After the previous two books in this series, I was looking forward to following Bella in a third sleuthing adventure, and now I'm pleased to report I enjoyed it just as much as the others.
This time she's valuating antiques in a big, old house for a family in obvious need of money to maintain it. Of course, suspicious things happen and, as Bella can't resist doing all she can to find out what several people are hiding, interesting secrets are revealed.
I hope this series will be as long as the Eve Mallow one, because I don't think I'll tire of it any time soon either.

In The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance, the third installment in the Bella Winter Mystery series, we find Bella caught between the charm of her small-town antique store and the dark undercurrents that seem to follow her wherever she goes.

It all starts with Chlemmie passing away after a prolonged sickness. Bella happens to witness her last few moments and some of the incidents leaves Bella wondering if there is more to this story than just natural death. When Bella realizes that the fate of the estate Hope Eaton and the tenants is also at risk, she decides to investigate the death.

I have read a few amateur detectives books, in which commoners turn detectives and take on the responsibility of solving a mystery. Certain books handle this well, where the amateurs investigating the mystery while the officials stand by or take a backseat sounds plausible. I found that missing in this book. While Bella might be the daughter of an ex-police officer and has all the skills needed to act as an amateur detective, I found it hard to digest that the fact she is in all the right places and all the right moments while the police force is made to appear clueless and incompetent.

The story moves fast and keeps you on edge. Writing is easy and smooth. Bella’s character is likeable and the supporting characters do what’s needed of them.

If you are looking for a quick, easy-to-read, page turner, grab this book.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Another installment of this cozy mystery series featuring some serious family drama at the center. This book had a lot going on; mysterious deaths, missing rubies, and multiple reputations on the line. Bella and crew must work overtime to crack the case and restore order to the village.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was my second tryst with this mystery series. I'd tried, and failed, a while back to read the first in this series (The Antique Store Detective). For some reason, I couldn't get into the book and abandoned it. I'm glad I decided to give this series a second chance, however, because this third book is pretty good!

Bella Winter runs an antique store in the village of Hope Eaton and is asked to valuate antique knick knacks by Althea Powell, whose husband comes from old money and sits on an estate that's bleeding money. Of course, it wouldn't be a murder mystery if people were conveniently polished off. Cue Bella and her investigative skills.

The mystery starts off on an interesting note and while the pace is quite steady at the beginning, it falters somewhere in the middle and then picks up towards the end as the body count racks up. I don't think I've read a murder mystery of late that's had this many dead bodies? Of course, with it being a cosy mystery, the gore is limited, but it's still noteworthy. Bella is a good sleuth, dogged and determined, however, after a point it just got jarring how many secrets she always managed to unearth by constantly following someone. I lost count of the number of times she was always following someone and conveniently managed to eavesdrop and hear an interesting piece of information. Of course, there are other ways of finding out others' secrets but it just stuck out like a sore thumb after a while.

Whilst I enjoyed this mystery, the plot felt a little too convoluted somewhere in the middle and it felt like there was too much going on, with too many threads. However, it all neatly tied together in the end and made for a good third outing for this series.

I've been inspired to listen to the audiobook of the first book now to get back into this series so I guess the third book has done its job to pique my interest in the series as a whole. All in all, an enjoyable read.

4 stars/5

Clare Chase offers another fun cozy mystery with “The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance.”

When Althea Powell of High Seat House asks antique store owner Bella Winter to appraise items in her home to help alleviate her family’s growing financial difficulties, Bella jumps right in with the help of her store assistant John. But when Althea’s childhood friend, Clemmie, dies unexpectedly, Althea hopes Bella can get to the bottom of what happened.

But as more deaths occur, Bella is stumped as to the connection between the deaths. There seems to be too many suspects and too many motives. Can she determine who is behind the deaths, and why?

As usual, Chase does a great job of creating a series of clues that keep circling around, leaving the reader guessing until the very end. She also develops a quirky cast of characters readers will truly enjoy, including a plucky dog named Eustace.

Fans of novels like Nita Prose’s “The Maid” and C.L. Miller’s “The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder” will love this story, which is due out Aug. 28.

Five stars out of five.

Bookouture provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of Clare Chase's 'The Antique Store Detective and the Deadly Inheritance' in exchange for my review.

This book (and the series itself) has a lot of good things going for it. It is set in a quaint English village with an engaging and likeable main character and supporting cast, and it follows the widely established pattern of a cozy murder mystery novel.
The murder mystery at the heart of this novel was intriguing and layered enough to keep the reader on their toes. However, the story is bogged down with the repetition of information in what turned out to be a repetitive chapter sequence.
1. Something has happened - Bella decides she must investigate.
2. Bella investigates and gathers some new information from the suspects..
3. Bella goes back to her antique store and shares this information with John. They speculate about what this new information could mean and how it fits with their theories - useably while eating lunch.
4. Bella laments the uselessness of the local detective and contacts her ex-cop Godfather to update him.
5. They meet in the pub, some or all of the side characters join them. They are brought up to speed, Bella leaves with a new set of questions after picking apart everyones alibi and motive.
6. Circle back to #1 and repeat.

Halfway through I started skimming the speculation and rehashing chapters. The ending though was very well paced and the murder was logically worked through. There were several clues I missed along the way so I had the pleasure of discovering the truth along with the other characters.

All in all a good story, it just needed less time spent on Bella speculating and rehashing information and more variety in how, when, and where characters met up to discuss what was happening.

My new favorite mystery trope is the Antique store cozy mystery, and this series hasn't let me down yet! I can't wait to read what will be next!

This is the third book in a series that I have generally enjoyed. I love the setting in the small town, the antique shop, I actually wish Bella had spent more time there, a pet peeve of mine, the cast of characters we have come to know. We actually have a good, quite convoluted mystery with lots of suspects as well as twists and turns. My problem with this book is that I am starting to dislike the MC. Bella's actions are way out there, especially for the level of interest she should have in these events. She is always convinced that she's the only one who can get answers. She upsets her co-worker and friends with her actions, ignores her business, and follows people all over the place, eavesdropping on their conversations as her main source for information. While in some ways Bella is smart, in others, she is obnoxiously noisy, ignores people's feelings, and is uncaring about how her actions affect others. For all the positive things in the book, I am not sure I want to spend more time with Bella. Thanks to #Netgally, #Bookouture, and the author for an opportunity to read. #AntiqueStoreDetectiveDeadlyInheritance #BellaWintersMystery #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

Did someone poison the dying woman because they swindled her? Too many interconnected suspects and hidden facts and reasoning make the investigation very convoluted. The story seems a little slow in places, but that makes the plot twists only more alarming. Another good story from favored author.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Bookouture via NetGalley.
#TheAntiqueStoreDetectiveandtheDeadlyInheritance by @clarechaseauthor #BellaWinterMysteriesBk3
@bookouture #NetGalley Pub Date Aug 28, 2025 ****review #goodreads #bookbub #storygraph
#librarything #greed #dishonesty #cozymysteryseries #amateursleuth #villagegossip #smallbusiness
#secrets #lies #disinherited

This book was my introduction to this series and the author's work, but I had no problem understanding the plot, so readers can enjoy this as a standalone although I would recommend reading the books in order.

I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries and the premise of this book was intriguing—the story seemed to have all the elements of a typical charming, English cozy mystery. However, I can't say the book fully delivered on the promise. The mystery was exciting enough, but maybe the plot was a bit too convoluted?

I'm not sure I understood or liked Bella Winter's character (Perhaps reading the previous books might have helped with that...for instance, did it make sense to freely share her observations with so many people in public places?).

The police were portrayed as dimwitted and practically useless. Bella seemingly had no respect for Detective Sergeant Barry Dixon. She got along better with her godfather and retired CID, Tony, who didn't always play by the rules and still had considerable influence with the local police.

Some of the conclusions Bella jumped to (and the reasoning behind those) were pretty far-fetched and unconvincing—perhaps they were included to portray Bella as a super sleuth, but in my opinion, it backfired.

(omitting spoilers from this review)

Similarly, her sudden understanding of Gregory's secret (not elaborating to avoid spoilers, but how did she suddenly guess the actual reason after chasing a completely different line of thought until then? Especially since there were enough red herrings to justify the suspicion), the reason for Gregory's meetings with Kevin (Why lie about that to the police?) and Arabella Neville (didn't he have more important things to worry about just then?) and his shifty behavior on seeing John at the solicitor's office (why would anyone else care even if they did figure out what Gregory was doing with only a passing glance?) makes no sense at all.

The biggest disappointment for me was the motivation for the central crime. Given what we know about Althea Powell and Clemmie Crowe, that is not at all how it should have gone down (omitting spoilers from this review)

Also, I found it a bit immature that Bella would be with someone she hardly ever thought of, especially since she was more attracted to a neighbor she looked down on for being mysterious and having too many casual relationships. (Again, maybe I'm not getting the full picture here as I haven't read the first two books in the series, but glorifying guys who seem unsuitable is not something I wanna get behind)

I thank the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest feedback.

A mysterious death and a missing ruby necklace… it’s clearly a case for antique store owner and amateur sleuth Bella Winter! The story is very gripping and wow the ending is a big surprise. I thoroughly recommend this book, another thrilling read by this talented author

Bella and a mystery…realistic characters keep this story moving quickly…a necklace…friends…who did it? Who will help? Curl up in a comfy chair…grab a cozy Afghan…a hot steaming cup of herbal tea…be whisked away for an afternoon of detecting…thanks Netgalley.