In the first story in a Victorian Village Mystery, Kate Hamilton takes a chance on returning to her hometown of Asheboro, North Carolina when her best friend asks for help in a revitalization plan. Kate doesn't feel qualified to offer suggestions but she soon gets excited about the prospects. Add in a murder and searches for local history in an attic and everyone is involved in the outcome.
Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

A great book by a fantastic author. The writing is excellent and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Characters are well developed. Highly recommend.

When an old friend calls Kate Hamilton in to help save her old hometown she can't help but get involved. With her job coming to an end she finds herself at lose ends and the project will be a nice distraction - except for the fact that it just happens to involve the primary reason for why Kate fled her hometown after high school in the first place - Cordelia Walker. Cordelia is still very much up to her old mean girl tricks which catch up to her just a few days after Kate gets into town. Now with a mission to save the town and a murder investigation for a victim that pretty much everyone would cheerfully have murdered Kate's days are jammed packed. The beginning was a bit slow but it was still enjoyable. I loved the history element and I really liked that while the murder investigation was wrapped up the investigation into the old mansion at the edge of town is really just beginning. It made me anxious to dive into the next book. I listened to this book and really enjoyed it

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

Another hit by a great writer. I have enjoyed many of her books in the past and this one is no exception. This is the start of a new series, and has Kate being asked to come to her hometown and help deal with a property the town recently purchased. Since she has a degree in hospitality, and has friends and a knowledge of the area she decides to go and check out the Barton mansion. Between catching up with her high school best friend and meeting the handsome caretaker of the property, she discovers her most hated nemesis murdered on the steps of the mansion and gets involved in finding out the killer. I like how her research is not necessarily trying to focus on the killer, but instead working on the research of the place and people instead, and luckily figures things out along the way. Hard to put this one down. Highly recommend this book, series and author. If you like cozy mysteries then give this one a try.

I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this one! Although I love the thought of new series, I sometimes delay in starting a new series as it seems that the first book is usually a bit slow-paced. This one however, had my attention from the first few pages and I did not want to put it down.

I liked the characters and the way that relationships are being formed. The setting seems a bit unique to me and I thought the idea of 'creating an Victorian Village is very interesting to me.

It is well-written and I'm already looking forward to the next one in the series.

Kate Hamilton left her hometown of Asheboro, MD for the big wide world and didn't look back. She kept in touch with one friend from high school, but got her degree in hospitality management and secured a great job at a big hotel in Baltimore. However at the same time as her friend needs help in their hometown, a chain buys the hotel and Kate is laid off.

Figuring what has she got to lose, Kate heeds "home" to find that the little town is nearly bankrupt and needing a plan to revitalize. While working on a plan, Kate discovers her high school nemesis murdered and becomes an outside consultant to the police in the investigation.

Loved the beginning of this series! The setting and issues of a small town (near my hometown) really grabbed me.
I loved the characters too!

I liked this story set in Maryland about a young woman, Katherine, who leaves town to go to college and never looks back. She gets a degree in hospitality management and is in charge of a large hotel. When a friend from home asks her for help keeping their hometown solvent she reluctantly agrees to help. Her high school arch nemisis is found dead in a mansion Katherine is hoping will be the town's saving grace and police are looking at her as a suspect. Kate needs to clear her name and save the town in a good cozy that is book 1 in a new series, Victorian Village Mysteries. A good beginning and I'll be looking for more. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a fun cozy read by an author that was new to me! Looks like the start of a series. If you enjoy reading cozies (as I do!), then be sure to check this one out. Thank you for my review ARC.

I haven't read too many mysteries by this author, and I am officially missing out! It was a great mystery filled with clues that either led you to the suspect or took you on a different adventure. Either way it was one of those mysteries that you enjoyed to the very last page and was so well written that you weren't bummed on not figuring out the mystery yourself. It is nice when you learn along with a character and that is exactly what I did with this book.

A great debut from a long time favorite author. Returning to Asheford, her old hometown, wasn't really on Kate's radar until she gets a call from an old high school friend named Lisbeth. The town is struggling, and she is looking for a fresh set of eyes for the town could possibly do with the Barton mansion. Town member Cordelia has grand plans, the scheme seems to big for most of the council. Fate intervenes and Kate suddenly has plenty of time to check out Asheford. Tentative plans for a Victorian style redo of the main downtown area, coupled with an in at the mansion begins to seem like a realistic plan, until Cordelia is found dead. Amateur sleuth wasn't in her plans, but Kate does a solid job at feeding leads to the cops and working with an on site historian to find out what really happened.

Katherine Hamilton is the manager of an upscale hotel in Baltimore, that is until she finds out that it has been bought out and they are bringing in their own management team. Then a high school friend, Lisbeth, comes to visit her, begging her to return to her hometown of Asheboro, MD to help the town solve their finance issues. The town had bought an old mansion, was basically broke now, and Lisbeth just knew that Kate would figure out the best way to use that mansion and save the town. Katherine falls in love with the Civil War Mansion and can see a destination Victorian village in its future. While she was exploring the Mansion, the body of her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker, is found just outside with her head bashed in. Katherine must find the answer to the death before the plan to change the town and the mansion can move forward. She moves into the local B&B in town in order to be on site to do her research on the mansion and Henry Barton.

I have enjoyed everything thing I have by Sheila Connolly and the first book of the Victoria Village Mysteries was another winner. The characters are likeable and the setting fits the plot nicely. I can feel the desperation in the small town and the council members. The mystery was nicely paced and there were plenty of suspects and small town gossipy clues to keep me interested. I like the fact that the old house had some mystery thrown into the mix as well. I definitely like Katherine as the protagonist. She is an intelligent and driven woman, yet not afraid to ask for help when needed. Josh, the caretaker of the mansion as well as college professor on sabatical, is perfect as Katherine's partner in crime and romantic interest, although the romance came at the end, setting up a relationship for the next book in the series. Kate and Lisbeth re-started their friendship without any problems. Lisbeth would be an awesome friend to have, she is sweet, knows how to keep a secret and can be a great sidekick when called upon. I didn't guess the culprit involved in the side mystery and I didn't figure out who the killer was until the author started sprinkling clues closer to the end of the story. When the killer was taken in and Kate's museum friend was brought in to authenticate any pieces from the house, the book sets up the story line for the next mystery. Kate will be back in Asheboro to carry out her plans with the help of the Museum and their donors. I will definitely be reading more of this series. I am anxious to read what happens next. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. All the opinons/ideas shared are my own.

Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly is the beginning of A Victorian Village Mystery series. Katherine “Kate” Hamilton left her home of Asheboro, Maryland after high school. Katie currently works at Oriole Suites Hotel in Baltimore and is surprised when she gets a call from Lisbeth Scott, her best friend in high school. A storm went through Asheboro a few weeks ago causing severe damage and many of the residents do not have insurance to cover repairs. The town is on the verge of going under and they want Kate’s assistance. The town council had been convinced to buy the Old Barton home (a beautiful Victorian mansion) by Cordelia Walker. It turns out she had personal motivations for the venture and her plan would not benefit Asheboro. They are hoping Kate can use her skills to come up with a viable and inexpensive plan for to resurrect the town. Kate tours the Barton mansion and meets the caretaker, Josh Wainwright. She is surprised to see it in such beautiful condition. It is like stepping back in time to the Victorian era, and Kate begins to formulate a plan. As Kate exits the mansion with Josh, she finds her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker dead on the front steps. Detective Reynolds of the Maryland State Police Criminal Division is in charge of the case, but he could use someone local to be his eyes and ears. Since the Oriole was bought out, Kate has the time to aid the town and Detective Reynolds. While in Asheboro working on her plan for the town and researching the Barton family, Kate delves into Cordelia’s life looking for clues. What had Cordelia uncovered that got her killed? Join Kate on her inaugural mystery in Murder at the Mansion.

Murder at the Mansion contains good writing and with varying pacing. The story starts out strong as we are introduced to Kate. I like the main character as she is smart, likeable, hardworking, and willing to help her hometown. Kate does need to work on her self-confidence (don’t we all). I like the books concept of a struggling small town with a beautiful Victorian home. If something is not done to draw in tourists, Asheboro will die quickly. The Barton mansion sounds gorgeous. I just loved the descriptions of the Victorian masterpiece (I would love to own this home). I like the vision Kate came up with for the town and I am looking forward to seeing it come to fruition in future books in this series. The mystery has layers to it which are revealed as Kate searches for clues and I like that the mystery ties into the Barton mansion. I wish, though, that it had been harder to pinpoint the guilty party. I found the pace to vary throughout the story and it was especially slow in the middle. There was too much repetition and speculation. I feel that the book needed further editing. If Murder at the Mansion had been tightened up, it would have been a much better cozy mystery. I was curious as to why Kate did not look up information online. She kept wanting details on the original owner of the Barton home, but she did not do the obvious. There is mild foul language in the book (and it is not needed). Overall, I thought Murder at the Mansion was an intriguing first novel in A Victorian Village Mystery series. I am giving Murder at the Mansion 3 out of 5 stars. I am curious to see what happens next as Kate works to save Asheboro.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I think one of the reasons Momma and I enjoy Sheila Connolly so much is how she weaves history into her stories. It makes her books so rich in detail and ambience. This book is no exception and I can tell you we are looking forward to future stories.
Kate is a very successful hotelier who fled from her small home town after being bullied by the town “mean girl”. I am a lady so I will not use the proper word to describe this awful person but it begins with a b. She is a conniving horrible piece of work so when she is discovered with her head smashed in on the steps of a historic property, no one grieves and no one is surprised.
Kate has been called back to her hometown to help them grapple with what to do with the house. The town is dying and unless they come up with something to save it, its death is assured. Once it becomes the crime scene, it only complicates a complicated situation. Kate and her allies, including a history professor on sabbatical who is caretaking the property, believe that the deceased may have discovered something that could become the core of the restoration. In fact, they suspect it may have been the cause of her death.
The search is on for whatever is at the heart of it all, hoping whatever it is might be the nucleus for the town’s survival. It is fascinating how Kate’s idea blossoms with each new bit of information. I could picture vividly what she saw and what she imagined. It is going to be fun reading about how she turns shabby back into chic. All she needs now is a kitty once she puts down roots. Of course, I may be a bit biased.
I give it five purrs and two paws up.

MURDER AT THE MANSION, the first book in the Victorian Village Mystery series, is just an okay read for me, but the series has a lot of potential. After leaving town fifteen years ago, Kate returns to her hometown at the behest of her high school best friend. There she finds the small town on the verge of bankruptcy, and the city council hopes that Kate has ideas to revitalize the town. Unfortunately, Kate’s nemesis Cordy is murdered, and Kate finds herself both investigating the history of the Barton House and looking for Cordy’s murderer.

The murder mystery within these pages is secondary to revitalizing the town, almost like it was thrown in to make the book a cozy mystery. No one cares that Cordy was murdered, and I identified the killer very early on. The historical aspect of the book is what saved it for me. I found it interesting. Fully acknowledging that this is the first book in the series, the characters are lacking in depth. I would like to get to know Josh better, and I think it is great that one of the characters from one of Connolly’s other series has a cameo. Unfortunately, Kate is hard to warm up to. She is a bit of a snob, and I just hate the condescension and sarcasm of her inner opinions of her “best” friend Lisbeth.

I am willing to give the next book in the Victorian Village Series a chance, hoping that there will be vast improvements to the characters and the murder mystery is the focus.

I received and ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.

Katherine Hamilton is the manager of an upscale hotel in Baltimore. She finally has all her ducks in a row and loves her life. Then a high school friend, Lisbeth, comes to visit her, begging her to return to their hometown, Asheboro, MD to talk to the city council. Lisbeth won't say why, but it's a short trip across the state, so Katherine agrees. Turns out that Asheboro is nearly bankrupt. The city leaders want her to help them turn an old Victorian mansion in town into a tourist destination. Old issues crop up almost immediately because her old high school enemy, Cordelia Walker, has presented an alternate plan. Things get even worse when Cordelia is found dead and Katherine becomes a murder suspect. Katherine finds herself not only investigating the mysteries of the old mansion...but Cordelia's murder as well.

This is a nice start to a new cozy series. I like the characters and the setting. The mystery was nicely paced and there were plenty of suspects and small town gossipy clues to keep me interested. I like the fact that the old house had some mystery to throw in to the mix as well. I definitely like Katherine as a main character. She is an intelligent and driven woman, but still was willing to put her career aside to help her hometown (no matter how much hot water it got her into!) I sympathized with her and felt a certain kinship, as I always seem to find myself knee-deep in crap every single time I put personal interests aside to help someone else. I had to smile knowingly several times when Katherine really tried to do something good...and ended up with egg on her face. Maybe instead of the old saying being "You can't go home again'' it should be "You SHOULDNT go home again. Don't do it!''

I will definitely be reading more of this series. Very enjoyable read!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Murder at the Mansion was an okay start to a new mystery series. While I enjoyed the characters and the premise of the story, I feel like the author gets bogged down in unnecessary details. Sometimes less is more when describing something or someone. I found myself skipping sections due to there being too much detail. Because of this I found it difficult to get through the book after the mid-point. I really enjoy the author's other books, so I'm hoping the next book in this series will be greatly improved. I will read the next one, but if it's still bogged down in unnecessary details, that'll likely be the last one in the series I read.

Note: I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
DNF @ 12%

To be honest, the writing style just wasn't working for me here. There was too much over-explanation or details given that almost seemed repetitive that I got bored and start glazing over the pages. I know I have low tolerance for this kind of thing though, so some people might not mind it.

The thing is... I read this about 24 hours prior to writing this review and the writing style not being to my liking is one of the only things I remember about the book. The mystery hadn't started yet, things were starting to feel more like a cozy mystery style and a possible love interest appeared. The main character would have been better with a little flavor thrown in. For me she seemed a bit flat and I can't remember what she did or thought that got on my bad side.

I'd have a hard time recommending this, but this is a book I'm sure will still have an audience.

This is a fresh, new series by Sheila Connolly. I have been a fan of all her other books so I was excited to see that she had yet another new series for me to enjoy.
I am looking forward to getting to know all the characters in this new, exciting series.

I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book offered by the publisher and NetGalley.

Kate Hamilton left Asheboro, MD 10 years ago for an MBA and a career in hotel administration, specializing in the fine details that customers remember. She had no plans to leave her job at the Oriole Suites Hotel in Baltimore. She certainly had no plans to return to Asheboro, an uncomplicated and unexciting town that had held its own until a storm destroyed the made-do repairs and patches that Main Street merchants had made over the years.

The town had been using a trust fund to maintain a huge, Victorian mansion, the Barton place, built by a Civil War veteran, and had purchased it outright, but the town council was not pleased by the plans submitted by council member Cordelia Walker. The town was also too cash-strapped to assist the merchants, but needed to do something before all the merchants gave up, leaving Asheboro in the same straits as other small towns that lacked tourist attractions and industry.

Kate's high school friend Lisbeth visits her at the hotel to pitch a proposal from the town council: return to Asheboro and help to revitalize it. Kate's hotel job vanishes the next day - a victim of a sudden conglomerate takeover. With a generous severance package and no other prospects, Kate decides to consider the proposal.

Asheboro holds many memories for Kate, some good, but one, involving Ryan Hoffman, a high-school heartthrob, traumatic. As she revisits the damaged Main Street, she realizes that the slapdash repairs had covered up lovely 19th-century architecture. The overall shabbiness could be repaired, and perhaps the town could become a Victorian village to lure and enchant tourists. The Barton mansion itself is far less dilapidated than she expected, and filled to the brim with antique treasures. Could this scheme work?

As the story unfolds, the characters take shape as intelligent, headstrong people. Josh Wainwright, a history professor, is the mansion's caretaker who opposes Cordelia's plans, which would benefit only Cordelia, and destroy the historic nature of the town. Kate and Josh explore the mansion together, giving the reader a closeup view of its splendors, which include William Morris wallpapers, Tiffany light fixtures, built-in cabinetry, and documents with intriguing hints about its former owner and his family. Later, as they explore documents in the attic, they begin to realize what the town itself has forgotten.

But one detail changes the picture: Cordelia, dead on the massive front steps. Then, Kate is shaken to learn that Cordelia had married Ryan, who owns the B&B that Kate will have to live in, at least during the project.

This is the first book of a new series. Connolly's characters are articulate and very real. The first secret of the Barton mansion promises fascinating stories that will develop as the town implements Kate's plans, and begins to rediscover its own foundations. The details of food, wine, and even brickwork are so tantalizing - I can not wait to learn more!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.