Synopsis

What antique would you kill for?

Freya Lockwood is shocked when she learns that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and her estranged mentor, has died under mysterious circumstances. She has spent the last twenty years avoiding her quaint English hometown, but when she receives a letter from Arthur asking her to investigate—sent just days before his death—Freya has no choice but to return to a life she had sworn to leave behind.

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast’s weekend. But not all is as it seems. It’s clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

Review

Indiana Jones meets Miss Marple is not a book I expected to see, but it turns out that was what was missing in my life! Cosy crime isn’t my favourite genre, but this one was adorable.

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder takes the reader and drops them into a murder mystery, providing them with various riddles and puzzles to solve as we join our heroine on her quest to solve a murder. Yes it’s little farfetched, but does it matter? Aunt Carole is my new favourite character and she jumped off the page until she was standing fully formed in front of me, berating me for not enunciating properly when I spoke.

But I digress…

Although this is a cosy mystery, the elements of Freya’s past make it a little more fast-paced and gripping, which is excellent. Readers are perhaps lulled into a little village murder, but actually there is a lot more at stake. That said, we also learn about antiques as we go, which is fascinating and shows us that an item’s worth is defined by what someone will pay for it if they really want it.

It is a little slow in places and readers will need to suspend reality towards the end, but the characters really are brilliant.

I read this book last year, but when Cara told me Emilia Fox was narrating it, I had to download the audiobook as well which completely elevates the reading experience.

Thank you to PanMacmillan and BookBreak for my proof copy. Opinions my own.