The discovery of a mysterious antique trunk leads to a disappearance–and murder–in the latest in this beloved cozy series set on the rugged New Hampshire coast, Jane K. Cleland’s Hidden Treasure. When antiques expert Josie Prescott finds a mysterious trunk, no one thinks it could lead to murder. Josie, the owner of Prescott’s Antiques & Auctions, and her new husband, Ty, have finally found … husband, Ty, have finally found their dream home, a Victorian beauty on the beach known in the town of Rocky Point as the “Gingerbread House.” It was recently vacated by Maudie Wilson, an aging widow, whose concerned nieces have moved her into a nearby assisted living facility. Josie befriends Maudie, who seems surprisingly sharp, considering her family’s doubts about her soundness of mind.
As Josie and Ty joyfully begin renovations on the Gingerbread House, the nieces report that Maudie, in her forgetfulness, may have left behind an old trunk, which she’s desperate to get back. Sure enough, Josie finds the trunk inside a hidden compartment, and within it a jewel-encrusted box holding a sculpture of a cat. Josie can understand the sense of urgency about getting the objects back–they look valuable, and not just in the sentimental sense.
But when Josie goes to return the box to Maudie, the woman has vanished. And on the floor of her empty apartment lies a corpse, a woman bludgeoned to death. Sick with worry for Maudie’s safety, Josie begins to piece together the clues to the murder. Everyone around her seems to want to pitch in, from Maudie’s family, to the receptionist at the facility, to the young couple helping Josie with her renovations, but with the killer so close to home, Josie has to be on her guard.
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I loved Hidden Treasures! What a fantastic addition to the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series. I enjoyed that it centered on an older woman who has quite the zest for life despite her age—and I like how Josie encourages and helps her. The novel’s fast-paced with lots of twists, including one particularly surprising and fun detail near the end. As with all the Josie Prescott books, there was a host of fun new characters and subplots, along with the familiar cast. Highly recommended to lovers of cozy as well as traditional mysteries. Hidden Treasure can be read as a standalone novel.
An intriguing mystery! Josie and Ty have bought a new house known as the Gingerbread House. The previous owner’s nieces had decided she needed to move to an assisted living facility and Josie and Ty can’t wait to start renovating. First, however, one of the nieces comes to Josie stating that her aunt left a trunk in the house that she needs to find. Upon searching, they do not find it, though Josie later discovers the trunk with what appear to be possibly valuable Egyptian artifacts inside. Josie takes the trunk to the owner, Maudie, who is delighted to have it back. Maudie speaks with Josie about having the artifacts appraised and what the process is and Josie later receives a message stating that Maudie wants her to appraise the items. However, when she arrives at Maudie’s apartment, she finds Maudie’s niece, Celia, dead. It is also later discovered that the artifacts are missing and Maudie seems to have disappeared as well. Josie works with the police to try to find the artifacts as well as Maudie and the killer. A truly intriguing storyline with several possible suspects. I enjoyed seeing the friendship blossom between Maudie and Josie. The storyline with Zoe and her daughter, Emma, was also heartwarming and I liked how Josie really came through and helped her friend to cope with the upcoming changes in her life. Hope to see more of this delightful series as I love the characters and learning about the antique world!
HIDDEN TREASURE by Jane K. Cleland is the 13th book in the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series. It’s the wonderful story of Josie Prescott and her discovery of an antique trunk in the recently purchased Gingerbread House. That discover leads to a new friendship, mystery, disappearance and murder.
Josie and husband, Ty, are about to start renovation on their recently purchased home. Something they have been planning and most anxious to start. However, almost before the ink is dry on the purchase papers Josie is confronted twice, once by Celia and once by Stacy – sisters and nieces to the previous owner, Maudie Wilson – about the possibility that in their elderly aunt’s forgetfulness a trunk may have been left in the house. Although initially unable to find it, Josie later finds it in a concealed dumbwaiter and returns it to Maudie at Belle Vista, where she now resides.
From their first encounter, Josie and Maudie seem to click and can see a lasting friendship forming. When Maudie asks Josie about how to find out the value and history of the trunk and the contents to help her decide whether to keep or sell them, Josie – owner of Prescott’s Antiques & Auctions, is hoping that her company will have a shot at doing one or both. Shortly after the return on the trunk however, three things happen – Celia is found murdered, Maudie is nowhere to be found and the presentation box with the cat inside that was in the trunk is stolen. Are they all connected?
As puzzling as all this is, Josie feels that if she is patient, does her research and listens to her instincts that she can find some answers. Josie is determined to put all the pieces to this rather large and partly old puzzle together to help find her new friend, find out if the trunk and contents are indeed old and valuable and to help her friend, Ellis Hunter – the Rocky Point police chief, find out who the murderer is and trunks stolen contents.
Can she do it before the criminals strike again? Is she herself in danger? Are the murder and the thief connected? Will the presentation box and cat be found? If so, will they prove to be old and valuable?
HIDDEN TREASURE is a well-written cozy mystery that weaves you between different eras in time, spans different generations, and mixes in a couple of underlying stories that add to the reality of the whole story. While Jane K. Cleland keeps our minds working to figure out the whodunit, she also entertains us with the story of Josie and Ty’s lives as they are moving forward to renovate and begin their new lives in the Gingerbread House as well as the heartfelt story of Josie’s best friend, Zoe, having to deal with allowing her daughter, Emma, to make her own decisions, like joining the Marines. Josie herself is brought to life through her love and concern for her friends shown in her wanting to help the church and preacher, helping to bring the best friends – Zoe and Ellis – to realization that they belong together in a more permanent way and helping it to come about, and for the concern she shows for a new found friend.
Although part of a series, HIDDEN TREASURE can most definitely be read as a standalone book. This is the first book in the series for me (but definitely not the last), and I had no problems enjoying each and every page. I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves a cozy mystery, a wonderful story or just a well-written book that leaves you feeling good.
Hidden Treasure by Jane K. Cleland has Josie Prescott and her husband, Ty purchasing their dream home in Rocky Point. It is a gorgeous Victorian named “Gingerbread House” that needs some work before the couple move in. Josie receives a call from Celia, a niece of the former owner, stating that her aunt has gotten forgetful in her age. Celia claims that her aunt, Maudie Wilson left behind a trunk containing a valuable family heirloom. Josie promises to keep an eye out. Josie is going through the house when Maudie’s other niece, Stacy arrives inquiring about the trunk. Stacy wishes to look around the house one more time, but she has no luck even in the far recesses of the attic. When the trunk is finally located, Josie will only turn it over to Maudie who is rightful owner. She finds Maudie to be active, bright woman who regrets letting others push her into doing things such as moving into the retirement facility. If the item in the trunk is as valuable as Josie expects, it will allow Maudie to travel as she has always dreamed (instead of handing it over to her greedy nieces). Josie responds to a phone call to return to Maudie’s apartment where she finds a woman dead and Maudie has disappeared. Josie sets out to solve the crime. I thought Hidden Treasure was well-written with developed, realistic characters. When not sleuthing, Josie is running her antiques business which allows us to get reacquainted with her staff, spending time with friends (Zoe needs her), dealing with the renovations of her new home, and spending time with her husband. I enjoyed solving this entertaining whodunit. There were viable suspects and good clues. I liked the author’s descriptive writing that allowed me to visualize the characters and scenes. The author provided just the right amount of detail (not too much to bog down the book nor too little). I found the information provided on the antiques to be interesting. Hidden Treasure is the 13th A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery. While this is the 13th book in the series, it can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series, but it will take you a couple of chapters to get acclimated. This was a fast paced and engaging cozy mystery. Hidden Treasure is a charming tale with covetous kin, renovation realties, a cat carving, a lost trunk, an absent aunt, and an anxious antiques authority.
Summary
Josie Prescott, owner of Prescott’s Antiques and Auctions, has owned her new home for an hour when Celia Akins, niece of the home’s previous owner, shows up at Josie’s office. Celia insists on seeing Josie because there’s a problem. Celia tells Josie that Stacy, Celia’s sister, and Celia need Josie’s help for their Aunt Maudie. A trunk has gone missing. Josie agrees to accompany Celia and Celia’s husband Doug to the house so they can search for the missing item, even though Josie knows the trunk isn’t there. Celia and Doug’s search comes up empty.
The next day, Josie does her own walk through of her new home. In the kitchen she discovers an old dumbwaiter hidden behind a panel and in the dumbwaiter is the missing trunk. Josie informs Maudie Wilson, previous owner of the house, of the find and offers to deliver the trunk to her at the Belle Vista, an assisted living facility. Celia and Stacy had both referred to Aunt Maudie being forgetful, but the woman Josie meets and forms a bond with is anything but forgetful. By the time Josie leaves Bella Vista, she’s found a new friend in Maudie Wilson.
Maudie decides to sell the trunk and its contents, and she wants Josie to handle the sale. Josie arrives at Bella Vista to meet with Celia and Maudie to finalize the paperwork and pick up the trunk. Maudie and Celia fail to keep the appointment, and no one can find either one. Josie finally convinces an administrator to check Maudie’s apartment. Inside is Celia’s body. Someone has taken a presentation box from the trunk and Maudie is still missing.
Where is Maudie? Did the person or persons responsible for murdering Celia take Maudie and steal contents from the trunk? Josie is determined to discover what has happened to her new friend, and someone is determined to stop her. Can Josie figure out what’s happened to Maudie and the missing items before she becomes the next victim?
Recommendation
I enjoyed reading this book. The twists and turns kept me guessing as to the killer’s identity. The threads of the plot and sub-plots were slow to untangle, which kept me involved in the story until the end. I recommend this book for its vibrant characters and smart storytelling.
Copy provided by Netgalley
#Netgalley #hiddentreasure
Josie Prescott has her hands full with the remodeling of her newly acquired Victorian beachfront mansion in beautiful Rocky Point, New Hampshire when she discovers a hidden treasure inside – a small trunk containing a priceless Egyptian statue. When the owner of the antique disappears and her niece is found bludgeoned to death, Josie must race against time to discover the culprit, and there are lots of greedy suspects to choose from! A stellar new mystery from author Jane K. Cleland, Hidden Treasure was a joy to read. A+++
Josie and her husband, Ty, are starting a new life project when they purchase their dream house and begin the renovations. The house is locally known as the Gingerbread House and the previous owner has been moved into an assisted living facility. Her two nieces insist that their Aunt Maudie has become feeble and that they are in charge of her affairs. They tell Josie that Aunt Maudie, in her diminished capacity, left behind a family heirloom, a chest and they want it returned….to them, not to Aunt Maudie. Josie refuses and returns it to Maudie leading to the start of a friendship between them. Things go sideways when Maudie disappears as does the family treasure and a dead body is found in her apartment. The two nieces are up to something and Josie is worried about the current status of Maudie. Things are getting very complicated. Besides running her business and her tv show and the work on the Gingerbread House, there is a mystery to solve.
I have enjoyed this series from the first book, each one presenting me with a well crafted puzzle to solve with fair clues and more than a few red herrings to send me off in the wrong direction. I’m saving a space on my TBR list for the next book in the series.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Exciting Antique Filled Cozy Mystery
This is the best book I have read in quite some time. The crime portion is so well done that I was amazed when it was all solved. The antique portion was exciting. Our heroine is well-spoken and very knowledgeable about antiques. I learned so much from just this one book. This is the first book that I have read in the series and was never lost. The story has no slow moments. It goes from one major happening to the next. It was tough to set it down for any reason. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
It has been ages since I read a Josie Prescott book but Cleland hasn’t changed her one bit; except that she’s gotten married and found her dream house which, of course, leads to murder. This is a good, clean whodunit that every mystery lover will enjoy. Take a dip with Josie and I’m sure you’ll come back for more.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.
Hidden Treasure by Jane Cleland is a Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery and so, of course, the sleuth is Amy Prescott. Josie and her husband have just closed on the purchase of their new home, a historic masterpiece, near the ocean. No sooner than Ty is out of town when the niece of the old owner appears to ask for Josie’s help in discovering a trunk that has gone missing in the move. She assumes it was left in the house, so off they go. No trunk, but Josie does arrange with Tom, the handyman, to meet her tomorrow to over the house from top to bottom, take measurements and such. During that walk-through, Josie discovers a non-functioning dumbwaiter, and of course the trunk is inside. Professionally, as always, Josie calls her staff, removes the trunk, and films as it is being opened. Several interesting pieces are inside. Josie then contacts the owner, who has moved to an assisted living facility, for delivery of the trunk. Then her two nieces get involved and it starts to get messy. Celia and Stacy do not necessarily appear to have the best interests of their aunt, Maudie Wilson, at heart. Things get complicated. There is a murder and Maudie, whom Josie had really liked, disappears.
This is an interesting story on several levels: one being elder abuse, which is what the nieces are doing to their aunt, making her believe that she is losing her grip and forcing her to make decisions she is not ready to make, all of their own self-serving purposes. Another is right up Josie’s alley as things that come out of old houses are often treasures and sometimes, extremely valuable. Murder is always a terrible thing, especially when the victim is innocent and leaved a husband and children behind. The murder is someone unexpected, but the motive is the same: greed. This was a complicated story, but one that is entertaining and well worth the time. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Hidden Treasure by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #hiddentreasure
I’ve mentioned before that cozy mysteries aren’t my favorite subgenre in the suspense/mystery category. But after reading several in the past year or so, I think they’re growing on me!
I had not read any of Jane K. Cleland’s Josie Prescott series, but it didn’t take long for Josie to win me over. There are a lot of characters introduced, but Cleland does a good job establishing who’s who without unnecessary backstory fluff.
Josie’s profession as an antiques dealer means she observes many complex family dynamics as relatives deal with possessions, etc. She has some great insights into why Maudie Wilson’s nieces, Celia and Stacy, are bickering and vying for dominance in the family, and as she mentions to her husband Ty, it’s sad. The only thing to do, she says, is to stay out of it. As someone who’s watched this dynamic play out in extended family, her insights ring true to me.
But will Josie be able to stay clear of Celia and Stacy and Maud’s drama? The answer: nope. We wouldn’t get this charming mystery if she minded her own business!
Josie is warm-hearted and immensely likable. She’s a winning heroine: thorough, professionally knowledgeable, curious, and sympathetic to other people. While she’s a bit of a busybody, she has a kind heart. It’s a great combination.
The story flows forward, tugging me into its power, but not like a thriller would, with heart stopping moments of action. But in true cozy fashion, it embraces the reader with a warm tone, interesting details, and keen insights into the human heart.
A few of the plot points didn’t quite make sense. The method (or rather the reasoning behind using this method) that the police use to capture a suspect is illogical. It also doesn’t make sense that Ellie, the police chief, asks Josie to help question a person of interest, even if she is the expert in an area he wants that person to discuss. Nor does it make sense for her to share any investigative information with a pesky reporter.
As with all cozy mysteries, I have to suspend my disbelief in certain aspects, such as people being willing to talk about a friend to a non-law enforcement stranger. At least in this book, a few people push back and refuse to talk to Josie. After all, she is not law enforcement, and as the police chief Ellis reminds her, she has no business investigating.
All in all, though, the book is well-written. I enjoyed wiling away the hours with Josie Prescott. The ending is a sweet one that scores points for being heart-warming without being sentimental and sappy. A solid four stars.
ONE FAVORITE THING . . .
I felt that the author is quite knowledgeable about the antique business. Though I’m not terribly interested in antiques per se, her descriptions are beautiful. It’s fascinating to watch Josie and her colleagues assess pieces and what makes one piece valuable and others not-so-valuable. I felt Josie’s excitement over the old pieces that others might not see as impressive.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
288 pages
4 stars
Josie Prescott and her husband Ty have just purchased a new home. It’s a grand old place and they fell in love with it. Soon, Josie is contacted by the two nieces of the former owner. The elderly woman has misplaced and antique trunk and its contents.
Josie agrees to look for it and begins to search the house. She finds the trunk in an old dumbwaiter. When Josie meets the owner Maudie doesn’t at all seem like the pre-dementia patient that the nieces led her to believe. Maudie and Josie hit it off and spend time together. Josie offers to appraise the trunk and its beguiling Egyptian-appearing cat and presentation box, but offers some other appraisers to Maudie as well.
So begins an intricate and fast-paced mystery complete with murder, lies, deception and enjoyable characters.
This is a delightful cozy mystery. The plotting and writing are very well done. The characters are certainly interesting. I liked Josie, Tom, Zoe, Ellis and the rest of the gang. They were genuine and likable. I especially liked Maudie and I have a secret hope that she will appear in future episodes of Josie’s adventures. Ms. Cleland is a master at setting a scene and pacing. I read this book straight through. I was hardly aware of time passing. More please, Ms. Cleland!
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for forwarding to me a copy of this very engaging book for me to read, enjoy and review.
cozy-mystery, murder, amateur-sleuth, suspense, small-business, small-town
This is the first I’ve read in this series but it was easy to gather relevant relationships and threads so I wasn’t lost in any way. There is a large contingent of characters in this one and the descriptives are excellent not only of the physical but also the undercurrents. There are a couple of characters who are so untrustworthy I would have kicked them to the curb a fourth of the way in. Oh well, in general it was a good solid plot complete with twists and red herrings as well as insights into the antiques business. I loved it!
T requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!