As an avid cosy crime fan, I was on full alert when I first heard about this first in a new crime series called the Stamford Mysteries.
The fact that it's set in the beautiful Lincolnshire town of Stamford and involves the world of antiques and auctions, is an added bonus.
As the book opens, it's safe to say that Felicia Grant is having a hell of a day. She and her twelve year old son Algernon have to hurry back to her home town of Stamford where her father has had an accident. What's more, there's no one to run the Saturday auction at the family firm apart from her, and there's also the small matter of someone who is found dead in the wardrobe she is auctioning.
So, an intriguing start to a mystery, where everyone could be a suspect including feisty Felicia and her ex husband Dexter, who has also surprisingly turned up in Stamford. With a detective sergeant who is trying his best to solve the murder despite the best efforts of a new, belligerent boss, a likeable but chaotic Mayor who also wants to get involved, and a rather large list of characters, you can't help become engaged with what's happening
Aspiring authors are often told to write about what they know. EC Bateman writes knowledgeably and entertainingly about auctions and antiques, - she's married to an auctioneer(who happens to run the family auction house in Stamford) and is an expert on antique jewelry.
Her descriptions of Stamford itself are like love letters to the town . Vivid scenes of the water meadows, the George Inn, the stunning Georgian architecture and mediaeval churches as well as the real atmosphere of the town are beautifully captured.
She also knows how to rack up the tension too, between the characters themselves as the body count rises and the mystery widens...who can trust who? Her plotting skills and twists also ensure an enjoyable read as Felicia and Detective Sergeant Pettifer find themselves forming an unlikely alliance to unmask the murderer.
There's humour in the novel too, with amusing digs at the telly tarts of the antiques business. I also enjoyed them the ascerbic dialogue between Felicia and her ex-husband with a hint of will they or won't they get back together. This made me smile and the all-seeing eye of their rather solemn son is deftly drawn.
No, I didn't guess who the murderer was but I wasn't disappointed, and E.C Bateman has really set the scene for more mysteries in Stamford which I'm really looking forward to reading . The next novel will be published next year, but in the meantime, guess where I'm going to as soon as possible? My next visit to Stamford is quite overdue and who knows, I may attend an auction too...
Death at the Auction is published by One More Chapter and costs £8.99
Stamford 2016
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