What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - A Legacy of Murder Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Kate Hamilton to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Kate on the pages of the Kate Hamilton Mystery series by Connie Berry. A LEGACY OF MURDER is the second book in the series and was released last month.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

By Kate Hamilton

from A LEGACY OF MURDER by Connie Berry

By the time you read this, I'll be in England—in the Suffolk village of Long Barston, to be exact. Why am I traveling to the British Isles in December? Good question. I should be working. The holidays are our busiest season at Antiques at the Falls, my shop in Jackson Falls, Ohio. And I should be home, baking cookies, stringing lights, and hanging ornaments on the eight-foot faux Fraser fir I bought last year after my real tree almost caught fire (a story for another time). Instead I'm off to spend a couple of weeks with my daughter, Christine. She's a student at Oxford University and has taken an internship between terms at Finchley Hall, a stately home, famous for the unearthing in 1818 of the Finchley Hoard, a magnificent collection of precious metals, decorative household objects, coins, and jewelry dating from Anglo-Saxon times until the Regency. I'm looking forward to seeing those treasures, of course, but mostly I'm looking forward to spending time with my daughter. We haven't always gotten along.

The mother/daughter thing isn't easy, is it? Especially for a widow. Three years ago my husband died—massive heart attack, completely out of the blue. Difficult at any stage of life, but especially when you're left to raise two teenagers. My son, Eric, wasn't the problem. He's always been easy-going, like his father. My daughter, on the other hand, isn't like either of us. In my darkest hours, I fear Christine takes after her Scottish aunt Elenor. Did I mention my husband was Scottish? He was born on the Isle of Glenroth in the Inner Hebrides and came to the States to study law at Case Western University near Cleveland. That's where we met. Anyway, Christine is a lot like his sister, Elenor—unpredictable, passionate, approaching life with the abandon of a runaway freight train. It was Elenor, who insisted I fly to Scotland last October—and then promptly got herself murdered, leaving me to defend the well-loved local handyman suspected of the crime. The only good thing that came out of it (besides finding the real killer) was meeting Tom Mallory, a vacationing detective inspector from Suffolk, England. He's the other reason I'm flying to England.

Am I ready for a new relationship? Not likely. All the men I've loved in my life have left me—my brother, Matt, who died of a genetic heart condition when I was five; my father, killed in an automobile accident on Christmas Eve when I was seventeen; my husband, Bill, who died three years ago when I was 43—all suddenly and without warning. I'm not about to risk loving someone else. How could I? Besides, Tom lives in England. I live in the States. He has a great job in the Suffolk Constabulary. I have my antiques shop.

Nevertheless, I'm still off in the morning. Two weeks with Christine and her über-hip boyfriend, Tristan. Time spent with a man I can never give my heart to—and his mother, who doesn't like Americans. And a fabulous treasure trove about to be exhibited publicly for the first time in two hundred years.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Review

A LEGACY OF MURDER by Connie Berry

The Second Kate Hamilton Mystery

Kate Hamilton is happy to be in England, hoping to spend time with her daughter, who is interning at a stately home, but also spending time with Detective Tom Mallory. Kate's first tour of the grounds is interrupted by the discovery of the body of one of the interns. Kate soon finds herself helping the lady of the manor with her upcoming exhibit, dealing with the romantic tribulations of her daughter, and jousting with Tom's mother, who doesn't like Americans. Kate is also making inquiries as to the death of the young woman, a death that is quite similar to that of another young woman killed at the home, working on the same project.

I enjoy reading about a level headed mature woman who finds herself embroiled in murder. Kate is smart and engaging, until the end when she loses it and makes a right mess of things with Tom. But other than that she'd a delightful protagonist. Tom is as dashing as ever and we also get a dishy vicar, who may not be as good as he seems, a lovable antiques dealer with bad hips, and a maid of all work with various personas. There are dueling pubs, interns with issues, and a crumbling manor house; great ingredients for a traditional mystery.

A LEGACY OF MURDER is a multifaceted mystery with events of the past coming back to haunt the present and future. Plotting as exquisite as the antiques involved and a variety of characters make this atmospheric mystery one you won't want to put down.

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A Legacy of Murder: A Kate Hamilton Mystery by Connie Berry

About A Legacy of Murder

A Legacy of Murder: A Kate Hamilton Mystery  

Traditional Mystery 2nd in Series  

Crooked Lane Books (October 8, 2019)  

Hardcover ~336 Pages

American antique dealer Kate Hamilton's Christmastime jaunt to a charming English village leads to an investigation of a missing ruby...and a chain of murders.

It's Christmastime and antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is off to visit her daughter, Christine, in the quaint English village of Long Barston. Christine and her boyfriend, Tristan, work at stately-but-crumbling Finchley Hall. Touring the Elizabethan house and grounds, Kate is intrigued by the docent's tales of the Finchley Hoard, and the strange deaths surrounding the renowned treasure trove. But next to a small lake, Kate spies the body of a young woman, killed by a garden spade.

Nearly blind Lady Barbara, who lives at Finchley with her loyal butler, Mugg, persuades Kate to take over the murdered woman's work. Kate finds that a Burmese ruby has vanished from the legendary Blood-Red Ring, replaced by a lesser garnet. Were the theft and the woman's death connected?

Kate learns that Lady Barbara's son fled to Venezuela years before, suspected of murdering another young woman. The murder weapon belonged to an old gardener, who becomes the leading suspect. But is Lady Barbara's son back to kill again? When another body is found, the clues point toward Christine. It's up to Kate to clear her daughter's name in Connie Berry's second Kate Hamilton mystery, a treasure for fans of traditional British mysteries.

About Connie Berry

Like her protagonist, Connie Berry was raised in the antiques trade. After teaching theology for twenty-five years, she took up writing mysteries featuring high-end antiques and the legacy of the past. Connie loves history, cute animals, travel with a hint of adventure, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable dog, Millie.  

Author Links: 
Website –www.connieberry.com  
Facebook Author@Facebook.com  
Twitter @conniecberry  
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18733373.Connie_Berry  

Purchase: Amazon Barnes & Noble Indiebound Kobo

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