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Props & Pretense
(2028)(The fifth book in the Novels and Needles series)
A novel by Steve Higgs and Christina Rose
Jessica Mitchell has been looking forward to the Bath Jane Austen Festival for months — the Regency costumes, the promenades, the excuse to spend three days surrounded by people who understand why a well-placed bonnet matters.
It might have stayed a lovely weekend if she hadn't looked too closely at the props. If she had just enjoyed the spectacle, bought an overpriced scone, and not noticed that a festival prop manager's collection of Regency-era antiques was rather more convincing than it should be. Things might have stayed pleasant.
But Jessica looked.
Now there's a provenance card that doesn't quite hold up, a September 1804 letter that smells more like fresh ink than old paper, and a pattern of originals quietly disappearing while their reproductions take centre stage. This isn't carelessness. It's a very elegant fraud — and it's been running long enough that someone has built a career on it.
Nathan Vickers is asking the right questions, which means he's also making the wrong enemies. In a city built on performance and nostalgia, the hardest thing to spot is the person who's been pretending longest — and they have no intention of being unmasked at a costume party.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
It might have stayed a lovely weekend if she hadn't looked too closely at the props. If she had just enjoyed the spectacle, bought an overpriced scone, and not noticed that a festival prop manager's collection of Regency-era antiques was rather more convincing than it should be. Things might have stayed pleasant.
But Jessica looked.
Now there's a provenance card that doesn't quite hold up, a September 1804 letter that smells more like fresh ink than old paper, and a pattern of originals quietly disappearing while their reproductions take centre stage. This isn't carelessness. It's a very elegant fraud — and it's been running long enough that someone has built a career on it.
Nathan Vickers is asking the right questions, which means he's also making the wrong enemies. In a city built on performance and nostalgia, the hardest thing to spot is the person who's been pretending longest — and they have no intention of being unmasked at a costume party.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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