Hidden Treasure: A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery

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.