Georgia's Folly

A split time cozy mystery that begins at a cluttered flea market and ends at a glittering Sotheby’s auction. The book opens in present day New York City with Chloe Bishop, a thirtysomething history teacher who grew up in foster care. She loves shopping at flea markets, picking up family heirlooms like old pottery and vintage furniture to fill in for the home she never had. On a routine trip to Brooklyn Flea Market, Chloe finds the diary of Georgia Potter, a young woman who lived in Gettysburg during the Civil War. Like Chloe, Georgia Potter was a passionate collector and her diary includes lists of her collection of valuable antiques—including the Holy Grail of 18th century furniture, a Chippendale settee. There are only five known examples and a sixth settee would be worth more than $4 million.

Chloe immediately contacts Ben Thompson, the man who sold her the diary. Ben is a picker who drives his RV across America, searching for collectibles and antiques to sell to dealers. He is estranged from his wealthy prominent family who cringe at his chosen career. Ben likes to work alone but is intrigued by the treasures in Georgia’s diary, so he agrees to take her along on a search for the valuable settee. As Ben and Chloe head out to their first stop in Gettysburg, they are unaware that they are followed by Gregor, an unsavory Russian art dealer who has also learned about the valuables mentioned in the diary.

The search for the settee takes them from the Gettysburg battlefields to the 18th century street of artisans in Philadelphia to a historic mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Traveling together in the small RV Ben and Chloe draw closer. She shares her search for a father she never knew while Ben struggles to explain his complicated family to a woman who never had one.

Like books by Dan Brown and Steve Berry, Georgia’s Folly combines history with the search for a valuable antique but written from a woman’s perspective with each chapter opening with a page from Georgia’s diary. Georgia’s Folly will appeal to readers of best selling split time books by Fiona Davis (The Doll House) and Julia Kelly (The Light Over London).