An antiques appraiser hunts a missing gem while probing her parents’ deaths in this cozy mystery series debut for fans of Ellery Adams and Jane K. Cleland!
After her parents’ deaths, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan. Now living back at home with her younger sister—and their eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound—Avery’s life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds. But their world is rocked when Avery learns that the theft of a priceless ruby may be connected to her parents’ demise.
The trouble starts when the Museum of Antiquities hires Avery to appraise a rare, resplendent ruby. It bears a striking similarity to a solitary stone in the museum’s prized Xiang Dynasty bejeweled dragon medallion exhibit, which has long been missing one of its ruby eyes. Now, Avery and her colleagues—ostentatious Sir Robert Lane and fatherly Micah Abbott—suspect they may have the missing gem. But facets of the case remain cloudy. Security guard Art Smith is always underfoot but is not what he appears. Another body turns up connected to the appraisal. And Avery receives mysterious notes that begin to put her life in danger.
Avery enlists possible ally Art’s help in cutting the list of suspects who might have polished off her parents and swiped the jewel. But was the crime impersonal or perpetrated by someone all too close to Avery? Find out as she sleuths for the culprit in this first installment in the Avery Ayers Antique cozy mystery series!