Rarities Unlimited Books in Order

Rarities Unlimited is one of Lowell's most enjoyable premise-driven suspense series. The connecting idea is an appraisal house where experts in rare books, art, and historical objects get pulled into murders that are never just about money. In practice, that means every book comes with a puzzle object at the center, and the object always matters.

Moving Target opens with an illuminated manuscript and a grandmother's deadly secret. Running Scared turns to ancient gold and a Southwestern trail that reaches back to the druids. Die in Plain Sight uses inherited California landscapes and art history to uncover murder hidden in plain view. Across the series, appraisers, collectors, dealers, and security specialists become as important as the lovers.

That blend is what gives these books their flavor.

Lowell clearly likes research, and here she puts it to work in a very readable way. You get just enough about manuscripts, paintings, provenance, goldwork, and the art market to make the stakes feel real, but the books never stop being page-turners. The couples are usually smart professionals who meet while trying to solve something that has already killed at least one person.

If you want art-world romantic suspense with strong settings and clean, easy-to-follow mysteries, start with Moving Target. The books stand alone, but the recurring company and the shared fascination with rare objects make the series much more fun in order.