The Pot Thief Mysteries Volume One by J. Michael Orenduff

An Albuquerque pottery dealer looking for artifacts finds murder and intrigue in this “smartly funny” series (Anne Hillerman, author of Spider Woman’s Daughter).

A dealer in ancient Native American pottery, Hubert Schuze has spent years searching the public lands of New Mexico for artwork that would otherwise remain buried. According to the US government, he’s a thief, but Hubie knows the real crime would be to allow age-old traditions to die. He honors prehistoric craftspeople by resurrecting their handiwork, and nothing—not even foul play—will stop him in these three installments of the Lefty Award–winning mystery series.
 
The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras: Hubie accepts a $25,000 offer to lift a rare pot from a local museum but changes his mind when he discovers how tightly the exhibit is being guarded. When the pot goes missing anyway, Hubie’s sent on the hunt for the real thief—and on the run from a killer.
 
The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy: Hubie goes on a mission to recover stolen relics from a high-rise apartment building. Unfortunately, his perfect plan falls apart when he’s arrested for murder. That’s what happens when you get caught with blood on your hands and a dead body in the room. Now, Hubie must stay one step ahead of the law as he pursues a beautiful mystery woman in this fast-paced thriller that “hook[s] the reader from the get-go” (Albuquerque Journal).
 
The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein: After Hubie appraises a collection of Anasazi pots for an eccentric, reclusive collector, his $2,500 payment disappears. He suspects the man ripped him off, but soon stumbles into a bigger crime when the collector is murdered. Determined not to end up in handcuffs, Hubie sets out to solve the mystery—and finds himself pulled deeper and deeper into the dead man’s shadowy, dangerous life.