Jane Austen’s Lost Letters by Jane Cleland

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

Josie Prescott, of Prescott’s Antiques, has embarked on a complementary career as the host of an antiques show.  The premise is that two experts appear and try to determine if a particular item is indeed genuine and to present their arguments.  The object in question this time is an edition of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit: is the book a real first edition? The experts are Gloria and Oliver, both of whom are well-known in the field; in fact, Gloria is internationally known for pioneering a technique of authenticating signatures.  As is not uncommon in filming, there are a few glitches along the way.

One glitch is definitely personal. A woman gives Josie a box from her late father, the man Josie adored and whom she thought shared everything with her—but he never mentioned this woman, and the woman refuses to talk to her.  Just as shocking are the contents of the box:  two letters, apparently written by Jane Austen.

Josie is shaken to her core.

When filming is set to start the next day, one of the two experts fails to show up.  Gloria is known to be punctual, but the reason for her tardiness is soon apparent: she’s dead.

I’ve long been a fan of the Josie Prescott series because it’s more of a fair play mystery and has less soap opera than some cozy mysteries.  Most of all I have enjoyed learning some of the ins and outs of antiques, auction houses, and so forth.  I have especially fond memories of learning about Tiffany glasswork, Faberge eggs, and dolls.   I also like that Josie tends to be a level-headed, thoughtful heroine, one of the few who (rightfully) always requests her lawyer be present when questioned by the police, even if it’s just for being a witness.

This was one of the less successful entries in the series for me, but still enjoyable.  I liked learning about the art of document authentication, determining first edition status, and television show production.  I think my disappointment is linked to the title:  I guess I just expected more Jane Austen content.  There is some, but there is a lot going on in this book:  murder, forgery, Josie’s father’s secrets, the Jane Austen letters, academic in-fighting, television production, Josie’s husband’s next career move—well, you get the idea.  It’s not overwhelming but it is a lot of territory to cover, so there’s not a lot of space to do a deep dive on anything.  Also, Josie makes some uncharacteristically impulsive moves.

And there’s not nearly enough attention given to the cats, but that’s just me.

This isn’t a bad book by any means; it’s very good.  It’s just not quite what I expected in some ways, and that’s fine.  I enjoyed it and I will definitely read the next in the series.  I particularly liked the peek behind the scenes at the television show, letting me imagine similar scenes for real programs like “Antiques Roadshow” and “The Great British Baking Show.”

Other books in the series are:

Consigned to Death

Deadly Appraisal

Antiques to Die For

Killer Keepsakes

Silent Auction

Deadly Threads

Dolled Up for Murder

Lethal Treasure

Blood Rubies

Ornaments of Death

The Glow of Death

Antique Blues

Hidden Treasure

Jane Austen’s Lost Letters