“Arthur had always said, the greatest thrill is discovering the provenance of an item, unpicking a mysterious history, piece by piece. What if that didn’t only apply to antiques? What if it also applied to what had gone on in the antiques shop that night?”
C L Miller, author of The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder and daughter of Antique Roadshow’s Judith Miller, makes a compelling point about the similarity between scrutinising an antique and solving a mystery. Taken one step further, isn’t antique hunting just another type of puzzle?
Freya Lockwood, the titular antique hunter, makes a fascinating main character, taking as much from the exploits of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft as she does from amateur detectives. Like A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, the novel focuses on a puzzle-solving heroine and her eccentric older relative. It’s a pairing that works well, and it’s particularly rewarding to watch Freya rediscover old skills and build her wounded confidence back up.
Despite the focus on antique hunting, there are relatively few actual antiques described on the page, and none in the kind of sumptuous detail that fans of Antiques Roadshow might be expecting. Instead, it’s the settings of Dedham Vale and Copthorn Manor which stand out. The charming village of Little Meddington and an English country house fulfil the ‘cosy mystery’ promise, upping the drama when a storm starts and all the lights go out.
“A towering turret rose out of the undergrowth in front of us, complete with a battlement and a studded arched door. A murder of crows perched on top of crumbling stone walls that were covered in moss and ivy.”
It’s not just the weather making things exciting. C L Miller keeps up the pace with classic detective story twists and turns: a second body, a hidden door, secret identities and unexpected alliances. There’s nothing slow-paced about this debut crime novel and readers will have to keep their wits about them if they don’t want to get muddled.
Unfortunately, all this solid setting and story-telling are somewhat let down by the characters’ dialogue. This is especially true towards the end of the novel: Freya’s long spoken explanations of events are crucial to the enjoyment of a detective story, and they lack the kind of natural flow which would make them a pleasure to read.
Readers who love antiques, and can look past the prose problems, will find a lot to enjoy in The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, but I think I’ll keep hunting.
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder (Pan Macmillan) is on sale 29 Feb 2024 and available to preorder now, £16.99
[Top image: Pan Macmillan]
by C L Miller
www.waterstones.com