Freya Lockwood hasn't had anything to do with antique hunting in a very long time. That is, until her Aunt Carol's best friend Arthur dies, who used to be Freyas mentor until Egypt ... but we don't talk about that. Something about Arthur's death is suspicious, and so is the event he planned for the two women to attend; Freya has to step back up and do the job he trained her for over twenty years ago, and more than that.
This was a very entertaining, fun murder mystery. I love when books also subtly teach you something about a topic which I feel like this definitely did. There were quite a few characters and I'm wondering if just this many were necessary to tell this story, especially since it changed POVs from chapter to chapter- still, Freya's chapters were the only ones told in first person. I think I would have preferred if we only got the story from her perspective.. Nonetheless it was well thought through and even though I didn't find it very predictable, the resolution(s) made a lot of sense. I listened to this on audiobook and I think the narrator did a lovely job!

Thank You, NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book.

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C L Miller is a book whose premise I really liked

I liked the plot and the characters and how it was all tied together

This is another of those mysteries which is instantly likeable and something that you can read on a cozy afternoon.

I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks.

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.

That being said, Emilia Fox's narration is superb and she easily manages to balance the serious aspects of the story with the more quirky, turning the audiobook into exactly the kind of grand adventure of a mystery that it should be. I highly recommend this audiobook for a long car ride or as a summer beach read, Emilia Fox will transport you into the exciting world of antiques right along with Freya and Carole!

Despite the grand murder mystery and high stakes 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.

3.5 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌗

Thanks NetGalley, Macmillan UK Audio, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

🧠 My thoughts

The topic of the book is rare in the world of crime, mystery, thriller books. The story was captivating and the clues were sprinkled smartly. I liked that the chapters started with different quotes from one of the characters. The audiobook was excellent. My version had the interview with the author at the end and that was very nice to hear. This was a solid debut.

👍 What I like
- Interesting topic
- Captivating story
- Cohesive narrating

👎 What I don't like
- The crime was not as intriguing as the other books I’ve read
- The ending was a bit abrupt

I had mixed feelings about "The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder" by C L Miller, narrated by Emilia Fox. The cosy murder mystery is set in an English village centre around Freya Lockwood's return home after 20 years to investigate the suspicious death of her mentor, Arthur Crockleford. While the premise of the story was intriguing, I found certain aspects of the novel to be lacking in depth and engagement.
The plot unfolds slowly, and I struggled to fully immerse myself in the narrative. The characters, particularly Freya and her aunt Carole, lacked the development and complexity needed to make them compelling. The mystery surrounding Arthur's death and the forged antiques felt predictable and the clues were too conveniently placed, leading to a lack of suspense and surprise in the plot.
One of the strengths of the book was the insight into the seedy side of the antique world, drawn from the author's personal experiences. This added an interesting backdrop to the story and provided a unique perspective on the mystery. However, the story felt somewhat trite and lacked moments where the characters felt authentic and relatable.
The audiobook was narrated excellently by Emilia Fox, whose performance added depth and immersion to the storytelling. Her skilful narration enhanced the listening experience and kept me engaged throughout the book. The audio format allowed me to appreciate the characters and setting differently, making for an enjoyable experience overall.
Despite its shortcomings, "The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder" has the potential to appeal to fans of cosy mysteries and amateur sleuth stories. The book sets up a new series with a solid foundation but may benefit from further development in character dynamics and plot intricacies. Overall, it's a light and entertaining read, perfect for those looking for a cosy mystery to enjoy in between other books.

I had to stop listening to this after about 2 hours because it was just a little boring. Sadly the high hopes I had were not met.

Listened to audio.
Felt like this was a book for white women who love to romanticise crime.
Listened right to the end but I couldn't tell you what happened in the last few chapters as I got so bored/confused as just wanted it to end.
2 stars.

An exciting engaging concoction of adventure, mystery, secrets, love, betrayal, history, familial ties and surprise discoveries greet the readers in The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder.

Freya Lockwood is shocked to know that her mentor Arthur Crockleford, a famous antique dealer has died.She receives a letter from him sent a few days before his death which compels her to return to her childhood home in old-world English countryside.

Slowly and steadily she discovers secrets that leads her and her funky aunt Carole to an old English Manor. The antique hunter Freya meets a group of eccentric characters here. She experiences strange events here, leading to a connection to an old incident that took place in Cario decades before that changed the course of her life.

Written in an engaging manner, the fine detailing leads the reader to the old countryside with English Manors with their own old world charm. Told through multiple points of views, the author beautifully explores the different shades of human emotions through the characters.The characters are well developed and explored to the t.

Frequents light outs, disappearances of residents, midnight intruders and threatening letters keeps you glued to the book till the end.

The main action kicked only in the second part of the story.Though the detailed setting mades the plot interesting but it affected the pace of the story.

As is my usual way with reviews, I will not be repeating the precise of the story here as I believe that the professionals do a better job without giving too much away. What you really need to know is whether this book is worth listening to.
This is a debut novel by CL Miller. Included at the end of the audio book is an interview with her and Emilia Fox. Its delightful to listen to and gives us an insight into how / why the genre and characters were chosen . This chat also implies that Miller is in the process of writing another book based on the same two women. As for the story; its fun, a bit tongue in cheek and intriguing and very easy to listen to. Emilia Fox is such an excellent narrator and really suits this work of fiction. A great listen!

I listened to the audiobook which was excellently narrated by Emilia Fox and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, a perfect cosy mystery to snuggle up with, just what the doctor ordered. A unique and compelling debut by CL Miller, what a page turner, with fabulously drawn characters that leap from the page and draw you into this engrossing murder mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen and review this book.

I listened to the audiobook which was excellently narrated by Emilia Fox (the excellent British actor) and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the debut novel by C L Miller and I think it was pretty successful. The plot was intriguing, the characters were excellent, if a little stereotypical at times, and the twists, whilst not totally unexpected or a massive revelation, fitted well with the story. The pacing was a little slow and had this not been an audiobook, I may have struggled a little more but as it was, it worked ok for me.

This is a cosy mystery with no swearing and very little violence which was a welcome change to what I usually read! I really hope this is the start of a series as I would certainly welcome getting to know Freya a little more and delving into the murky world of antique theft.

Many thanks to Macmillan UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts on this excellent debut novel.

I had quite high expectations of this one. It had a promising premise - antiques-based murder mystery - and the audiobook I had an arc of was narrated by Emilia Fox.

For some reason this just didn’t really work for me. The plot was very thin and the characters not very well developed. The best character was the aunt, chiefly because Emilia Fox did a great Joanna Lumley impression whenever the aunt ‘spoke’. The supposed suspense re what happened in Cairo wasn’t quite as interesting as the author thought and by the time the reveal came I didn’t really care anymore.

I thought it was going to be Indiana Jones but it turned out to be a bit more David Dickinson.

With thanks to Goodreads and Macmillan UK Audio for a review copy of the audiobook.

I probably shouldn’t have requested this from NetGalley because I’ve had to DNF at 50%. It’s not really my jam. But I could not resist Emilia Fox as the narrator on the audiobook. I’ve been enjoying her performances of Agatha Christie books since the late 2000s as she worked through Christie’s back catalogue, and – in my view – her ‘I Capture the Castle’ narration of the Dodie Smith audiobook is one of the most outstanding meetings of author and voice, and I loved her ‘Melmouth’ – it’s vividly scripted in my memory.

I'm dismayed to discover that Macmillan UK Audio have lavished Fox’s talents on what, for me, is a thoroughgoing failure. The dialogue written for her is characterless and drab. C. L. Miller's characters themselves are a baffling disarray, each of them devoid of any sense of being a unified whole. I couldn’t even call them phoney, since that would imply that they have some sense of agency.

MIller's swaps between first-person narration and third-person narration only serves to compound what I’d call the wooden quality of the audiobook.

And I must say, I don’t recall ever encountering a book where the chapter inscriptions are ‘quotes’ from the book’s own character. Each chapter here opens with a platitude from Arthur Crockleford?! What does this establish? It came across as gimmicky and misinformed; twee.

The novel itself reads as immature. There are grave issues with pacing and prefiguring; like other reviewers, I was underwhelmed with the ‘Cairo’ reveal after all the tiresome puffing allusions to it. To say that the plot (so far as I’d stuck with it) is unconvincing is an understatement. It’s branded with an insipid kind of aspirationalism and self-aggrandisement, where – for instance – protagonist Freya repeatedly brags about her ‘vintage Hermes scarf’. It’s unoriginal to the point of souring. This wannabe tone’s effect upon me was out-and-out flattening.

Sadly, this does read like a pedestrian debut, and I won’t be following this author’s career.

‘Secretive and menacing’? In my view, ‘The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder’ is ‘vapid and uninspiring’.

It's a unique murder mystery of the antique collector, who has left behind hints for his beloved assistant. The protagonist has left her role as the assistant of this antique collector long ago to lead a happy family life but unfortunately her present scenario is not as she has expected and this murder mystery is leading back to her old life that she wants to live again.

An enjoyable cosy crime featuring Freya Lockwood, a former investigator of antique thefts and forgeries, brought back from a long career break by the mysterious death of her former employer and mentor Arthur Crocklewood. Assisted by her Aunt Carole, they follow clues left by Arthur and get involved in an estate sale in the Manor House of a deceased “Lord”. With a colourful cast of characters and a setting in the Essex/Suffolk countryside, this seems destined for a TV series along the lines of “Lovejoy”. Nicely narrated by Emilia Fox, who brings a great energy to the female characters, I found it compelling and engaging.

With thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

Dazzling mystery meets an enthralling sense of adventure in cozy crime’s most exiting new series!

I knew as soon as C.L. Miller had told me all about her book amidst the fog of the Harrogate beer tent back in 2022, that I was going to love it. This book has not disappointed - it’s absolutely brilliant! Miller has woven an intricate mystery and embellished it with a fantastic cast of characters, some exhilarating action, sparkling wit, and engaging details on antiques. Whilst this book arguably sits within the cozy crime sub-genre, there’s much more sense of adventure in this book than you get in a lot of other works. There are definitely Indiana Jones vibes (in a much more middle class British kind of way!) and I enjoyed experiencing Freya and Aunt Carole deciphering puzzles, following clues and searching for both artefacts and the truth. The mystery at the core of this narrative is perfectly plotted and far more complex than you might initially think. Whilst the antique world frames this story, at its very heart, this book explores themes of family, loss, sacrifice, forgiveness, corruption, greed, identity, and seizing life. The narrative takes many twists and turns along the way and kept me guessing as to what had sealed Arthur’s fate and how Freya might fit into this. There’s some dark undertones to the plot, which is also laced with heartache and a strong sense of loss. However, equally important to the book is the wonderful relationship between Freya and Aunt Carole, which provides lots of welcome, charming humour. Freya is suffering through a divorce from a horrible ex-husband, facing the sale of her much loved marital home, and life with her daughter having flown the nest. She’s at a crossroads and a time of great change, so her involvement in discovering the truth of Arthur’s demise gives her an opportunity to find the path back to her former self. The narrative is a journey for Freya and allows her to find her strength and passion for antique hunting - and life - once more. Aunt Carole in contrast is vivacious, theatrical, and means business. She provides much of the comedy in the narrative and her flair and flamboyance leaps forth from the page. Her interactions with Freya are wonderfully written and as well as the humour, there’s a strong sense of love between the two women.

I was very fortunate to receive a beautiful personalised proof of this novel, but also had access to an advanced copy of the audiobook. I therefore both read and listened to this book, loving it in both formats! Emilia Fox narrates the audio and is absolutely pitch perfect as each character. She has an incredible talent for adapting her voice to suit the tone, age and general spirit of the characters she narrates. She breaths life into every character, but Freya and Aunt Carole jump off the page in particular and Fox really captures the very essence of their relationship. All of the wit, drama and tension plays out incredibly well on audio and this is definitely one of my favourite recent listens. I loved the insightful interview between Cara and Emilia at the end too. I really can’t wait to read the next book in the series already!

In this charming debut, readers are transported into the fascinating realm of antiques. The story unfolds in a picturesque English village, where unexpected murder mysteries await.

"Fear is a choice. Choose courage."

I quite enjoyed the niece-aunt team of amateur sleuths and felt as if I were unravelling the clues and mysteries with them. This book has the feel of a classic, old-school mystery.

"Nostalgia is the bittersweet acceptance of all we were and what we'll never be again."

What I enjoyed most:

Aunt Carole: Aunt Carole, with her larger-than-life personality, steals the spotlight. Her wit and vibrancy make her an unforgettable character.
Midlife Exploration: Freya, our unlikely heroine, grapples with a midlife identity crisis. Her journey adds depth and relatability to the narrative.
Setting: The quaint English town provides an ideal backdrop for secrets, intrigue, and hidden treasures.
Dual Timelines: The interplay between past and present mysteries keeps readers engaged.
Arthur’s Wisdom: Arthur’s nuggets of wisdom at the start of each chapter lend a delightful touch.
Cosy Atmosphere: Picture yourself curled up with this book on a wintry day, sipping tea under a warm blanket

While brimming with potential, the book could benefit from additional editing and polishing. The ending tantalisingly hints at future sequels, leaving readers eager for more Freya and Aunt Carole adventures.

"There is no greater thrill than finding what has been lost,"

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder” promises a fresh start to a cosy mystery series. Whether you’re an antique aficionado or a newcomer, this delightful tale invites you to unravel its secrets alongside our endearing sleuths.

Note: You don’t need expertise in antiques to enjoy this captivating mystery!

I received an ARC copy of the audiobook from Netgalley.  Narrated by British actress, Emilia Fox, it was a joy to listen to.

Some interesting facts:

The book is based on the author’s own experience as an editorial assistant for her mother, Judith Miller, who is a renowned expert on antiques and the author of several antiquing guides.
The book is the first in a planned series of cosy mysteries featuring Freya and Aunt Carole. The second book, “The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Treason," is expected to be released in late 2024.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Macmillan UK Audio #TheAntiqueHuntersGuidetoMurder

Planned release date: 29 February 2024.

4 stars - rounded up from 3.5

The cover drew me in and I already have this in paper so was able to both read and listen, super enjoyable, read with the girls in my book club, will read more from this author

When Freya receives a mysterious letter from her old mentor Arthur after his death, she ends up back in her old village. Teaming up with her elderly Aunt, she must tap into her investigative skills and find out happened to Arthur and how it relates to the death a local Lord whose estate he was due to look at.

A cosy mystery with some great characters, I enjoyed this easy listen, which was well narrated by Emilia Fox.

Freya Lockwood has enough on her plate to deal with since her ex-husband insisted that the family home be sold. The last thing she needs is a phone call from her Aunt telling her that her old mentor, Arthur, has died under mysterious circumstances. Returning to her childhood home after twenty years brings back unpleasant memories and a hunt for a murderer.

Both the title and the cover of The Antique Hunter's Guide To Murder are enough to grab your attention. When you add in the pedigree of author C. L. Miller you know you're in for something exciting.

This was such a fun audiobook to listen to. The way in which the story develops, including the numerous hints to events in Cairo twenty years ago, has you immediately thinking of an Indiana Jones type adventure. We learn that Arthur Crockleford was Freya's mentor, he taught her everything about tracking down antiques that had been stolen and returning them to their rightful owners. On one of their hunting trips, twenty years ago, something went disastrously wrong and they became estranged. The listener/reader is kept in the dark for quite a while as to the exact nature of what went wrong. This, along with Arthur's murder, adds another layer of mystery to the story.

The police are convinced that Arthur's death was an accident, but Freya and her aunt are suspicious. When Freya receives a posthumous letter from Arthur she knows that he was fearful for his life. The letter turns out to be a series of clues to help them solve the puzzle of who would want Arthur dead, and why.

The clues lead to an antiques event at a stately home filled with larger-than-life characters. No one is as they seem and absolutely no one can be trusted. My favourite character was Aunt Carole, an eccentric luvvie who thinks she can talk, or act, her way out of any situation.

I am convinced that this cosy murder mystery will be the start of a successful series featuring Freya and her aunt.