Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry

 

Today I'm participating in the A Legacy of Murder Blog Tour.  In this post you'll find book and author information along with my review.  And don't forget to enter the giveaway via the link in this post.

A Legacy of Murder: A Kate Hamilton Mystery

Traditional Mystery
2nd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (October 8, 2019)
Hardcover ~336 Pages
ISBN-10: 1643851543
ISBN-13: 978-1643851549
Digital ASIN: B07NKQDYM3

Synopsis . . .

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.

 

My review . . . Antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is in England to visit her daughter Christine, an intern at Finchley Hall, a down-at-its heels country manor steeped in local history and lore, which over the years has been the site of murder and misfortune.  Desperately in need of major repairs, its current owner Lady Barbara hopes the 200th Anniversary Exhibition of the Finchley Hoard, a collection of family treasures, will generate much-needed revenue.  During the preparation of the exhibit, however, the village is beset by a series of murders, attacks, and thefts. 

 

Kate agrees to stay on at Finchley Hall to complete the exhibition work begun by Tabitha King, whose lifeless body is found submerged in a lake on the property.  The similarity between this murder and the unsolved death of another curator in 1996 raises alarms that history may be repeating itself.  Were both crimes committed by the same person, or is someone else responsible?  Detective Inspector Tom Mallory of the local constabulary is tasked with finding out.  

Kate’s work on the exhibit uncovers items missing from the collection, and a rash of burglaries of precious objects in the area has the staff on high alert.  As the murder investigation proceeds, more attacks occur, leaving the community on pins and needles. Are these criminal activities connected?  And could a rare missing book hold the key to the solution of the murders and thefts?  There seems to be danger at every turn.

A Legacy of Murder is a thoroughly engrossing mystery with no shortage of lively characters, dead bodies, mysterious circumstances, and plausible murder suspects.  The author has a real talent for character and setting development, and interweaving the past and the present.  Berry creates a rich ancestral history for her quaint village, with families intermarrying over generations, producing a plethora of interesting relationships and motives for murder.  

Moreover, Berry enriches the development of the series which she began with A Dream of Death.  The budding long-distance romance between Kate and Tom is nurtured and tested, and we learn more about supporting characters from each of their families.  It is thus that Berry increases the appeal of the series and readers’ investment in the characters.   

Although A Legacy of Murder can be read as a stand-alone novel, I highly recommend treating yourself to the first book as well.  My review of A Dream of Death is here.

Since I can't wait to return to these characters and their lives, I hope that the next book in the series will be available before too long.


Giveaway . . . Enter the A Legacy of Murder Giveaway of a $25 Amazon gift card by scrolling down the tour page at this link.


About the author . . . 

  

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 links . . .    Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Indiebound     Kobo

 

Tour participants . . . 

November 1 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
November 1 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
November 1 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 2 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
November 2 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 2 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 3 – Carole’s Book Corner – REVIEW
November 3 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW
November 3 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
November 4 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
November 4 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Diane Reviews Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 5 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 5 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
November 6 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
November 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
November 7 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 7 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 8 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
November 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST
November 9 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – REVIEW
November 10 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 10 – Here’s How It Happened – GUEST POST
November 11 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
November 11 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW
November 11 – Christa Reads & Writes – REVIEW
November 12 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 12 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 12 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

 

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of A Legacy of Murder from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated. 

 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring a recent blog tour read, A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry.  It's the second book in the Kate Hamilton mystery series. The excerpts shared are from the eBook I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

  

Beginning:  Saturday, December 5th

Long Barston, Suffolk, England

I woke to the point of a sword in my thigh.

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56% of eBook:  I did not want to run up the tower, but he was already halfway toward the door.  And I was curious. Curious enough to face my fears.

********************

My thoughts:  A Legacy of Murder has all the elements that make for a good classic mystery--a lively cast of characters, multiple robberies and murders, and numerous plausible suspects.  The quaint English village setting adds to its reading enjoyment.


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From Goodreads: 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.





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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter with appropriate recognition is appreciated. 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring a recent blog tour read, A Dream of Death by Connie Berry.  It's the first book in the new Kate Hamilton Series. The excerpts shared are from the eBook I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Beginning: Friday, October 28

I never wanted to return to Glenroth.  

********************

56% of eBook (approximately):  I ran for the door at the end of the hall, finding it firmly locked.  I peered outside.  No dark figure booking it toward the woods.

********************

My thoughts:  A Dream of Death, with its cast of eccentric islanders and remote atmospheric setting, is a captivating story infused with Scottish lore, a budding romance, and the elements of a classic British mystery novel.

You can read my review here and enter a giveaway.

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From Goodreads: On a remote Scottish island, American antique dealer Kate Hamilton sleuths a killing that eerily replicates a murder still unsolved after 200 years.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland's Isle of Rothsay, and the locals gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Among the invited guests is American antique dealer Kate Hamilton. Returning to the island where her husband died is brutal, but Kate is determined to repair her relationship with her sister-in-law, Elenor Spurgeon, the proprietor of Rothsay's deluxe country house hotel.

Kate has hardly unpacked when a body turns up, murdered in an eerie recreation of an infamous unsolved murder two hundred years before. And the only clue to the killer's identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. When Bo Duff, the gentle handyman who had tried to save Kate’s husband's life, is taken into custody, she teams up with vacationing Detective Inspector Tom Mallory to clear Bo’s name. To accomplish that, they’ll have to unmask a killer who seems bizarrely fixated on the past…because two hundred years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge in A Dream of Death, the tantalizing series debut by Connie Berry.   



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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter with appropriate recognition is appreciated.  

Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: A Dream of Death by Connie Berry

 

Today I'm participating in the A Dream of Death Blog Tour.  In this post you will find book and author information along with my review.  And don't forget to enter the giveaway.

About the book . . .

   

 

A Dream of Death (A Kate Hamilton Mystery)

Traditional Mystery
1st in Series
Crooked Lane Books (April 9, 2019)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 1683319877
ISBN-13: 978-1683319870
Digital ASIN: B07H7P2KTS

Synopsis . . . 

On a remote Scottish island, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton wrestles with her own past while sleuthing a brutal killing, staged to recreate a two-hundred-year-old unsolved murder.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high. A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his sister, proprietor of the island’s luxe country house hotel, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Kate has hardly unpacked when the next morning a body is found, murdered in a reenactment of an infamous unsolved murder described in the novel—and the only clue to the killer’s identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. The Scottish police discount the historical connection, but when a much-loved local handyman is arrested, Kate teams up with a vacationing detective inspector from Suffolk, England, to unmask a killer determined to rewrite island history—and Kate’s future.

My review . . .Widow Kate Hamilton, an antique shop owner from Ohio, has spent the past three years picking up the pieces of her life following the unexpected death of her husband Bill. When she receives a frantic call for help from her frightened, estranged sister-in-law Elenor Spurgeon, proprietor of the Glenroth House Hotel, Kate returns to the Isle of Glenroth with a heavy heart and much trepidation. It was on this small Hebridean Island that her beloved Bill was both born and died. The isle is also a popular tourist destination, having gained notoriety for its connection to Bonnie Prince Charlie as well as the centuries-old unsolved murders of two young women.  

Kate arrives on the eve of the annual Tartan Ball, amid a flurry of activity and impending major announcements that will affect the future of the community. In the wee hours of the morning following the ball, the body of an islander is discovered in the snow.  Curiously, the murder scene is a recreation of the first long-ago death.  When a second victim turns up a few days later in a restaging of the second long-ago killing, Kate can’t help but wonder if there is a connection between the murders despite them having been committed two centuries apart.

As the police investigate the current crimes, Kate explores clues that might tie the present to the past. In collaboration with hotel guest Tom Mallory, a vacationing detective inspector with Great Britain’s Suffolk Constabulary, Kate unravels the complex history between the islanders and uncovers long-held grievances. What she discovers puts her own safety in jeopardy.  Will the killer be caught before Kate becomes the next victim?  And can the island's residents finally put the past to rest?

A Dream of Death, with its cast of eccentric islanders and remote atmospheric setting, is a captivating story infused with Scottish lore, a budding romance, and the elements of a classic British mystery novel.  Its resilient heroine Kate Hamilton is a woman who has adjusted to great changes in her life.  Will her life change yet again having met Tom Mallory?  There is definitely chemistry between them.  It remains to be seen where their relationship is heading and whether these two souls will find a way to bridge the vast physical distance between the American Midwest and the British Midlands.  For this reason I’m already eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.  

Giveaway . . .  Enter the A Dream of Death giveaway contest to win a signed copy of the book by clicking on this link.



About the author . . .  Like her main character, Connie Berry was raised by charmingly eccentric antique collectors who opened a shop, not because they wanted to sell antiques but because they needed a plausible excuse to keep buying them.

  

Connie adores history, off-season foreign travel, cute animals, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable Shih Tzu, Millie.


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



Purchase links . . . Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Indiebound 

  

Tour participants . . .

April 15 – The Editing Pen – GUEST POST
April 15 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
April 16 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 16 – I’m All About Books – GUEST POST
April 17 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT*
April 17 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
April 18 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
April 18 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 19 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
April 19 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
April 20 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 20 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
April 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 22 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
April 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
April 23 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
April 23 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 24 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
April 25 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 26 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 26 – My Devotional Thoughts – SPOTLIGHT

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of Murder Between the Pages from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.