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This page lists novels that feature the antiques dealer and amateur detective Lara McClintoch.

Cover images are, when possible, of the first edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

The Xibalba Murders

Lyn Hamilton

1997

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"Lara McClintoch, her marriage ended and her antiques business sold, eagerly embarks on a trip to Mexico to help an old friend solve a mystery. On arrival, her friend puts off their meeting and then disappears. After Lara witnesses a brazen robbery of a valuable statue of the ancient Mayan civilization and stumbles on a corpse in a museum of antiquities, she becomes a police suspect. Afraid of the police and unsure whom to trust, Lara follows clues pointing to black marketeers and zealous revolutionaries. This dangerous trail takes her to remote archaeological ruins, lush jungles, and bustling streets filled with revelers. Lara engages in a thrilling battle of wits and courage to unmask a killer and stop a tomb-robber in the shadowy world of Xibalba, the Lords of Death."

The Maltese Goddess

Lyn Hamilton

1998

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch expects a working holiday on the Mediterranean island of Malta will be a nice break from the Canadian winter–until she discovers a dead body stuffed inside an antique chest and another impaled on an ancient knight’s sword. Lara joins forces with an RCMP officer assigned to her case to solve the murders and foil an assassination plot in this exciting thriller. Lara’s adventures are set against the backdrop of Malta’s fascinating history, including the legendary Knights of St. John."

The Moche Warrior

Lyn Hamilton

1999

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"Lara McClintoch, an antiques dealer based in Toronto, thought her life was finally getting back to normal. One failed marriage and a failed business behind her, Lara’s new antiques shop is doing well and her personal life is nothing to complain about either. That is, until her ex-husband decides to set up shop across the street. After winning a bidding war just to spite her ex, Lara gets more than she bargained for when her antiques shop suddenly becomes a target for burglary, arson and murder. It turns out the box of junk from the auction isn’t as worthless as she thought. What she assumed were cheap reproductions turn out to be actual ancient artifacts - and illegal ones at that. In an attempt to save her store, her reputation, and ultimately, her life, Lara journeys to Peru where more danger awaits. She cons her way into the crew of an archeological dig, but soon discovers she isn’t the only one there with a hidden agenda. Unsure of whom to trust, Lara is left to her own devices to take down an entire faction of black market antiquities dealers and an army of grave robbers to boot!"

The Celtic Riddle

Lyn Hamilton

2000

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"The reading of the last will of wealthy Eamon Byrne sets off a murder spree and a treasure hunt in the Irish countryside, and antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is in the middle of the action. Lara’s friend Alex is one of the beneficiaries of the Will, and she is worried he may be on the murderer’s list. The Byrne family is feuding and there are hints of a troubled past. Lara enlists her new Irish friends to help decipher clues based on a poem of mythic Ireland, and risks her own life to follow the clues Byrne left behind."

The African Quest

Lyn Hamilton

2001

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"It looked like an ordinary group of tourists – a mix of easy-going and critical, quiet and talkative, enthusiastic and bored. But antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is leading this tour through the souks, mosques and ruins of Tunisia so you know it is going to get complicated. One member of the group is found dead in the pool and another dies in a hotel fire. Who are these people? The police think accident; Lara thinks murder. Then there’s trouble in the harbor as two ships compete for marine treasure. Lara’s quest for justice climaxes in a harrowing race across the desert."

The Etruscan Chimera

Lyn Hamilton

2002

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"In Rome, a reclusive billionaire businessman asks antiques dealer Lara McClintoch to find a rare Etruscan artifact for his collection. Lara likes the idea of visiting the beautiful hill towns of Tuscany on an expense account. But when strange men start following her, an eccentric collector dies suddenly, and a strange package turns up in her car, Lara feels evil closing in on her. From Paris to Rome, from Nice to Volterra, from Arezzo to Cortona, Lara is on the move to unravel the conspiracy of the mythical chimera, a monstrous creature that is part lion, part goat and part snake."

The Thai Amulet

Lyn Hamilton

2003

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"When Will Beauchamp locked the door of his antique shop in Bangkok for the last time and quietly disappeared, he left behind a family in Toronto and a lot of questions. When fellow antiques dealer Lara McClintoch tries to find him in Thailand, she faces suspicion and deceit. Did Will run away? Was he involved in corruption? Why was he fascinated by an old murder case? Now people he knew are under attack. Lara regrets she started this search, but she won’t stop looking."

The Magyar Venus

Lyn Hamilton

2004

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"Roommates from college draw Lara McClintoch into an encounter with an old lover and the mystery surrounding a 25,000 year-old statue. To determine if the antiquity is real or fake, Lara traces the path of a 19thC adventurer who is said to have found the statue in Hungary. Both her old lover and her old college friends follow her to Budapest. Lara learns that digging up the past can be dangerous, whether it is someone else’s or your own."

The Moai Murders

Lyn Hamilton

2005

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"How many people put a visit to remote and mysterious Easter Island on their life to-do list? Lara McClintoch and her best friend Moira share a yearning to hug one of those famous giant carved heads. But when they get to the island, someone is bumping off members of a strange congress gathered to study local culture. Who has murder on their bucket list? Lara must figure out what the victims have in common as she races against time to stop the killing."

The Orkney Scroll

Lyn Hamilton

2006

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"Lara McClintoch’s professional pride is hurt when a writing cabinet she thought was a genuine antique turns out to be a fake. When the antique dealer who sold it for a million dollars is murdered and the money goes missing, Lara follows the forgery trail to Orkney, islands off the northeast coast of Scotland ruled long ago by Viking earls. Amid the peaceful landscape and friendly inhabitants, Lara looks for vindication and finds danger instead."

The Chinese Alchemist

Lyn Hamilton

2007

A Lara McClintoch novel.

"A client commissions Lara McClintoch to buy an Eighth Century T’ang dynasty Chinese silver box, which contains a formula for immortality. Before Lara can outbid a Toronto museum curator, the box is stolen from a Beijing auction house. Lara follows a dangerous trail through the back alleys of modern China to find the box and the thief. Despite its promise of life forever, the ancient box keeps getting people killed. Lara fears she will be next unless she can uncover the secret behind the heist."