The Antique Store Detective - (A Bella Winter Mystery) by Clare Chase (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Meet Bella Winter. She loves vintage clothes, antiques and... solving crimes?

Bella Winter moved to charming Hope Eaton for some peace and quiet after quitting her busy city job. She delights in spending time in her little antique store on top of the hill, hunting for bargains at auctions, and getting to know everybody - because if there's one thing Bella's good at, it's solving other people's problems.

But her peaceful life is overturned when she finds eccentric local historian Professor Oliver Barton dead in the ruins of Raven Hall, a trowel lying near his outstretched hand. At first, Bella is like everyone else: saddened by a tragic accident. But then her colleague John asks her to dig deeper. Because the dead man gave him an ancient coin he should never have had, and John thinks he was murdered.

It turns out the professor was hunting for buried treasure in the middle of the night. But who would have wanted him dead? And who are the four suspicious women he told John about, calling them the queens of hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades...?

As Bella delves into the case she uncovers a hoard of suspects: the lord of the manor, a secretive group of treasure hunters, the dead man's desperate niece and her no-good son. And when another local historian takes a fatal tumble, she is certain that the answers lie in the antiques the professor stole. But can she solve the crime before someone tries to bury her?

A delightful cozy mystery introducing your new favourite amateur sleuth. Fans of Fiona Leitch, Faith Martin and Agatha Christie will love The Antique Store Detective!

See what everyone is saying about Clare Chase:

'Plenty of plot twists, red herrings, and misdirection. Kept me in suspense. I loved it!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Utterly delightful!... The perfect cozy murder mystery... Keeps you on your toes!... I highly recommend this to the armchair detectives of the world!' The Two Quills

'Amazing... so engaging, kept me hooked the whole way through... I ended up dreaming about it as I was thinking about it so much before going to sleep.' So Many Books So Little Time, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I loved this book... Everything an old-fashioned sleuthing ought to be... I flew through the pages.' Shalini's Books & Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A totally addictive page-turner that will have you racing through the pages and reeling at the twists.' NetGalley reviewer

'I was gripped right from the start and couldn't put it down, I read it in one very short sitting... utterly compelling.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Had me hooked and glued to the pages immediately... If you are a fan of cozy mysteries I can't recommend this series enough. Pure entertainment all round... wonderful.' @onceuptonatimebookreviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐