Cozy mystery lovers have enthusiastically befriended smart, crafty Josie Prescott over Jane K. Cleland's 13 previous novels. An expert appraiser and antiques dealer with her own TV program, Josie unravels spellbinding mysteries in and around her quaint, coastal New Hampshire hometown.
In Jane Austen's Lost Letters, Josie is haunted by the past in more ways than one. Even though her beloved father died decades before, his influence suddenly looms large when a mysterious woman, an elegantly dressed stranger, tracks Josie down after the taping of her TV show. The woman, in her 70s, claims to have been her father's "good friend." This news comes as a surprise as Josie thought she knew everyone in her father's orbit. The woman, in an obvious hurry, gives Josie a package, then disappears. The parcel contains a short, handwritten note from her father and two carefully preserved letters, chattily written and filled with great wit, dated 1811 and 1814. Josie, a literary aficionado and antiquarian, instantly recognizes that the letters were written by Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra and her niece Fanny. Are these authentic literary finds? Who was the delivery woman, and why did she rush off? And what's the connection between the letters, the woman and Josie's father?
These questions set Josie on a winding, deepening quest for answers where danger and murder abound. Cleland's (Hidden Treasure; Glow of Death) knowledge of and admiration for Jane Austen shine through this well-plotted, suspenseful narrative where long-term fans--and new ones--will eagerly invest in this exciting series full of surprises. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines