Josie Prescott is the employer at Prescott Antiques in Rocky Point, New Hampshire, instead of an employee at someone elseā€™s auction house. Josie needed a new beginning, distancing herself from New York for multiple reasons. However, as Josieā€™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 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, sheā€™d remember her fatherā€™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.

Iā€™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. ( )

This was a fun story in the sense of a beach-read. The narrative was a bit drawn out in developing the plot twists but Josie Prescott is an engaging protagonist. I didn't find the who-dun-it aspects very surprising but certainly enjoyed a peek at the antiques' trade. ( )

Great mystery read with an antique spin. ( )

A great debut of a new cozy series. Josie Prescott is a suspect in the murder of a potential client. One or two little loose threads, but all-in-all a great first. I'll keep reading this series! ( )

Formulaic mystery but interesting. I learned some things about the appraisal business. ( )