Review: BIDDING FOR REVENGE, Victoria Tait

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09VQWZJGW
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kanga Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 19 August 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 220 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915413031
• Book 3 of 12 ‏ : ‎ A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery  

Synopsis  (Amazon)  

Stolen antiques. An unexplained death. Can an amateur sleuth tell a fake from the real deal before a deadly scam claims another victim?

Trainee antiques expert Dotty Sayers is thrilled but apprehensive when she’s trusted to source period furniture for a local celebrity. Buoyed by the opportunity, she agrees to join her company’s triathlon team during the quiet summer months in Britain’s picturesque Cotswolds. But the race turns deadly when a fellow competitor collapses and dies.

With only a young sergeant willing to question whether the athletic woman’s death was accidental, Dotty turns her attention to rumours of counterfeit furniture and a high-stakes antiques scam. She alerts the police to a suspicious phone call, only to be horrified when her tip places an innocent life in danger.

Can Dotty see through the sham and appraise the evidence to ensure justice is served?

Bidding for Revenge is a British cozy mystery featuring a trainee antiques expert turned reluctant sleuth, a charity triathlon that ends in tragedy, and a counterfeit furniture scam in the heart of the Cotswolds. It blends small‑village charm, gentle humour, and intriguing fraud as the novice investigator juggles workplace loyalties, police scepticism, and determined bidders while following clues others overlook. Ideal for readers who enjoy amateur sleuths, community‑centred mysteries, and puzzles tied to art, antiques and village life.

My Take

This series is developing nicely. Dotty, whom I thought was a bit weak as a sleuth in the first book in the series has become more assertive, observant, and outspoken. There are a number of sub-plots as well as characters who re-appear. It is almost as if a whole landscape is gradually being revealed. 

The antiques theme is being well developed. 

You really do need to read the series from the beginning. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.3, FAKE DEATH - #1 

4.4, VALUED FOR MURDER - #2