THE ANTIQUE HUNTER'S DEATH ON THE RED SEA

An English antiques dealer and her aunt hunt for a stolen painting aboard a cruise to the Middle East.

Fresh from their triumph solving the murder of antiques thief Giles Metcalf at Copthorn Manor, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole are content to sit back, relax, and manage Crockleford Antiques, the establishment left to them by Arthur Crockleford, Carole’s friend and Freya’s mentor. But a call from Betty Peters, a volunteer at the Lowestoft Maritime Museum, galvanizes the pair into action once more in response to the theft of a painting of a burning ship and the discovery of a well-dressed corpse behind the trash bins. The late Arthur’s journals lead Freya to believe that the painting may be hung on an antiques-themed cruise run by MVGoldstar traveling from Greece to Jordan. Freya was supposed to be one of the experts lecturing aboard the ship until she received an email saying she was no longer needed. She and Carole reach out to MVGoldstar to see if there’s any way they can get on the ship, only to find out that the company hadn’t canceled Freya’s gig—they had received a letter telling them Freya was no longer available. Now, Freya and Carole rush to Cyprus, catching the ship as it prepares to cross the Suez Canal. Onboard, they meet a cast of colorful characters—fellow lecturers Chris Prince and Mark Rushwell, special events manager Laura Scott, veteran traveler Patricia Henderson, curator Luke, beautiful art thief Bella, and handsome FBI agent Phil—each of them hiding a major secret. The cascade of reveals creates a hectic pace some may find thrilling and others exhausting.

Too many climaxes don’t always lead to satisfaction.