Picked by Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries fans

Here are 8 books that Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries fans have personally recommended once you finish the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures

Tim Maleeny Author Of Hanging the Devil

From my list on planning an art heist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by art, not just the paintings themselves but their historical significance, the personalities behind the canvas, and the seemingly arbitrary value placed on one artist’s work versus another. Writing my latest novel, Hanging the Devil, was a chance to delve into the illicit side of the art world, where forgers and smugglers consort with organized crime. I’ve been an award-winning mystery author for more than a decade—this is my sixth novel—and the great thing about writing crime fiction is the chance to get lost in the research and learn something new, so writing this novel was a great excuse to visit museums, talk to experts, and plan a heist!

Tim's book list on planning an art heist

Tim Maleeny Why Tim loves this book

Robert K. Wittman is the founder of the FBI Art Crime Team, and any one of his undercover adventures could be the plot for a box office thriller. Over the course of his career Wittman not only recovered hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth a stolen property, he protected priceless masterpieces from being lost forever. 

When I first began doing research for a novel about art theft, it was clear the global market for stolen masterpieces is incredibly complex, an underground network of smugglers, master forgers, and organized crime syndicates. To get my facts straight I needed a navigator, and this book immediately put me on the right track.

Wittman’s backstory and relentless drive to make art crime a priority within the FBI, as Italy has done with its Carabinieri Art Squad, is an inspiring story on its own, and many of his cases would feel right at home in…

By Robert K Wittman , John Shiffman ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Priceless as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Wall Street Journal called him “a living legend.” The London Times dubbed him “the most famous art detective in the world.”
 
In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair.   
 
Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and…


Book cover of Dead Men Don't Decorate: An Old Town Antique Mystery #1

Trish Esden Author Of The Art Of The Decoy

From my list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve dealt in antiques my entire life to one degree or another. I'm currently a full time antique dealer, after retiring from owning a florist shop that also sold antiques, books, plants, and giftware. My love for dealing antiques is only matched by my passion for writing, museums, and country living. 

Trish's book list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus

Trish Esden Why Trish loves this book

The first novel in the Old Town Antiques Mystery series is a cozy mystery with a delightful setting, a bit of romance, and a fifty-something main character who dives in to find a killer after making a late life career change.

When Camille Benson hears an antique shop that previously belonged to her parents is being sold by its unlikable current owner, Roberto, she decides buy the store. But Camille doesn’t even have time to revitalize the business before she discovers Roberto’s dead body, laying in the closed shop.

From there, the mystery takes off with loads of fun characters and enough trouble to make Camille fear she may not be able to untangle it all in time to save the business. 

By Cordy Abbott ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dead Men Don't Decorate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Art, murder, and a secret dating back centuries collide in Cordy Abbott’s delightful cozy mystery series debut, perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland.

Roberto Fratelli, proprietor of the antiques store Waited4You, is the meanest man in Marthasville, Virginia. So when he puts the business up for sale, the other merchants in town are overjoyed. And now the business has a prospective buyer: local resident and the newly elected mayor's mom, Camille Benson, who’s thrilled at the prospect of getting into the antiques business. During a celebration in honor of Camille’s new venture, her best friend, Opal, tells her about…


Book cover of Ruby Red Herring: An Avery Ayers Antique Mystery

Trish Esden Author Of The Art Of The Decoy

From my list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve dealt in antiques my entire life to one degree or another. I'm currently a full time antique dealer, after retiring from owning a florist shop that also sold antiques, books, plants, and giftware. My love for dealing antiques is only matched by my passion for writing, museums, and country living. 

Trish's book list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus

Trish Esden Why Trish loves this book

This is book 1 in the Avery Ayers Antique Mystery series, is a wonderful cozy mystery with a delightful cast of characters, a touch of romance, and unexpected twists and turns that make the book impossible to put down.

I highly recommend it, especially to readers who love mysteries featuring jewels, antiques, and appraising, and heroines who are both smart and struggling to recover from difficulties in their recent past. It was wisely nominated in 2022 for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. 

By Tracy Gardner ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ruby Red Herring as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A 2022 MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD Nominee
 
In this Avery Ayers Antique Mystery series debut, perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Jane K. Cleland, an antiques appraiser hunts a missing gem while probing her parents' deaths.

After her parents' deaths, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan. Now living back at home with her younger sister Tilly and their newly moved-in, eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound, Avery's life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds. But their world is…


Book cover of A Dream of Death

Trish Esden Author Of The Art Of The Decoy

From my list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve dealt in antiques my entire life to one degree or another. I'm currently a full time antique dealer, after retiring from owning a florist shop that also sold antiques, books, plants, and giftware. My love for dealing antiques is only matched by my passion for writing, museums, and country living. 

Trish's book list on mysteries featuring antique dealers, plus a bonus

Trish Esden Why Trish loves this book

A Dream Of Death is the first book in the Kate Hamilton Mystery series.

It is a traditional mystery series featuring an American antique dealer in Scotland. The series has won and been nominated for several awards, and for good reason—namely, all the novels are fabulous.

A Dream Of Death is set on a remote Scottish island. As I read, it felt like I was right there with Kate Hamilton—in the manor house turned hotel, at the Tartan Ball, confronting the quirky local characters…and on the island’s turbulent shoreline that held deeply emotional memories for her.

I especially enjoyed how the exciting mysteries in the present and diary entries from the past meshed together for an exciting and unpredictable climax. 

By Connie Berry ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Dream of Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On a remote Scottish island, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton investigates a brutal killing, staged to recreate a centuries-old unsolved murder

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high until an unexpected turn of events takes the floor.

A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his…


Book cover of A Scone To Die For

K.E. O'Connor Author Of Cream Caramel and Murder

From my list on involving muffins and murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

My degree in archaeology taught me life is a giant puzzle. People leave behind fragments, giving hints but never definitive answers. My deductive skills when piecing together broken pottery or looking at renderings of hominid skulls to determine how they lived, evolved my desire to write mysteries. One of the many things I love about cozy mysteries is that everything looks peaceful on the outside, but like real life, you barely need to scratch the surface before you discover dark deeds and secrets. And who doesn’t enjoy that?

K.E.'s book list on involving muffins and murder

K.E. O'Connor Why K.E. loves this book

The characters make this book fabulous – the Old Biddies are a hoot with their less than subtle comments and snooping. And Gemma’s tea room is divine, set against a charming Oxford backdrop. And there’s a delightful, plump, adorable cat. Muesli is a fluffy angel with a naughty side.

Funny, clever, and the scenes in the café will have you craving a slice of dessert to go with your murder.

By H.Y. Hanna ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Scone To Die For as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“They say you have to make sacrifices to follow your dreams. I just didn’t expect the sacrifices to involve an American tourist and a killer scone.” ~ Gemma ditches her high-flying job and returns to Oxford to pursue her dream of opening a traditional English tearoom. It means giving up her savings, moving back with her parents and coping with her bossy, matchmaking mother, but she’s sure it will all be worth it. In fact, business is already booming… that is, until she opens up shop and finds an American tourist murdered by one of her signature scones!

Now Gemma…


Book cover of No Good Tea Goes Unpunished

Angela McRae Author Of Emeralds and Envy

From my list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former newspaper reporter turned cozy mystery writer, tea blogger, and cookbook author. If there’s a book with tea in it, count me in. I love the beverage itself, the ritual of teatime, tea parties, collecting tea wares, and growing tea (I grow camellia sinensis at home). Of all the hobbies and passions I’ve had, exploring all things tea is the one that never gets old. And so far, I’ve managed to include at least a bit of tea in every book I’ve written. 


Angela's book list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup

Angela McRae Why Angela loves this book

In her Seaside Café Mysteries, Bree Baker has conjured a thoroughly modern tea shop with Surf, Sand, and Tea, a business located in an old Victorian home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Everly Swan (fun name!) has lots of varieties of iced tea on offer, and two elderly aunts bring some well-plotted family history into the mix. This series gives a modern-day spin to the tearoom enterprise, and this seven-book series ended far too soon for my taste.

By Bree Baker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked No Good Tea Goes Unpunished as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the second book of the popular Seaside Café Mysteries, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished, Everly Swan caters a high-profile beach wedding where the groom doesn't make it to the altar before the wedding bells ring.

Hitting All the sweet-tea spots, this series is:

A delightful Tea Shop and Café Culinary Mystery

The ideal cozy beach read

Perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Kate Carlisle

Catering her childhood friend's beachfront wedding was a dream come true for Sun, Sand and Tea Shop and Café owner Everly Swan—and the hundreds of guests in attendance would be great exposure for her…


Book cover of There's a Murder Afoot

Angela McRae Author Of Emeralds and Envy

From my list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former newspaper reporter turned cozy mystery writer, tea blogger, and cookbook author. If there’s a book with tea in it, count me in. I love the beverage itself, the ritual of teatime, tea parties, collecting tea wares, and growing tea (I grow camellia sinensis at home). Of all the hobbies and passions I’ve had, exploring all things tea is the one that never gets old. And so far, I’ve managed to include at least a bit of tea in every book I’ve written. 


Angela's book list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup

Angela McRae Why Angela loves this book

A Sherlock Holmes–themed bookshop located at 222 Baker Street in West London, Massachusetts, with an adjoining tea shop. That’s really all I need to say, isn’t it? But in this particular book in the series, our heroine, Gemma Doyle, heads across the pond to attend a Sherlock Holmes conference, and there were so many cups of tea being brewed that I couldn’t help grinning at how it seems to be the cure for every British ailment. 

By Vicki Delany ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked There's a Murder Afoot as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Just in time for Sherlock Holmes's 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street.

Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention--but will Gemma's father take the fall for a felonious forger's fatality?

The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes's birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. It's a good time for Gemma…


Book cover of Death by Darjeeling

Angela McRae Author Of Emeralds and Envy

From my list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former newspaper reporter turned cozy mystery writer, tea blogger, and cookbook author. If there’s a book with tea in it, count me in. I love the beverage itself, the ritual of teatime, tea parties, collecting tea wares, and growing tea (I grow camellia sinensis at home). Of all the hobbies and passions I’ve had, exploring all things tea is the one that never gets old. And so far, I’ve managed to include at least a bit of tea in every book I’ve written. 


Angela's book list on cozy mysteries to read sipping from a vintage teacup

Angela McRae Why Angela loves this book

Laura Childs is the reason I read and write fiction today. When her debut tea shop cozy mystery came out in 2001, I was still working as a journalist and was waiting inside a local bookstore to interview a Pentagon official, who had just released his first military thriller. Killing time, I browsed the paperback books, a section of the store I’d never considered before. When I laid eyes on Death by Darjeeling, birds started singing and fairy dust floated through the air. Who knew I could enjoy fiction? Readers have asked why I have no plans to write a tea-themed cozy series myself, and I’ll tell you why: I don’t think I could top Laura Childs.

By Laura Childs ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death by Darjeeling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FIRST IN THE TEA SHOP MYSTERY SERIES!

When a man is poisoned by tea, Charleston shop owner Theodosia Browning must prove her innocence and track down the real killer...before someone else takes their last sip.

Meet Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's beloved Indigo Tea Shop. Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and Southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history—and mystery.

It's tea for two hundred or so at the annual historical homes garden party. Theodosia, as event caterer, is busy serving steaming teas and blackberry scones while guests sing her praises.…