Our Amateur sleuth is Avery Ayers. Avery and her sister live in the family home with their Aunt following the death of their parents in a car crash a year prior to the series beginning. We quickly begin to wonder if the car crash was an accident or if foul play was involved. Lilac Grove is a small suburb of New York City. So we have the small-town setting where Avery and her family live, and then we also Manhattan where the family business is located. The family business is an appraisal business that is focused on antiquities and artifacts, we find out the business has suffered since the deaths of William and Anne. Things are now on the upswing due to a couple of contracts Avery's partner Sir Robert has acquired.
My only exposure to the world of appraising antiques and artifacts has been through watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS. Tracy Gardner explains the appraisal process in an interesting and easy-to-understand way. I like the variety of character ages in this book. Avery is 25, her sister is a senior in high school, Aunt Midge is sixty, and the people who work with Avery at the museum span the decades from the late 20s to late 50s. A nice mix of points of view.
Tracy Gardner does a very good job highlighting Avery's struggles with mental health after the deaths of her parents. She is seeing a therapist and working on anger issues as well as grief, I appreciated that her pain and her struggle wasn't glossed over in pursue of the mystery plot.
4 Stars to this new cozy series, this one takes some liberties with the standard cozy tropes, and I'm always open to reading new twists on cozy mysteries!
I received an ARC of this book, it may change some when it is in final form. All my opinions are mine!
