The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton

January 1, 2021

In this new addition to the Regency-set "Westcott" series, recently widowed Lydia Tavernor wants Someone To Cherish but would rather have a lover than a husband after the numbing servitude of marriage to Rev. Isaiah Tavernor. In Brenner's Blush, college senior Sadie Bailey discovers that straitlaced Grandma Vivian once ran a book club devoted to scandalous women's fiction. To find respite from griefover her grandfather's death, Marisa Rosso travels to a seaside Cornish village, where she helps locals save their beloved bakery (well known to Colgan's fans) in Sunrise by the Sea (100,000-copy paperback and 30,000-copy hardcover first printing). On the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, life-hungry 17-year-old Lenni joins forces with 83-year-old rebel Margot in debuter Cronin's The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (150,000-copy paperback and 25,000-copy hardcover first printing). With The Paper Palace, Heller, HBO head of drama, turns in a first novel about a woman who makes a momentous and long-overdue decision one bright Cape Cod morning. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, newly married Lauren decides to leave her husband 12 letters to guide him through the first year without her in Higgins's Pack Up the Moon. Killed in a hit-and-run in Nantucket, novelist Vivi is given heavenly permission to spend a year watching over her children, her best friend, and her ex-husband in Hilderbrand's Golden Girl (750,000-copy first printing). In Phillips's When Stars Collide, opera diva Olivia Shore and Thaddeus Walker Bowman Owens, backup quarterback for the Chicago Stars, are paired on a nationwide tour promoting a luxury watch brand with tumultuous results (150,000-copy first printing). Debuter Ray's The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton features a once-aspiring artist now running from a tragedy in her life by simply collecting beautiful objects--until the collection-conscious little boy whose family moves in next door makes her rethink things (100,000-copy first printing).

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April 5, 2021
Ray’s amiable debut centers on the eponymous Amy Ashton, a woman approaching middle age whose life was knocked off-course by the disappearance of both her best friend and her boyfriend. In chapters alternating between present and past, the reader learns Amy was once a happy young woman, dating Tim, a struggling musician, and working an admin job to make rent while pursuing her true passion, painting. When the novel opens, Amy is still working the admin job, 11 years after Tim and her best friend, Chantel, disappeared, and lives alone in a house that’s become overcrowded with her possessions. It all changes when a family with two young boys moves in next door. Amy is initially dismayed by the idea of children coming inside and trampling her “treasures,” but a mishap involving a cat and a ceramic pot leads to a chance discovery of the first real clue as to what may have happened to Tim and Chantel. The first clue, a ring, leads to a second, a letter, and soon Amy is cast in the role of amateur investigator, while her relationship with her charming neighbors rejuvenates her. Though the ending is a tad Hollywood, Ray has a light touch with her prose. Readers who can appreciate a comforting story about nice people will find much to like. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, AM Heath Literary.

June 1, 2021

DEBUT Amy Ashton was devastated when her boyfriend Tim and her best friend Chantel disappeared more than 10 years ago. She can't believe they ran off together, but that appears to be what happened. Now she works a dull job and tries to cope by filling her house with objects like mugs and wine bottles, to the point that she makes narrow paths to move through the stacks. She won't let anyone into her house and won't let anyone in emotionally, either. She just wants to be alone with her collections because they won't leave her. But her new neighbors, including two outgoing young boys, and new clues regarding the disappearance coax her to reconsider whom she can trust and if she can change. Debut author Ray tells Amy's story in alternating past and present timelines, which makes for successful exposition and draws readers into the mystery. VERDICT The novel unfortunately drifts into TV movie territory, but readers will root for Amy, who's winningly drawn as a kind soul undeserving of heartbreak. For fans of sensitive, uplifting women's fiction, with a little mystery.--Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2021
Ray's sad, sweet, and hopeful debut introduces readers to Amy Ashton, who has entered middle age surrounded by piles of trinkets and treasures. Amy's boyfriend, Tim, disappeared eleven years prior, along with Amy's best friend, Chantel. Since then, Amy has run on autopilot, numbing her grief by buying more and more things online and from charity shops, until her house is full. Her job as an administrative assistant pays the bills, but doesn't fulfill her. When Amy gets a new neighbor, his two small children start to draw her out of her shell. But it isn't until Amy finds an old treasure--a ring Tim had planned to propose to her with--that she realizes the most important secrets in her past still lie buried. Like other quirky-character stories such as Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (2017), the novel's heart is its protagonist; readers will feel deeply bonded to Amy. Mystery lovers and fans of Liane Moriarty will also enjoy the quick-paced plot and perfectly timed reveals. This will be a must-read for many patrons.

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