The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder: the highly anticipated crime novel for fans of the Antiques Roadshow

by C L Miller

C L Miller (Narrator) and Emilia Fox (Narrator)

Read by Emilia Fox and featuring an exclusive Q&A between the author, C L Miller, and the narrator.

A bold, bright and delightful jaunt back to the golden age of detective fiction' Janice Hallett

'A delicious read - who could resist a treasure hunt with murder at its core?' SJ Bennett

'It's a delight!' Katie Fforde

C L Miller's The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder is the start of your new favourite crime series, The Number One Ladies Detective Agency meets The Fellowship of the Puzzle Makers as written by Richard Osman.

What antique would you kill for?
Freya, it’s down to you to finish what I started. . .

Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya’s estranged mentor, has died… and the circumstances seem suspicious.

You will uncover an invitation, I implore you to attend. . .

But when a letter from Arthur is delivered, sent just days before his death, and an ordinary pine chest concealing Arthur’s journals are revealed, Freya finds herself sucked back into a life she’d sworn to leave behind.

But beware, trust no-one. Your life depends on it. . .

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Arthur’s staunch best friend, Freya follows both clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an ‘antiques enthusiasts weekend’. But not is all as it seems; the antiques are bad reproductions and the guests all have something to hide.

Can Freya and Carole solve the mystery and unearth the killer before they strike again?

***********

'What a unique and very enjoyable take on the classic whodunnit!' Jo Silva

'Irresistible, immersive and completely unputdownable, think the Antiques Roadshow meets Miss Marple with a deliciously OTT cast of characters and twist after twist after twist.' Ellery Lloyd

'What a treat! A unique and compelling debut by an outstanding author - I couldn't stop turning the pages! The fabulously drawn characters leapt from the page and drew me into this engrossing murder mystery.' Kathryn Croft

• ISBN10: 1035021846
• ISBN13: 9781035021840
• Publish Date: 29 February 2024 (first published 6 February 2024)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan
• Format: Audiobook (WAV)
• Duration: 11 hours and 3 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder is a well written mystery in the classic form, and the debut novel by C.L. Miller. Due out 6th Feb 2024 from Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a well rounded cozy(ish) mystery with surprising side plot-threads into skullduggery, international antiquities repatriation, murder, and black-market crime. It's got a classic limited-suspect pool, and much of the action occurs at an isolated country house. The characters are varied, quirky, well rendered, and with an amateur sleuth in the lead who has a complex back story revealed over the course of the book. 

The author imbues the story with a great deal of background info on arts and antiquities, and is clearly well versed in the subject, which adds a nice bit of verisimilitude and interest to the storytelling. The nuts and bolts of the plot are well constructed, and although readers who are fans of the form will likely have much of the reveal worked out before the denouement, the author manages to toss a few nice twists in at the end, à la Christie. 

The story is told in alternating chapters, with main character Freya's chapters in first person, and the other characters' PoV in 3rd person. A challenging form, but the author manages it well and the whole is readable and engaging. 

Four stars. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, as well as for mystery book club selection, and for fans of classic British mystery. Quite well written. The epilogue seems to point to further planned adventures for Freya and her quirky Aunt Carole. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.