I thought this was going to be great - Jane Austen, lost letters, an antiques appraiser who runs the show, figuratively and literally. So what happened - I just couldn’t like or admire the protagonist Josie Prescott. Someone is murdered, she goes for a walk to think. Another body and back to business for Ms. Prescott. Besides the lack of normal, empathy or sympathy, the descriptions about unimportant things were just a bit too much.

While this book can stand alone I think reading the previous installments would have been helpful in understanding the setup to the business and position of the lead character. I have no doubt that I needed the background to watch the development which might have allowed me to be able to like the character. The mystery was interesting with lots of suspects, red herrings and clues. The relationships were well developed and believable. The information on the appraisal, validation and verification of historic papers was informative if slightly excessive.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s/Minotaur Books for a copy. ( )

Josie Prescott of Prescott's Antiques and the TV show Josie's Antiques is in the middle of filming when she is called to the front to meet a lady named Veronica Sutton who introduces herself as "a good friend of your father's" and hands her a wrapped package. She leaves without answering any of Josie's questions and there are many. Who is she? Why hadn't Josie heard of her before? Why did she keep the package until now when Josie's father died when the Twin Towers came down?

Josie is eager to learn more especially after she unwraps the package to find a note from her father and two previously unknown letters authored by Jane Austen. The letters, if authentic, would be blockbuster. Josie needs to find Veronica and learn more about how she knew Josie's father and about the provenance of the letters.

But it's back to work first. Josie is filming an episode which pits two experts against one another in authenticating a First Edition and autographed copy of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The first expert is Oliver Crenshaw is the third generation owner of Crenshaw's Rare Books, Prints and Autographs. Josie has worked with him frequently. He has brought his mother Rory with him to the filming. The second expert is Dr. Gloria Moreau who is famous for her techniques for authenticating signatures. She brought her graduate assistant Ivan Filbert with her.

Filming goes pretty well. Josie is glad to meet Gloria and thinks they could become friends. But the next day, when the participants are supposed to meet again to clear up some problems with the audio recording, Gloria is late. No one can contact her. Josie finds her body when she is checking out the area around the building because of a strange man who was hanging out around the studio the day before.

Now, besides the mystery of Veronica Sutton and the Jane Austen letters, Josie is trying to discover who murdered Gloria and why. Things get even more complicated when Ivan is also murdered and someone takes some shots at Josie.

This story was filled with interwoven mysteries, secrets, and discoveries. I enjoyed the information about antiques especially the way written documents are authenticated. I enjoyed Josie's rapport with the local police and her role in helping to solve the murders using her own expertise.

This is the fourteenth book in a series, but the first one I have read. It stood alone quite well. While there were lots of characters, presumably accrued from earlier stories in the series, they were all introduced sufficiently and I wasn't confused about who fits where. I am eager now to read some of the earlier books in the series and get to learn more about Josie and her friends and business. ( )