Deadly Appraisal
A Josie Prescott Mystery
Jane K. Cleland
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-34366-3 (0312343663)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34366-8 (9780312343668)
Publication Date: April 2007
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Josie Prescott is settling into her new life in New Hampshire.
Her antiques business is thriving, she's beginning to make some close
friends, and her relationship with the local police chief is becoming
more interesting. Not bad for someone who has completely uprooted her
life as a New York City auction house expert in order to get a fresh
start in a small New England town.
With so much suddenly to lose, Josie can't help but worry when murder
invades her seemingly quiet community. Josie is sponsoring the
Portsmouth Women's Guild Annual Black and Gold Gala and is looking
forward to receiving a kindly worded thank-you for her efforts.
Instead, the Guild representative, Maisy Gaylor, dies a horrible death
in the midst of the banquet. Who could have wanted to kill earnest,
drab little Maisy? "Funny, isn't it," muses the hostile detective
Rowcliff, "how a lot of people end up dead when no one has any enemies."
Everyone who had access to the wine Maisy drank, including Josie
herself, soon comes under suspicion. Can Josie manage to ferret out the
truth, keep her business running smoothly, and continue to put down
roots in her new town, or will everything prove too much for her to
handle on her own?
Review: Deadly Appraisal
is the second winning entry in this entertaining series by Jane K.
Cleland that features New Hampshire antiques dealer and amateur sleuth
Josie Prescott.
Josie's antique consignment shop is starting to do well, and she is
quickly becoming known throughout the community. An opportunity to
showcase her expertise comes up when Maisy Gaylor of the Portsmouth
Women's Guild asks Josie to sponsor a charity dinner and antique
auction. Following the dinner, the rather shy Maisy is to announce the
winning bidders. Before she can do so, she coughs, screams, and
collapses to the floor – dead. Someone has poisoned her
wine. Who would want to kill Maisy? She had no enemies. Through intense
questioning of everyone at the gala by the police, the question becomes
not who killed Maisy, but was Maisy the intended victim? Could the
poison have been meant for Josie? This idea becomes even more credible
when a few nights later Josie is injured by a hit-and-run. Even Josie
begins to believe that there is someone out there trying to kill her. But
why?
Though this series has a fairly typical background story (woman leaves
the big city to establish herself anew in a small town, starts a new
business, makes new friends, and without really trying finds herself in
a new relationship), Cleland makes it seem fresh. Deadly Appraisal
nicely balances Josie's personal life, her professional life, and of
course a murder mystery that will have the reader guessing as to the
killer's identity until the very end. There is also the requisite
inclusion of facts about the antiques business, but Cleland so
effortlessly incorporates them into the story that they are an
interesting, integral part of the plot. Why, for example, is one
antique worth so much money when another, virtually identical item, is
worthless? The answer to this question may lead to murder!
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Deadly Appraisal and to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Consigned to Death
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), April 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-34725-1 (0312347251)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34725-3 (9780312347253)
Deadly Appraisal
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), April 2007
ISBN-10: 0-312-34366-3 (0312343663)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34366-8 (9780312343668)
Omnimystery keywords for Deadly Appraisal ...
Location(s) referenced: New Hampshire.
