Antique Blues

February 15, 2018
A request from a friend to appraise her new purchase leads antiques appraiser Josie Prescott [16] (The Glow Of Death, 2016, etc.) into a morass of murder.While Josie plans her wedding to Ty Alvarez, whose job with Homeland Security repeatedly takes him from their home in Rocky Point, New Hampshire, to Washington, D.C., they attend a party at the house of former professional golfer Trish Shannon and her husband, Frank, a musician whose daughter, Mo, asks Josie to appraise a Japanese woodblock print she's used an unexpected inheritance to purchase. The seller is Mo's sister Lydia's boyfriend, Cal Lewis, a charming, handsome professor of art who makes Josie's flesh creep. Josie quickly learns that the gallery where Cal reportedly bought the stunning print knows nothing about it and realizes that her suspicion that the print is fake will cause trouble. Arriving at the Shannon home to ask Mo and Cal about the print, Josie finds Mo dead and Cal missing. While her friend police chief Ellis Hunter looks for a killer, Josie continues to unearth further details about the print. Mo's print may have been just one of many Cal sold to support his major gambling habit. But Cal is far from the only suspect. Mo's toying with the prospect of getting back together with her ex-husband makes his present girlfriend jealous. Mo's ice-cold sister, Lydia, seems more interested in protecting Cal than in finding her sister's killer. Meanwhile, Frank Shannon has asked Josie to appraise his guitar, which could be worth big bucks, and a friend who runs a nearby antiques center has proposed merging their businesses. Despite having more than enough to keep her fully occupied, Josie can't let the murder of her friend go. She finds once again that antiques may provide the answer.Another gift for antiques lovers, full of usable information on treasure hunting and a mystery replete with red herrings.

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February 19, 2018
Suspects and motives abound in Cleland’s labyrinthine 12th mystery featuring Rocky Point, N.H., antiques dealer Josie Prescott (after 2016’s Glow of Death). When the body of Josie’s friend Mo Shannon is found on the beach shortly after Mo asked Josie to appraise a newly acquired 19th-century Japanese woodblock print, Josie applies her extraordinary skill at unraveling the provenance of antiques to piece together the events leading to Mo’s death. Her main suspect is Cal Lewis, the boyfriend of Mo’s sister, Lydia. He may have sold Mo a fake print to cover his gambling debts and has now gone missing. Another is Steve Jullison, Mo’s charming rogue of an ex-husband. Even Mo’s loving parents are harboring secrets. Josie makes some remarkable leaps of logic that strain credulity, but refreshingly, she leaves most of the confrontations with dangerous suspects to the police. Cleland has created an appealing character in Josie, who has grown and prospered in a most satisfying way over the course of the series. Agent: Cristina Concepcion, Don Congdon Assoc.

March 1, 2018
Josie Prescott, owner of Prescott's Antiques and Auctions in New Hampshire, investigates when her friend Mo Shannon is murdered. Shannon had recently asked Josie to appraise an expensive Japanese woodblock print. The person who sold Mo the print, Mo's sister's boyfriend, Cal, disappears right after the murder, and, as Josie researches the print, she begins to believe that it may be a fake. Josie's company is also involved in appraising a vintage guitar owned by Mo's blues-guitarist father. Josie's friend, reporter Wes Smith, assists in her investigation, which leads to the uncovering of a gambling ring and a fraud scheme. Fascinating details about appraising antiques are well integrated in this cozy mystery, which is populated with sympathetic, well-drawn characters. Series fans will enjoy news of Josie's upcoming wedding and business-expansion prospects. Unfortunately, the story is marred a bit by a confusing plot point concerning how Josie contacts the person perpetuating the fraud. Readers interested in antiques and collectibles will also enjoy Sharon Fiffer's Jane Wheel and Barbara Allan's Trash 'n' Treasures series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 1, 2018

Antiques expert Josie Prescott's enjoyment of Mo Shannon's party is spoiled when she overhears a conversation about the possible abusive relationship between Mo's sister, Lydia, and her boyfriend, Cal Lewis. Josie becomes even more suspicious when she learns that Cal, who sold Mo a rare Japanese woodblock print, opposes Mo's plan to have Josie appraise it. Then, Mo is murdered, and Cal disappears. Despite her ongoing wedding plans, Josie pitches in to talk to Mo's friends and hunt for answers in the art world. VERDICT The 12th title (after Glow of Death) in Cleland's character-driven series is as fascinating as its predecessors with plenty of details that capture the excitement of the hunt for the history and provenance of particular art objects. Also appealing are the engaging and sympathetic characters who bring warmth to this cozy mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 11/15/17.]--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018

Up New Hampshire way, antiques expert Josie Prescott is delighted to appraise both the Japanese woodblock print friend Mo just bought and the vintage Martin guitar owned by Mo's dad and reputedly played by blues genius Robert Johnson. Then Mo is murdered. Twelfth in the series from Agatha Award winner Cleland.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.