A WEALTH OF DECEPTION

A dealer in antiques and fine art uncovers a scam that marks her for death.

Edie Brown is struggling to prop up her family business after her mother was jailed for art forgery and Edie put on probation. Still struggling financially, she makes a potentially lucrative discovery. While picking through items for Anna Gorin, who’s looking for advice about the best pieces to offer in her yard sale, Edie and her uncle, Angus Tuckerman, discover a large collage that looks like the work of the famous artist Vespa. Vespa, rumored to be an elderly recluse, is a Grandma Moses type whose work is brutally realistic. Anna claims that the collage is the work of her brother, Erik Volkov, whom an accident left with a traumatic brain injury 12 years ago. She’s not interested in selling, but Edie, convinced the piece is a Vespa, thinks a commission on the sale would go a long way to solving her financial problems. She gets an odd vibe from her lover, Det. Shane Payton, who was once her probation officer and is now with the state police, when she talks to him about Vespa. Bent on discovering whether Erik is actually Vespa, she gets advice from a friend who owns some Vespas and does some research that turns up a lot of odd coincidences. When a connection to the Russian Mafia surfaces, Shane become even more closemouthed, putting a strain on their relationship. But Edie won’t rest until the truth comes out.

A character-based mystery perfect for art lovers and antiques buffs.