Glow of Death: A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery by Jane K. Cleland

It all begins with a beautiful Tiffany lamp.  She's asked by the wife of a wealthy man to appraise their lamp.  She's surprised to see it displayed in their library for use (most are displayed securely) but she's more than happy to do so.  She gets the owner's husband to allow her to move the lamp to her facility to do the survey.  Everyone is happy to find out it's genuine.

Minotaur Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 29th.

Josie is very excited by the find and by the money value the antique holds.  The only problem is that when she does follow up on the lamp, she finds the police at the residence.  Her friend, Ellis, is in charge of the investigation and he asks her if she can identify the wife.  She says yes.  When she looks at the body, it's a complete stranger.  She knows she's been conned.  She runs up to the library to check on the lamp but it's there.  Only in time does she realize it's a reproduction and the original lamp has been stolen.  The part that really burns her is that they used her to get it.

This is a well constructed mystery with a variety of things to sort out.  The husband has had a vasectomy but the wife is pregnant.  Who's the father?  Who wanted to sell the lamp?  And, if it was the wife, why is she dead?

I had no clue where this story was going until the end and it was a surprise for me.  The best part of the story though is where more than one couple decides to get married because it was such a dangerous case and they almost died.  It's nice to know that love can overcome evil.  I still believe in happy endings.