Thank you @atriabooks #partner for the gifted copy of this book!

This is the second book in The Antique Hunter’s series and although I hadn’t read the first one, I think this one read just fine in its own….but then again, I don’t know what I am missing. 😂

The two main characters Freya and her Aunt Carole are both working in an antique shop that was inherited from Freya’s Uncle. His shop was part of a plan to locate and return stolen antiques. These two women set off on a cruise to continue this mission. I really enjoyed the setting of this one! Who doesn’t love traveling in the sea taking down bad guys! I’ve read a few art thief books always find that world so fascinating! I always wonder how people can tell which are the fakes! Good thing Freya and her Aunt are smart as a whip and slick at looking for clues! This was a fun cozy mystery that I would be inclined to continue reading to find out which adventure they go on next!

The Title Erroneously Suggests: It’s the Antique-Hunter Who’s Been Murdered…

C.L. Miller started working in publishing as an editorial assistant before starting novel-writing in 2022 with the first part of this Usa Today bestselling series, which began with The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder. “Freya Lockwood and Aunt Carole are on the hunt once again to return priceless stolen antiques and catch a dangerous criminal abord a cruise ship. When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum and a dead body is found nearby, the newly established Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole, are called to investigate. Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ships art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities.” The first sentences of this summary are restating the same general plotline. What is confusing is why amateur sleuths are called to a murder. Though they must have been just asked to investigate the stolen items. “Each antique is also listed in Freya’s late mentor’s journals that detail unsolved cases. In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found something more sinister than they could’ve imagined… Their hunt soon turns deadly when they learn the enigmatic and dangerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts—plus some unexpected familiar faces—will Freya and Carole be able to discover the Collector’s identity and stop his murderous plans before the ship docks? Or will the killer strike again?”
The Prologue does a poor job of introducing this book. There is a brief moment when a specific Shakespeare folio is mentioned, but then the discussion gets very general and vague: “…you wouldn’t have done the wise thing…” What thing? Why is it wise? This can be a conversation about anything and between anybody. This is followed by a clearer article in Dedham Vale News that summarizes the crime being investigated and the person whose possessions have been stolen. Though instead of stating the worth of this specific stolen item, or the collection it belongs to, a general estimate is given for the worth of the global “black-market trade in art”. Chapter 1 also has a reasonably interesting start, as the narrator (one of the antique-hunters) describes finding a flea-bite on an item in her shop and pricing it down to account for this defect. Yet, something is just wrong with this writing style. It’s so stretched out with so little meaning delivered in very long sentences: “I really am fine on my own here if you want to travel like you used to…” a character says. Where is this going? What is the point of this line? Is it just trying to put readers to sleep? For example, here’s a sentence that should be exciting because it mentions murder: “It was as if Arthur had destroyed all that information before his murder or else someone had removed it after his death…” This is referring to the previous sentence that the narrator couldn’t find “any mention of people” this guy had “worked with”. How could anybody destroy mentions of themselves by other people? This makes no sense. The author seems to be hiding such absurdities by making the surrounding text unreadably boring, so nobody gets to the bits that make no sense. It’s thus impossible for me to keep reading this.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

Two feisty "mature" women. Secret journals. Stolen artifacts. A hunky love interest. All the necessary Ingredients for a engrossing read, the second in the Antique Hunters reunites Freya and Carole with Bella and Phil on a cruise to Jordan as they follow Arthur's clues in a new adventure.

I enjoyed the first book and was excited to read this one. I did like the first books better but this one was still good. The new adventures of Freya and Aunt Carole. I liked the clever story line.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a good book!! This one had me hooked from page one! I could t put it down. I loved the writing style of this book. I lived the characters and they had great chemistry.

I must first thank both NetGalley as well as the publisher Harper Collins for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The second instalment in this series, full of murder, blackmail, and suspicious characters you will jump from to figure out who can be trusted. A true shipboard cosy mystery.

I'm so disappointed. I absolutely adored the first book in the series, but this one didn't quite work for me. It sounded like it would be great. There's a cruise, a Halloween ball, Egypt, Petra plus, of course, all the wonderful returning characters. For some reason though, I was bored. It just didn't seem like a lot was happening. There was also a lot of repetitiveness, it was somewhat predictable, and the plot was convoluted at times. I'm still not sure I understand what everyone's role was. I enjoyed seeing the characters again and it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as fun and exciting as the previous book was. Though this one wasn't my favorite, I'm still looking forward to seeing what adventure Arthur's journals lead them to next! 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

3.5 stars

The continuing adventures of Freya Lockwood, antique expert, and her Aunt Carole. Reading the previous series debut would help to understand the plotting in this one. Freya's estranged mentor Arthur, whose murder was solved in the last book, was involved in a group of black market antique dealers in a very complex organization. Arthur (and Freya, until they fell out) was trying to find and restore stolen antiques to their rightful owners.

Freya, a divorced mom in her fifties, is independent in spirit and trying to re-establish herself professionally. Arthur left some mysteries behind and Freya and Carole go on a private cruise with other dealers to see if they can infiltrate the group.

Freya and Carole are likable but I found the plotting to be incomprehensible at times, with a lot of characters and a somewhat blurry sense of who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

small-business, small-town, England, antiques, antiquities-trade, amateur-sleuth, cozy-crime, suspense, unputdownable, art-crimes, art-theft, investigations, FBI, eccentric, undercover, thefts, black-market, smuggling, multiple-perspectives, relatives, relationships, cruise-ship, situational-humor, sly-humor*****

Freya Lockwood and her eccentric aunt Carole have inherited her uncle's antique shop and have discovered his part in locating and returning stolen art and antiquities. Now they are off on a pre-arranged speaking tour/cruise from their home in Britain to Petra in Jordan to try to decipher clues.
They meet up with an undercover FBI agent they crossed paths with before and find many inconsistencies surrounding the villain known as The Collector. It's a good story with lots of information and a detailed lot of investigations. And FUN!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected reader's proof from Atria Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Avail Feb 18, 2025 #TheAntiqueHuntersDeathOnTheRed Sea by C.L. Miller #AntiqueHuntersBk2 #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #ArtTheft #BlackMarket #CozyCrime @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble @waterstones ***** #Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk

I loved this book! I was apprehensive about my expectations after how much I enjoyed the first book in the series- but this was a phenomenal 2nd
Book and a total hit! I couldn’t wait to continue reading and find out what would happen next or how the story would twist and turn. Will absolutely recommend to friends & mystery lovers!

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.