Jane Austen's Lost Letters: A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery

Jane K. Cleland returns with Jane Austen's Lost Letters, the fourteenth installment in the beloved Josie Prescott Antiques series, set on the rugged New Hampshire coast.

Antiques appraiser Josie Prescott is in the midst of filming a segment for her new television show, Josie's Antiques, when the assistant director interrupts to let her know she has a visitor. Josie reluctantly pauses production and goes outside, where she finds an elegant older woman waiting to see her.

Veronica Sutton introduces herself as an old friend of Josie's father, who had died twenty years earlier. Veronica seems fidgety, and after only a few minutes, hands Josie a brown paper-wrapped package, about the size of a shoebox, and leaves.

Mystified, Josie opens the package, and gasps when she sees what's inside: a notecard bearing her name--in her father's handwriting--and a green leather box. Inside the box are two letters in transparent plastic sleeves. The first bears the salutation, "My dear Cassandra," the latter, "Dearest Fanny." Both are signed "Jane Austen." Could her father have really accidentally found two previously unknown letters by one of the world's most beloved authors--Jane Austen? Reeling, Josie tries to track down Veronica, but the woman has vanished without a trace.

Josie sets off on the quest of a lifetime to learn what Veronica knows about her father and to discover whether the Jane Austen letters are real. As she draws close to the truth, she finds herself in danger, and learns that some people will do anything to keep a secret--even kill.

Author: Jane K. Cleland
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 12/14/2021
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.30w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781250779380

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 10/11/2021
Booklist 11/01/2021 pg. 26
Library Journal 11/19/2021 pg. 1
Shelf Awareness 12/28/2021

About the Author
JANE K. CLELAND once owned a New Hampshire-based antiques and rare books business. She has been a finalist for the Macavity and Anthony Awards, and won the Agatha Award for her books Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot and Mastering Plot Twists. Jane is the former president of the New York chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and chairs the Wolfe Pack's Black Orchid Novella Award in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She lives in New York City with her husband and three cats. For more information about Jane and her free monthly webinars on the craft of writing, please visit her at www.janecleland.com