I was given a Netgalley copy of this novel prior to release in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
To start with, this is an interesting storyline with some well-drawn characters.
I had some issues with the writing, particularly with the dialogue, which seemed a little clunky to me.Perhaps this was rectified in the final edit, I don't know.
Maybe suitable for younger history enthusiasts. The story is accessible and not too gory or adult.
A solid 3 star read.

What Hides Beneath is a mystery of course but it is a subset of a slimy man named Lowell who led on Annette in the beginning and sent her away,she was his partner in more than one way and he was married. Well next thing you know there was a body found underneath in the archives. It was poor Peter White who was doing the appraisal on their Vase as to whether it was a real one or not and he was going to give them their answer. There is a poor young employee having been drawn into that murder down in her Department. Then there is a detective, who was put on to this case for some unknown reason, will he find the truth about the murder and the Vase? Will he find out why he was put on the case?

I’ve never read anything by this author, but she does a good job setting the scene and drawing the reader into the action. I liked the characters too.

I do have a couple of complaints though. For one thing, she skips around with POV so that I was not sure who the real main character was. I think it was Alison, the curator who discovers a muddy vase. But you could also say it was Annette the appraiser or even the police officer investigating the case. I guess it doesn’t have to have a MC; it could be several people. But I kept expecting one of them to take over more.

Besides that, I felt there were a few plot holes. It takes a while to really build to where I just couldn’t wait to see what happened next. But it was an easy read and I liked the ending. I recommend this one and I’d like to read more by this author. Now I want to go visit an art museum and look for hidden treasures!

What Hides Beneath is a standalone mystery with romance subplot by J.L. Canfield and Black Rose Writing. A mud encrusted vase is discovered in a box of similarly forgotten items in a storage area under an unspecified Richmond, Virginia museum. Research including photographs sent to an expert in Japanese artifacts indicate the find to be a priceless 16th century Japanese vase. A contradictory valuation from Sotheby's appraiser, Annette Williams claims the vase is a 19th century copy, worth a few hundred dollars. By the next morning, the vase and a plainclothes insurance security guard have disappeared.

The bones of a really well crafted story are here. The characters are well described, and the plotting is well paced. The book is 210 pages, so the author has sufficient time to develop the story and characters. There are, however, some problems. There are a number of grammar and spelling mistakes, 'poured' instead of 'pored' as well as several dittographies. I received an ARC, so the editing and grammar mistakes might have been corrected before release. Additionally, the place setting has very little to do with the story, which makes the story line seem somewhat untethered. There is very little background or sense of place. There are problems with the dialogue which seems forced and unnatural at times. There is a fair amount of 'telling instead of showing'. All in all, the problems are relatively minor and probably won't detract from the enjoyment of the novel for most readers.

There is very little direct violence or sex; it's a 'clean' mystery and would be suitable for most readers. The violence is mostly psychological. The murders are not gruesome and I found nothing to be offended over. I feel the author has a real voice and that the technical problems with the narrative and dialogue are a matter of experience, rewriting and editing.
Three and a half stars.

I started reading this book, but I could not finish it due to my being offended by it beginning to talk about sexual matters throughout the first few pages. I was under the impression that this was in the “Christian” books category, but it does not seem to hold to Christian morals therefore I cannot review it.