This was such a good book. I absolutely enjoyed it and look forward to reading other books by this author in the future. Great writing and wonderful storyline.

My only complaint about C.L. Miller’s The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea was the large number of characters. You might want to keep score as you’re reading it. Other than that, it’s a fast-paced mystery set in the world of black market antiques. It’s obvious Miller knows antiques when you venture onto the cruise with Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole.

Freya inherited Crockleford Antiques from her late uncle, Arthur Crockleford, although they had been estranged for twenty years. Now, she hopes to keep the business afloat while working with a side business of restoring stolen antiques to their rightful owners. She has her first case when a docent at a small museum calls. There was a man murdered in the alley behind the museum, so the police are only interested in that, not in the theft of a small painting of a fire on a ship. When Freya and Carole learn more about it, they suspect Arthur was sending them a message. He’s the one who donated the painting, and even hung it.

It’s that painting that kicks off their adventures. Freya had been invited to be an expert on an antiques cruise toward the Red Sea in Jordan. Carole is all about fun and adventure, and Freya is following clues. Although the invitation was cancelled, Carole found a way to get the pair on board the ship. There, Freya finds the missing painting, but also a gallery filled with stolen antiques. And, no one on the ship can be trusted, except for Phil, an undercover FBI agent who is upset the pair might be in his way.

With a ship full of people who trade or steal items on the black market, Freya and Carole are way over their heads. In fact, Freya’s guesswork muddles up the people involved. And, the two women seem to get in trouble, although they try to be careful. It takes an unusual ally to extricate everyone from the trouble involved when desperate people compete for power in the black market antiquities business.

Freya and Carole were in over their heads at times. At the same time, this was a fun book, with one wonderfully funny scene back at home at the antiques shop. And, Miller, the daughter of the authors of Miller’s Antique Price Guide, knows her antiques. Her background and knowledge is obvious in this fun caper.

The exotic local and the ship's inherent isolation, both lent excitement to this second book in the series. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between Phil and Freya, and found myself quickly turning pages to see if they (and Aunt Carole) could catch the "Collector". C.L. Miller has written another fun mystery and I look forward to seeing what capers are next in store for Freya and her crew.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a fun follow-up to a book that I haven't read. The first book in this series has been on my to do list for a bit, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I was able to follow the story without any trouble though.

I'd say it was an average to above average cozy mystery. I liked the characters and the setting was fun. The story held my attention enough that I'm still interested in checking out the first book and any future ones that come along.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I had enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was happy to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I was glad to get to see more of the original cast of characters. I did find it difficult to keep track of the many characters, particularly once they were on the ship. Although I liked the idea of investigating crimes on a cruise ship, I thought the author didn't actually know much about how cruising actually operates. As a cruiser, some of the unlikely details detracted from the story for me. I enjoyed learning more about the black market in antiquities. There were lots of twists and turns in solving the mysteries. This was a fun, light read. I look forward to continuing with the series.

This was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall story being told in this mystery novel. I thought everything was really well done and was glad the overall story worked. I enjoyed that we were hunting for a art trafficker on a ship. C.L. Miller was able to write a strong story and glad I read this.

(2.5 rounded up) I had fun with the first book in this series and I had fun with this second entry, too. This is good if you want a cozy mystery with a focus on antiquities and ancient history. I thought the writing was pretty suspenseful and I really liked the way the author wove her clear knowledge of antiquities into the story. I felt that the writing was intriguing, but I did have some issues with it. I found it quite repetitive (especially in regards to how the character of Phil is written) & there were too many POVs/characters introduced who aren’t really who they say they are, which made following the plot a bit confusing. I love the concept of an antiques dealer solving mysteries in her English village and across the globe, but it feels like the author is still finding her footing in what she wants this series and her characters to be. I will definitely give the next book in the series a try, as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea.

I read the first book in the series and enjoyed parts of it so I was eager to see what adventures Freya and her aunt, Carole was up to now.

The main reason I enjoy reading this is learning about the history behind the antiques Freya investigates.

I love ancient history and learning about artifacts from the past,

I enjoy Freya and Carole's rapport and the writing flowed but once again, the narrative suffers from the same issues I disliked from the first novel.

1. Too many characters all with nefarious motives and stabbing one another in the back. It's hard to keep track who is who

2. Repetitive narrative with characters constantly worrying about Freya and Carole's safety

3. Growing romance between Freya and Phil and constant references to how handsome he is

4. Too many character POVs

5. There was more suspense and I loved the setting but it just got too confusing with so many characters but the mystery didn't interest me, not even the identity of the Collector though I guessed correctly who it was.

This may just be too cozy a mystery series for me.