A Wealth of Deception by Trish Esden
Series Name: Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery #2
Genre: Traditional
Release: April 18, 2023
Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Danger, art, and a touch of romance collide in Trish Esden’s second exquisitely crafted Scandal Mountain Antiques mystery, perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Connie Berry.
Some people are willing to die for their art. Others are willing to kill for it.
When Vermont antique and art dealer Edie Brown discovers an unsettlingly dark collage by the famed reclusive “outsider” artist known only as Vespa, she opens a Pandora’s Box of deception and danger.
Edie teams up with Uncle Tuck and Kala to investigate the background of the collage, but only uncover secrets that are more disturbing than the artwork itself. As Edie tracks down the validity of the piece, she stumbles into an art underground where some people are willing to kill to keep their schemes a secret.
Esden expertly crafts a complex cast of characters, a breathtakingly gorgeous setting, and a twisty plot that often poses more questions than answers.
Dru’s Short Musing:
Having not read the first book in the series, I was immediately immersed in this well-written drama.
The author did a great job in staging a mystery with a solid plot, a strong cast of characters, and a tale filled with intrigue throughout. The main protagonist, Edie Brown, gets involved when she sees a piece of work and suspects it is not what it should be. Therein lies the situations that she finds herself in. With support from her uncle Tuck and her assistant, Kala, she tries to solve the mystery surrounding the artwork and come across others with nefarious misdeeds and in the process an old murder case beckons to be solved. In between all her sleuthing, she’s also dealing with a boyfriend and her relationship with her convicted mother. The author also does a great job in giving us inside knowledge of the art and antiques world. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to more antiquing with Edie and her friends in this pleasantly appealing series.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.