Killer Keepsakes

February 23, 2009
At the start of Cleland's absorbing fourth mystery to feature New Hampshire antiques dealer Josie Prescott (after 2008's Antiques to Die For
), Josie's dependable assistant, Gretchen, fails to show up for a second day and hasn't even called. When a worried Josie checks Gretchen's apartment, she discovers the bloodied body of a strange man in his early 30s on the sofa. A valuable Meissen vase missing from the apartment and a Native American belt buckle on the dead man appear to be the only clues to guide Josie in her amateur sleuthing, though Wes Smith, a local newspaperman, later unearths the suspicious fact that Gretchen's Social Security number was issued only four years earlier, at the time she started working for Josie. Ty Alverez, a Homeland Security officer who's “drop-dead gorgeous,” lends emotional support. A Web search for the origins of the vase leads to a frightening escape for Josie and an ingenious solution to the mystery. Author tour.

January 15, 2009
A valuable antique provides a clue to a murder.

Transplanted from New York to New Hampshire, Josie Prescott, assisted by reliable Gretchen Brock, has developed a successful antiques business. When a body is found in Gretchen 's apartment and Gretchen is nowhere to be found, Josie (Antiques to Die For, 2008, etc.) goes into sleuthing mode. Eager to help the police and prove Gretchen innocent, she quickly realizes that although she knows little about Gretchen, she 's certain she did not murder the unidentified man. But who is Gretchen Brock really? Gretchen 's closest friends —Mandy, who has an ex-con boyfriend, and Lina —claim to know nothing about her past or her disappearance. A new mystery arises when a rare vase missing from a stand in Gretchen 's house turns up in the store 's safe. Josie 's attempts to trace the vase reveal that Gretchen vanished after her husband brutally murdered the motherly Denver antiques dealer she was working for —a clue that helps the police identify the murdered man as Gretchen 's husband. When Josie surmises that Lina has been concealing her, Gretchen surrenders to the police but maintains her innocence. Could the killer be Mandy 's boyfriend, who 's arrested for selling antiques he stole from demolished houses, or a mysterious stranger who visits the store looking for Gretchen?

Another agreeable cozy studded with appraisals and antiques lore.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2009
When Gretchen, Josie's cheerful shop assistant, fails to return from vacation, the antiques dealer ("Antiques To Die For") sets out to find her. Then a dead body is found in Gretchen's home, and the police take her disappearance as a sign of guilt. Fans of intelligent traditional mysteries who also also enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" will appreciate.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
Josie Prescott, owner of Prescotts Antiques and Auctions on the New Hampshire coast, is concerned when her reliable assistant, Gretchen, doesnt return to work after a two-week Hawaiian vacation. When Josie goes to Gretchens condo to check on her, she finds a man shot to death on the sofa but no Gretchen. Has Gretchen been kidnapped? Or is she the murderer? Josie cant believe Gretchen would kill anyone, so she begins trying to identify the victim and to investigate Gretchens past, realizing how little she and Gretchens many friends really know about her. Using her research skills and knowledge of antiques, Josie delves deeply, uncovering at least some ofGretchens secrets but becoming a target of an unknown assailant in the process. Well-developed main and secondary characters, a vividly described small-town setting, and lots of details on authenticating and appraising antiques add to this fourth in a series. A good investment for mystery fans who cherish antiques and collectibles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)