Murder Most Antique by E.C. Bateman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Murder Most Antique is the 2nd-book in E.C. Bateman’s Stamford Mysteries series.
I really enjoyed the 1st-book in the series, Death at the Auction, and have been eagerly anticipating this follow-up.
This Cozy Mystery series follows Felicia Grant, whose has returned to her home village of Stamford to help her Dad run their family-owned Auction House.
In this installment, Felicia has been convinced by her best friend, Cassie, Stamford’s Mayor, to assist with the town’s annual Georgian Fair. Felicia is mildly put out, but she tries her best to grin and bear it. She’s hoping the lavish period costumes will be the worst she’ll have to endure.
When the headline speaker is found dead though, it’s clear this isn’t going to your average fair. As more bodies drop, Felicia finds herself trying to track down another killer.
Who says small town life is boring?
I enjoyed this. It’s a good book, but I didn’t have as much fun with it as the installment. It seemed to drag for me for some reason. It just felt overly-long and I wasn’t super intrigued by the mystery.
It does kick-off quickly, with a person missing before you are even 10% in, but after that, I don’t know, it just never really took off for me.
Yeah, I don’t really know what else to say. Sadly, it just wasn’t a gripping read for me. At the end of the day, I’m still proper attached to these characters and hope that the series continues.
I really enjoy Felicia so much, but I hope if there is another installment that it brings back a bit more of her humor. This one almost felt too serious for her. It sort of lost some of the dynamic magic amongst the characters from the 1st-one.
I would recommend this series for anyone who enjoys Cozy Mysteries that feature small town, or village, life. The amateur sleuthing vibes are on point and I am looking forward to seeing more of Felicia and friends.
Thank you to the publisher, One More Chapter, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this wasn’t a new favorite, I am really hoping we get more books in the series.
