A Wealth of Deception (A Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery)
by Trish Esden
About A Wealth of Deception
A Wealth of Deception (A Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Vermont
Crooked Lane Books (April 18, 2023)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 163910254X
ISBN-13 : 978-1639102549
Digital ASIN : B0B6Z76QTK
Danger, art, and a touch of romance collide in Trish Esden’s second exquisitely crafted Scandal Mountain Antiques mystery, perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Connie Berry.
Some people are willing to die for their art. Others are willing to kill for it.
When Vermont antique and art dealer Edie Brown discovers an unsettlingly dark collage by the famed reclusive “outsider” artist known only as Vespa, she opens a Pandora’s Box of deception and danger.
Edie teams up with Uncle Tuck and Kala to investigate the background of the collage but only uncover secrets that are more disturbing than the artwork itself. As Edie tracks down the validity of the piece, she stumbles into an art underground where some people are willing to kill to keep their schemes a secret.
Esden expertly crafts a complex cast of characters, a breathtakingly gorgeous setting, and a twisty plot that often poses more questions than answers.
GUEST POST
A Wealth of Deception: Inspired by Memory Boxes, Collages, and the Healing Power of Art
At the very beginning of A WEALTH OF DECEPTON antique and art dealer, Edie Brown, tells the reader about reluctantly creating a memory box after the death of her beloved grandparents.
“When I was seventeen, my grandparents died in a plane crash. A single-engine plane. Within sight of our house. The therapist suggested I create a memory box dedicated to them. I didn’t tell her I’d already declared the field where they went down a living memorial, at least in my mind. Instead of opening my heart, I bristled and did as she asked, gluing photographs, newspaper articles, and other odds and ends into the craft store box she provided. Then I closed the box’s lid and scrawled orange and red flames on the outside, crayons snapping under the ferocity of my grip.”
Despite Edie’s general dislike for the therapist and aversion to the project, creating the memory box has a profound influence on her life, not only helping her through the traumatic loss but instilling in her a sense of empathy toward others suffering from horrific and life-altering experiences.
Later in the novel, when Edie discovers a disturbing collage with a questionable provenance, her art therapy experience is a large part of what drives her to untangle the mystery of who really created it.
For me as the author, this interplay between Edie’s traumatic backstory, art, and healing made the perfect springboard for A WEALTH OF DECEPTION. I asked myself, given Edie’s past, what type of art or antique related crime would challenge her the most? From there, I developed the emotionally raw collage she discovers. Next I created a cast of troubled characters each with their own difficult story to tell.
Most importantly, I wanted A WEALTH OF DECEPTION TO end with an uplifting sense of redemption and that right had triumphed over hardship. In other words, like the process of healing through art therapy, I wanted the story to help Edie and other characters she comes to care about to find their way past trauma and to a place where they can rebuild their lives.
About Trish Esden
Trish Esden loves museums, gardens, wilderness, dogs and birds, in various orders depending on the day. She lives in northern Vermont where she deals antiques with her husband, a profession she’s been involved with since her teens. Don’t ask what her favorite type of antique is. She loves hunting for old bottles and rusty barn junk as much as she enjoys fine art and furnishings. Trish is the author of the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series which explores the secretive and adrenaline-charged underbelly of the antique and art world.
Author Links
- Website: https://trishesden.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066846565777
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trishesden/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/patesden
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21662893.Trish_Esden
- Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/trish-esden
- Purchase Links
- Indiebound
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Apple Books
- Kobo
- Bookshop.org
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Ruff Drafts 
What a fascinating protagonist! And the memory box theme is intriguing.
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What a fascinating protagonist! And the memory box theme is intriguing.
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Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
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My pleasure. Best wishes!
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