On the surface this was a cosy mystery, but it certainly had a serious and somewhat deadly undercurrent to it.

For a main protagonist, I felt that Freya came across as bit of a weak character at times, although Aunt Carole was an absolutel tonic and her exploits made me laugh out loud on a few occasions!

I felt the story dragged a little in place, and the constant reference back to the falling out between Freya and Arthur got a little tedious after a while. The plot line overall was engaging though, and had a few good twists along the way to keep the reader guessing. The author’s obvious (and stated!) familiarity with the real antiques world came across well in the story also, and certainly added to its credibility. I also enjoyed the quotes from Arthur at the start of each chapter, which gave me the feeling that he was never too far from the action.

With thanks to the author, publishers Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Such an incredibly fun and fresh twist on cosy crime, I absolutely flew through this and truly cannot wait for the next!

An enjoyable murder mystery, which will keep you guessing.

Delve into the world of antiques, forgery, blackmail and murder. Each chapter is told in a characters point of view, but who can be trusted?

A great read, and nicely set up for a sequel.

After 20 years away from the world of antiques, Freya Lockwood finds herself pulled back into it when her former mentor is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his antique shop. Joined by her glamourous Aunt Carole, Freya must find the murderer and herself.

“The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder” by debut author C.L. Miller is both a cosy crime mystery, to solve the murder of Freya’s mentor Arthur Crockleford, and also a treasure hunt at a historic manor house in Suffolk. Like any good Agatha Christie, there is a large cast of characters, where every character looks suspicious. Arthur has left a few clues for Freya and Carole (who is very fond of her cups of tea), and it’s up to them to find the murderer. Freya had once been Arthur’s partner in looking for stolen antiquities and fakes, but hasn’t spoken to him in 20 years after a job went awry in Egypt. During the course of the book, we find out what went wrong and also why that derailed Freya’s career. Now a divorcee and an empty nester, she needs to find the woman she once was.

Miller, who is the daughter of Antiques Roadshow expert Judith Miller, clearly knows the world of antiques and peppers the book throughout with interesting objects and artifacts.

This cosy crime mystery deftly combines interesting characters with antiques galore. It is the first in a series, so there are more adventures to look forward to with Freya and Carole.

Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya’s estranged mentor, has died . . . and the circumstances seem suspicious.

What a fun read! This is a great cosy mystery with such fun characters. The tone of the novel is witty and wry which I love in this type of novel.

The addition of the antiques facts and knowledge was very interesting and I loved these little insights.

Also, can we PLEASE talk about these end papers! They are so detailed and absolutely divine!

A great little read that ticked all the cosy mystery boxes with a little extra added fun!

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I was really excited for this book as although I know nothing about antiques I love murder mystery books and thought the premise sounded fantastic.

I loved that while there was a mystery in the present day there was the dual timeline of the slow reveal of what had caused a rift between two of the characters.

With multiple points of view and not knowing who could be trusted this was an entertaining read.

Thank you so much Panmacmillan and Netgalley for this ARC.
This was absolutely brilliant, I loved it so much I'm going to buy it for my mum.
A brilliant read which I highly recommend.
More by this author please.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Cosy crime at its best.
I found Freya and Carol both very likeable characters and I enjoyed the relationship between them. They complement each other perfectly.
The ongoing back story alongside the current mystery was a really good plot addition.

I would highly recommend

This fulfills all the criteria for a cosy mystery. Easy to read, undemanding and the potential to be spun into a longer series. It lacked for me something that would completely draw me into the narrative. I could cheerfully have strangled Aunt Carole and felt that Freya was less than fully fleshed out as a character..

This was a really enjoyable entertaining cozy crime read that was very well written with great characters.

As a fan of a cozy mystery the idea of antiques and crime suited me to the ground and was part of what appealed to me. The fact that it explained at the beginning that CL Miller was the daughter of Judith Miller who is well known for being an occasional Antiques Roadshow host and more lauded in the profession for co-creating Miller's Antiques and Collectables which is a must buy for many in the trade.
Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya’s estranged mentor, has died – and the circumstances seem suspicious.
I will start by saying this felt to me more TV Lovejoy than book Lovejoy, and that was fine with me! I really enjoyed the characters of Freya and Aunt Carole, and it was refreshing to have a middle aged female character who was trying to find herself but didn’t need anyone else to complete her. I love MC Beaton’s Agatha Raisin but her identity is always wrapped up in her love life – or she thinks it is. Freya was independent, strong, clever and human. Throughout the book she is faced with the actions of an event 20+ years previously and it becomes obvious that the somehow solving the mystery of Arthur’s death will provide some answers on the events which lead Freya and Arthur to become estranged, either directly, or just through understanding his reasons.
Its has a nice pace, you don’t feel like it’s moving too fast and that gives you time to reach your own conclusions and to try and solve as much as you can. It doesn’t feel particularly realistic or gritty but that’s fine I don’t expect my copy crime to feel real as real crime shouldn’t be enjoyable. It feels like the start of a series and I’d be happy to read more.
If you enjoy cozy crime with a bit of action, enjoyable characters, but not too many that you feel overwhelmed then this is the book for you. I really enjoyed it and hope to see more soon.
Perfect for fans of MC Beaton, and the Lovejoy TV Series.

A debut novel which although is not set in the past, very much the present. It uses the past in the form of antiques to create a fascinating plot.

Freya’s mentor Arthur Crockleford dies under mysterious circumstances and when a note received to Freya not long before his death intrigues her, means she has to return to the village she swore to leave behind. When discovering some journals it seems that she has to investigate not just his death but something that happened to her in the past.

When her instincts draw her and her eccentric aunt, who was a delight to see come to life off the page take them to a big country house, full of antiques, the mystery is very much ready to be solved.

As a debut cosy mystery, this will tick all the boxes for those who love the genre. However, it was a bit slow in places and seemed rather cumbersome in its approach to plot and I did flounder a bit whilst reading it. That said it has the beginnings of an interesting series and the use of antiques to learn about the past will appeal to many.

I really enjoyed this, cosy crime read. It held my attention, it was fun and entertaining. However, I did feel the writing was a little hard going at points. I loved the characters and development but feel it could have meshed a little more seamlessly for me personally. Overall it was a good read. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this for my review.

When Freya receives a letter from her former antiques mentor, sent just before he died, she finds herself back in the small village shore left years before. Can she solve the mysteries Arthur left behind?

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder is an enjoyable read. Freya is a good character, one you want to succeed and Arthur’s friend Carole is highly entertaining, with discretion definitely not her middle name! With clues to follow, a country house murder mystery weekend to attend and much more, there’s plenty to occupy the mind.

Very entertaining and can’t wait for the next instalment.

The first aspect of The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder that caught my eye was the title. It promises exactly the kind of half-whacky half-whimsical murder mystery that I greatly enjoy, and for the most part the book delivers on the promise.

In particular, I was intrigued to get a glimpse into the world of antiques, a trade that I have absolutely no knowledge about other than that it reminds me of the nerdy passion I know from archaeologists. Overall, I think C. L. Miller’s personal family ties to the antique trade definitely added to the dimensionality of this book’s setting, I love when authors are able to invite and immerse the reader in a highly specialised world such as this!

Carole embodies exactly the kind of larger-than-life weird aunt theatre kid energy that a book like this needs. I loved her flair for the dramatic and found her to be a unique addition to a crime-solving effort like Freya’s.

Freya on the other hand isn’t necessarily stoic but definitely stuck in her own head more than is good for her. Carole balances her more subdued energy with grand gestures and presence and well, I know which part of this duo I loved more!

Unfortunately, the writing felt incredibly repetitive and the continuous vague and dramatic references to Freya’s and Arthur’s falling out every few paragraphs got on my nerves very quickly. I found myself having very little patience for Freya as a character because there simply didn’t seem to be more to her than dramatic wallowing in this ominous past. Subsequently, I found her kind of annoying and struggled to feel invested in her story. In general, I was unfortunately not the right kind of reader for the dramatic quotes from Arthur that start every chapter. His pretentious presence haunts the book and again, annoyed me more than it added anything to the story. However, the repetitive writing aside, I do think that the slightly dramatic/pretentious flair fits the book well, I just didn’t vibe with it as a reader and it made me struggle to get through this story.

Despite the grand mystery of it all, both the setting and its quirky characters make The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder a book that I think readers who usually read cozy mysteries but want more stakes and intrigues would enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Freya and her aunt Carole's puzzlie-solving quest to uncover the muderder of Carole's friend, Arthur.

Freya is a reluctant sleuth because Arthur had ended Freya's antique hunting career years earlier and Freya is still angry. But a letter, and eccentric aunt Carole's persuasion, draws Freya into the hunt.

The mystery is solved by following a series of clues left by Arthur and by responding to the suspects around them, rather than unravelling the evidence of the murder. It is also a closed house mystery with a collection of potential suspects gathered together for a estate antiques valuation.

Layered on to this is Freya's personal journey to understand why Arthur had derailed her career, and her avoidance of dealing with the debris of her failed marriage.

I easpecially enjoyed googling the antiques referred to in the book ( the best books are entertaining and teach me something too) and I will look forward to joining Freya and Carole on their next adventure to the Red Sea.

I very much enjoyed this book. Well written. A different kind of murder mystery to that I would normally read that kept me in suspense throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 22%

Sadly, I could not get into this cosy mystery and had to drop it, even though I have been so excited for it. I have still skimmed through in order to be able to give relevant feedback, though. Not a great debut for me, I don't think that I am curious to follow the author or the series.

😍 The good:
The focus that this book has on antiques was the main reason why I wanted to check it out, as it was a rather unique idea and it seemed researched. Unfortunately, it was not enough of a reason for me to keep reading.

😅 The not-so-good:
The book dragged a lot, nothing interesting happened for a while and the characters were dry and too numerous. The dropped hints were either too repetitive or not that clear to me. The plot had potential but the execution did not help it.

This is a real fun read. An amateur detective at an antiques fair. A real light hearted, delightful murder mystery read.

Antique shop owner Arthur Crockleford has been found dead in his village shop, and his friend Carole calls in her niece Freya to investigate.
Freya was a one time friend and colleague of Arthur, until it all went wrong on an antique hunting trip to Cairo.
Reluctanly, Freya goes back to the village for the first time in 20 years.
Can she solve the murder of Arthur? Will she ever be able to forgive him for his actions all those years ago?
Will she and her aunt Carole stay safe?
You need to read to find out......
A brilliant, and fast paced story, with a few surprises along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.