What Hides Beneath - Book Review

Everyone wonders what treasures are hidden out of sight when they visit a museum. Sometimes even those who work there may not know what may be discovered within the confines of their walls.

What Hides Beneath by J.L. Canfield is a thrilling tale of mystery that begins with the discovery of one such hidden treasure. Allison, an unassuming employee of a Richmond museum, discovers a mud-encrusted object stored on a shelf in the basement of the museum. The intrigue generated by the object, as well as a challenge by co-worker Kevin, pushed her to spend hours cleaning off layers of mud to reveal a beautiful vase underneath.

Although the curator of the museum, an expert on Asian art, believed the piece to be a priceless 16^th-century rarity, it failed to meet his expectations when it was declared worthless by Annette Williams, an acclaimed appraiser, and one-time employee of the museum. She had long-since moved up the ranks and become a well-known and respected appraiser for Sotheby’s in New York.

Oddly after an event at the museum, the vase was stolen from a safe, along with Allison’s laptop and a box of other mud-covered items from a storage room. The theft left the staff with many questions and a dilemma; should the police be informed and should everything be reported. Logic prevailed; the police were called, and an investigation ensued.

Lt. Phil Samyn wasn’t all too pleased to get the call to investigate a missing laptop, a worthless vase and a box of muddy items. Once he discovered a security officer and an insurance investigator, who happened to be the son of another museum employee, were also missing, things began to get more interesting. It didn’t take long for Samyn to discover that, like the items in the box, things weren’t what they seemed to be.

From the dingy basement of a museum with an uncertain future to a sprawling mansion with an uncertain past, the investigation leads the lieutenant to draw conclusions based on years of experience. Does that experience lead him down the right path?

Canfield takes the reader on a journey that is exhilarating and full of new discoveries and also tosses in a romance. The characters are well developed and bring the reader into their lives in a way that makes them seem as familiar as an old friend. The story flows well making the book an easy read. This is definitely one book to add to your collection.