The artifacts in the collection have not been well cataloged or cared for over the years and Chloe has a big task set before her, made even more daunting as it is 1982 and she has none of the modern cataloging tools at hand. Her first order of business is a meeting with elderly Mrs. Lundquist who would like the Norwegian ale bowl she donated to the museum in the 1970’s returned to her.

Chloe has no idea where the bowl might be, but promises Mrs. Lundquist she will locate it. On the way home, Chloe encounters a fatal car accident, the victim, Mrs. Lundquist. Now Chloe decides she will find the bowl as a final gesture to the woman she met only once. This is not as easy as it sounds as Chloe tries to settle in to her new surroundings. She meets resistance to her new ideas from a spurious boss and gets the feeling that someone is trying to sabotage her efforts and the museum and possibly kill her.

Chloe, for all her insecurities and lack of self-confidence after her break-up, is a headstrong young woman who is not afraid to face things head on (perhaps after a quick pep talk to herself), as she often feels she has nothing to lose. She quickly makes enemies with some of the men at the museum, but other interpreters hope that Chloe, along with her intern Nika, will be able to better organize the collection and breathe some new life into the museum.

Watching over Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna who senses Chloe’s vulnerability, but also realizes there is a fun-loving young woman under her exterior and would like to get to know her better. Just as Chloe is about to feel comfortable in her new life, a surprise phone call makes her stop and wonder what is going to come next. An evenly paced plot will take readers through the various areas of the museum and the different cultures, but they may figure out who has the ale bowl and why several steps ahead of Chloe.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry