a roadblock when her gig as an antiquities expert on a cruise ship is unexpectedly cancelled. Aunt Carole manages to use her charm to get the pair onto the ship where they both find themselves deep into a sticky situation. show more

The Collector who has been a famous antiquities thief for a couple hundred years is purported to be on the ship to pick his successor. Phil, Freya's acquaintance from the FBI, is also on the ship looking for the Collector who was responsible for his partner's death many years earlier. And Bella, a thief Freya met in the first book in this series, is also aboard looking for revenge.

Freya and Aunt Carole busy themselves trying to sort out what is going on since it seems apparent that Arthur had pointed them to the cruise and all the chicanery aboard. The cruise is filled with suspicious characters and danger.

I enjoyed this story of a woman who is trying to find a new path in life and learning that working together is better than trying to go it alone. The characters were interesting and well-rounded. show less

For many years Arthur had been chasing an expert antiques thief called the Collector, after his death Freya Lockwood picks up the chase. Called in after a painting is stolen from a seaside art gallery, Freya (and Aunt Carole) finds herself on a luxury antiques cruise to Jordan but this is a cruise with a difference. On board are millions of pounds worth of stolen antiques and a group of competing criminals, all aiming to become the next Collector.
Whilst this is a fun cosy crime caper, I found is very confusing in parts. There are lots of references to the first novel in the series and the first chapter is virtually impenetrable if one hasn't read that. The plot is rather convoluted and it's difficult to track several of the characters show more and their motivations. Having said all that, this is a pacy enough story with some really great vignettes. show less

I read the first book and kinda liked it. This second book: confusing and often the writing was hard to follow.

For example, a paragraph would reference people then pronouns would be used and were not clear. Events would also be described, but out of order so the implications were difficult to sort.

The description of Petra was relatively interesting but often, the settings and context were flattened out or not well-described.

And I found it hard to understand why everyone was all jumbled together on this tour - it didn't seem realistic somehow. I think that if criminals, law enforcement, and private citizens were on a "closed set" like an ocean voyage, the criminals would be less inclined to just keep allowing the three main "good guys" show more access, and would have kept a better surveillance of them.

And I never did understand the Arthur character. show less

It's a DNF for me. I read halfway through it: just not interesting enough to finish it. I'd describe it as being prosaic.
This view is in contrast to what I thought of the author's debut novel, which I rated higher.

small-business, small-town, England, antiques, antiquities-trade, amateur-sleuth, cozy-crime, suspense, unputdownable, art-crimes, art-theft, investigations, FBI, eccentric, undercover, thefts, black-market, smuggling, multiple-perspectives, relatives, relationships, cruise-ship, situational-humor, sly-humor*****

Freya Lockwood and her eccentric aunt Carole have inherited her uncle's antique shop and have discovered his part in locating and returning stolen art and antiquities. Now they are off on a pre-arranged speaking tour/cruise from their home in Britain to Petra in Jordan to try to decipher clues.
They meet up with an undercover FBI agent they crossed paths with before and find many inconsistencies surrounding the villain known as show more The Collector. It's a good story with lots of information and a detailed lot of investigations. And FUN!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected reader's proof from Atria Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
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