Murder Most Antique is the second book in the Stamford Mysteries by E.C. Bateman featuring auctioneer Felicia Grant.
Title: Murder Most Antique
Author: E.C. Bateman
Series: Stamford Mysteries #2
First Published: November 30, 2023
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 for review purposes. ***
When auctioneer Felicia Grant’s best friend, Stamford Mayor Cassandra Lane, talked her into helping with the town’s annual Georgian Fair, she expected the worst she’d have to endure was the corset. But when the fair’s headline speaker turns up dead in the hook-a-duck pool, and more murders follow in quick succession, she finds herself investigating a serial killer for the second time in less than a year – and this time the stakes are even higher…
Another great cozy mystery by E.C. Bateman
One of my favourite things about reading a series is the familiarities, inside jokes, developing relationships, etc. So I was so happy to see that this sequel started off with another quick look at Colin and Margaret, a shifty, enigmatic couple that was introduced in Book 1. They were on the edge of the mystery last time and it seems that they continue to be a mysterious outlier in this story. I can’t wait to meet up with them again soon!
Moving on to the main mystery, there was quite a high body count in this book, which was a bit surprising but also raised the stakes a lot. All the murders were done in very different ways, so that was quite interesting.
I also had a heck of a time trying to figure out the killer. There were so many twists, red herrings, and deaths, that I had to keep changing my guess. In the end, the reveal was quite a surprise to me and I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Some great relationships developing
While this is only the second book in the series, it’s definitely one of my favourites and I can’t wait for more. One of the things that makes this series so good is the relationships between several of the characters.
First, we have Felicia and her relationships – with her father, her son, and her friend Cassie, with her ex-husband Dexter and her (possible) love interest Jack, with her employees and with the police. The mutual respect between her and Pettifer is a nice change from all the grumpy policeman many cozy crime books have.
There was less action in the auction house compared to the last story, but I think that kept things interesting and gave the story a fresh new setting and new characters. I’m so looking forward to the third book in the series and can’t wait to see how the characters continue to develop.
Quote from Murder Most Antique
