‘The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance’ by Clare Chase

Published by Bookouture,
22 August 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-83618-369-3 (PB)

Bella Winter is the owner of Vintage Winter, an antique shop in Hope Eaton. Her parents had separated when Bella was a child and she had gone to live with her mother, but she loved the times she spent with her father, a police officer, at Hope Eaton, and sometime after his death, she had moved into his flat and opened her shop. Now Bella is very happily settled and has many local friends, notably John Jenks who assists her in her shop, and John’s forceful mother and his quiet father; his brother, Leo, who runs the local cafe, and sister-in-law, Carys, a teacher; plus, his youngest brother, Matt, who is Bella’s charming and flirtatious neighbour. During her time in Hope Eaton, Bella has developed a reputation as a detective, investigating crimes that affect her local community, and she believes that she has inherited her father’s talent for detection. She is encouraged in this belief by her godfather, Tony, a retired police officer who is always happy to assist with her investigations.

Bella has agreed to help Althea Powell, the wife of a local landowner and businessman, who wants her to value some of the contents of their house, High Seat, without telling her husband, Bernard. Althea confides in Bella that the family is short of money, and she wishes to persuade Bernard to sell some antiques in preference to selling the properties they rent out, which include several cottages and Leo’s cafe. Althea thinks that it is more important to save people’s homes and livelihood, but Bernard is desperate to keep up appearances.

Another thing that is distressing Althea is the terminal illness of her oldest and dearest friend, Clemmie Crowe. Bella also knows and likes Clemmie, and John is a close friend of the ill woman, so they go to the hospice together to visit her. Clemmie is very weak and seems to be slightly confused, but it is a shock when she dies that same afternoon. Bella knows that Clemmie was very sick, but nevertheless her instincts tell her Clemmie’s death has been hastened, especially as she had asked a young detective that she was acquainted with to visit her. Unfortunately, the detective was delayed and arrived too late to discover what Clemmie wanted. Bella pushes the police to ask for a postmortem, and this proves that she is correct, Clemmie was murdered, but it is hard to imagine who would have motive to kill a woman who had such a short time to live?

Bella starts to investigate, determined to gain justice for Clemmie, and spurred on by the realisation that the premises that house Leo’s Cafe is in imminent danger of being sold. When Althea shows Bella a ruby necklace that is her personal property, Bella realises that it is incredibly valuable, and the sale of it could alleviate a lot of the family’s financial problems. However, Bella can sympathise with Althea’s wish to retain it, in order to leave it to her niece, Paula. Bernard has two sons, Althea’s stepsons, and she feels reluctant to add her necklace to the money that Rory, her greedy, extravagant, younger stepson, will persuade Bernard to give him, and which he will then waste. Althea gets on well with her older stepson, Gregory, but loathes Rory, who is spendthrift, entitled and manipulative, and manages to get far more money from his father than Bernard can afford. When Althea’s necklace vanishes, Rory is the main suspect, and now Bella has two cases to solve, although she believes that the murder and the theft must be connected. More deaths occur, and the necklace turns up in an unexpected place. This throws Bella’s ideas into confusion, but she is determined to discover the truth, even though her investigation may endanger her own life.

The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance is the third book in the series featuring Bella Winter and her friends at Hope Eaton. It has a cast of engaging characters and a plot with numerous twists, turns and red herrings. This is an enjoyable addition to a delightful series, which I recommend for fans of cosy crime, especially those who enjoy an intimate, village setting.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations. Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium. As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

www.clarechase.com  

Carol Westron is a Golden Age expert who has written many articles on the subject and given papers at several conferences. She is the author of several series: contemporary detective stories and police procedurals, comedy crime and Victorian Murder Mysteries. Her most recent publications are Paddling in the Dead Sea and Delivering Lazarus, books 2 and 3 of the Galmouth Mysteries, the series which began with
The Fragility of Poppies.  

www.carolwestron.com