Death at the Auction by E.C. Bateman [review]

Death at the Auction is the first book in the Stamford Mysteries, a new cozy mystery series by E.C. Bateman.

Title: Death at the Auction
Author: E.C. Bateman
Series: Stamford Mysteries #1
First Published: November 18, 2022
Publisher: One More Chapter
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley

*** Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***

When an accident forces Felicia Grant back to her family’s auction house in Stamford, she vows it’ll only be a flying visit. But as the gavel falls on the final lot, a hidden secret is revealed—the body of her father’s business rival, murdered during the packed sale!

Soon, Felicia is swept into a mystery that has everyone in the community as a potential suspect―including her.

As the body count rises and with the people she loves under threat, Felicia takes matters into her own hands. But even the most picturesque place has its secrets…

A wonderful start to a promising new cozy mystery series

It took me awhile to get started on this book because, like everyone else, I have a million books on my To-Be-Read list and this was a new-to-me author with a new series. And now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t pick it up sooner! From the very start, Death at the Auction grabbed me and took me along for a great ride, meeting some fun and interesting characters along the way, and ending in a satisfying solution.

Like many good cozy mysteries, this one starts off with a (sort of) life-altering event that brings our main character back to her roots. In this case, it’s Felicia “Fliss” Grant, who is returning to help out as an auctioneer at her father’s auction house (which she helped start up) after her father takes a fall and must take it easy for awhile. Things never go smoothly and soon Fliss, her son Algernon, and even her ex-husband Dexter, are all caught up in a murder mystery.

As I said, the opening of the book is quite exciting and probably one of the stronger starts I’ve read in a long time. It was almost frenzied in its action and I was flipping pages as fast I could to see what would happen next. The action does settle down as we start being introduced to the town and its people, but what a way to start things off!

Fliss Grant is a charming new sleuth

I really enjoyed almost all of the characters in the book even the ones that were supposed to be grating. It was a solid mystery from start to finish and Fliss in particular, is a great protagonist and I’m looking forward to seeing her develop as an amateur sleuth (along with her wonderfully precocious son Algernon) and settling back into life in Stamford.

The romance angle will be interesting as well. There’s both Dexter, Fliss’ ex-husband, who is more charming and irritating, and also the mysterious Jack Riding. It’s too early for me to take a side yet, so it will be fun to see what develops there.

It will also be interesting to see how mysteries and murders turn up – how many deaths can one auction house handle? – as this case was directly tied to the auction house. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!

Quote from Death at the Auction