Antique Blues: A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery

Suspects and motives abound in Cleland’s labyrinthine 12th mystery featuring Rocky Point, N.H., antiques dealer Josie Prescott (after 2016’s Glow of Death). When the body of Josie’s friend Mo Shannon is found on the beach shortly after Mo asked Josie to appraise a newly acquired 19th-century Japanese woodblock print, Josie applies her extraordinary skill at unraveling the provenance of antiques to piece together the events leading to Mo’s death. Her main suspect is Cal Lewis, the boyfriend of Mo’s sister, Lydia. He may have sold Mo a fake print to cover his gambling debts and has now gone missing. Another is Steve Jullison, Mo’s charming rogue of an ex-husband. Even Mo’s loving parents are harboring secrets. Josie makes some remarkable leaps of logic that strain credulity, but refreshingly, she leaves most of the confrontations with dangerous suspects to the police. Cleland has created an appealing character in Josie, who has grown and prospered in a most satisfying way over the course of the series. Agent: Cristina Concepcion, Don Congdon Assoc. (Apr.)