Murder at the Mansion is the first in a new series by author Sheila Connolly. It is entitled the Victorian Village Mysteries series. There is nothing better than getting in on a series from the first book so I was thrilled to plunge right in.

The author of this series, Sheila Conolly, has written many cozy mysteries. I have read her books before and knew that Murder at the Mansion would be good.

Katherine Hamilton has had a very successful career in the hospitality industry. Recently out of a job, Kate returns to her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland to help with a new business venture. She is more than up to the job but what about the dead body! Lots of suspects and a good story.

Highly recommend Murder at the Mansion.

I was looking froward to this new series from Sheila Connolly as I have enjoyed her other series. This one was fine, with potential. It was a bit slow going due to establishing the characters and the setting for future mysteries. The story was not as strong as I would have liked but it was good enough that I will happily check out the next in the series. My one hesitation for this series has to be the main character, Kate. She just didn't come across as anyone I would like to know and it all seemed off somehow. First, she lives within driving distance of her old home town, making the drive from Baltimore to meet her old friend for lunch at the local hangout but she seems to ask questions about the town, the weather and local happenings that made me stop and have to reread the last line. She also seemed to be more of an acquaintance than a high school best friend, not being sure about the names, ages, etc. of her children. It seemed a bit odd.
Kate does have talent but she thinks a lot of herself when she compares her current life to her home town. Just when she thinks she has it made she is laid off when the hotel is sold. Going home to rescue the town from becoming a ghost town seems to be a project she can handle. That is, until her old school nemesis is found dead at the mansion which is the focal point of the friction for the town. By the time the body of the very much disliked Cordy was found, I had no sympathy for the victim. As Kate realized that she was top of the list of suspects and tried to find the killer, she lost some of my attention. I wanted to care more about her but just couldn't.
Because I have read the other mysteries by Sheila Connolly, I know the next book can be better, thinking of this book as a set up for changes in Kate that will make me care more about her. I will give the next book a chance.

Kate left her hometown of Asheford, MD after high school graduation and never really looked back until she received a call from her high school best friend asking her to help save the town. The only thing the town has going for it is the Victorian mansion owed by Henry Barton. One town council member, Cordelia "Cordy" Walker wants to rip everything out and turn it into an upscale hotel and run it herself. As Kate tours the mansion and starts putting together a plan, she finds Cordy dead on the mansion's front steps. Who would want Cordy dead or maybe the question should be who doesn't want Cordy dead? Can Kate solve the murder and save the town?

An excellent first book in a new series by Shelia Connolly. I am very excited to see how the series progesses. The premise of building the town into a Victorian Village is very interesting. Normally I am not a huge fan of American Victorian literature, classic or modern, but this series may just change my mind. The history that is woven in throughout the book is given to the reader in a knowledgeable way but so filled with boring facts that you get lost. I learned a lot about Clara Barton and her work outside of the Red Cross that I had no clue about. I want to read more about it but at the same time I don't want to ruin any future plot lines of the series.

There is a little bit of a romance but it plays very lightly in the background. It in no way distracts from the murder mystery. I hope it stays that way for a couple more books in the series so we can continue to build up the characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Great beginning for a new series. I read Connolly’s County Cork series (set in Ireland) and thoroughly every one of those, so when a new book for a new series popped up, I wanted to read it as well. This one is set in the financially troubled town of Asheford, Maryland. This small town is headed in the same direction as many other small towns today. All of the younger folks are moving to the cities because of the jobs and amenities offered by big cities. Asheford is struggling because the tax base is shrinking and jobs are leaving.

Katherine (Katie/Kate) Hamilton manages a small, very upscale, boutique hotel, the Oriole, in Baltimore. Although it only takes about an hour to get to her hometown of Asheford, she hasn’t been back there in years. She left after high school and has never looked back – especially after her parents moved to Florida. So, Kate was really surprised when her very best friend, Lisbeth, from high school, called and asked to see her.

Lisbeth explains to Kate that Asheford is in serious financial straits and that the town council would appreciate it if Kate would come to Asheford and give any recommendations she might have for using the grand old Victorian mansion that the town now owns. They would love to make it a centerpiece of the town but don’t know if it is feasible or how they could make it work. Kate agrees to take a look. When she sees the old mansion she is enthralled – then, as she looks around the town an idea begins to form. When she learns that her high school nemesis, Cordelia (Cordy), is living in town, Kate is a bit disconcerted, but she’s really ready to deal with her and put those past run-ins to rest. But, then, Cordy is found, by Kate, murdered on the stops of the lovely old Victorian – Barton Mansion.

We are introduced to Joshua (Josh) Wainwright, who is a divorced history professor at nearby Johns Hopkins University. Josh is on sabbatical from the university and is acting as caretaker for the Barton Mansion in return for free rooms while he does some historical research. We are also introduced to Lisbeth who was Kate’s best friend in high school. Lisbeth is now happily married to a successful man and is a stay-at-home mom to two children. I am assuming that these two characters will be fleshed out a little more as the series goes on and that we’ll learn more about them.

Josh and Kate work hard to solve the mysteries – yes, there are two mysteries. Are they related or are they totally separate with two separate perpetrators? As Josh and Kate work to solve the murder, they draw closer and closer. Will they end up in a relationship in future books in the series? I can surely see it because they both seem to have an insatiable curiosity, respect, and reverence for historical research. So, I think the two of them will work together to uncover all of the missing information on Henry Barton, his plant, his house and his wife as well as the rest of the history of the town and how it all relates to the civil war.

Another character we are introduced to is Kate’s high school boyfriend – and Cordy’s ex-husband, Ryan. I assume we’ll see him in future books because he still owns the building that housed Cordy’s B&B. I liked him okay and was glad to see that he apologized to Kate for what happened in high school.

I haven’t said much about Kate because I’m not sure how I feel about her. At this point, I don’t love her. She seems very condescending much of the time – like she is better than those around her. I hope that changes. For instance – here are a few of Kate’s thoughts/quotes:
• “Was I too smart for the men I met? Too successful?”
• “. . her crises and mine were so very different. She worried about misplaced baseball gloves, while at the hotel I had to track down international shipments of high-priority documents and make sure they reached the right people.” [This was thought about her best friend]
• “She really has nowhere else to be. Sad, isn’t it?”

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one in the series. It will be fun to see what direction the series and the romance moves in. It will also be fun to see what shops they end up bringing into the Victorian Village because some of the ones that Kate mentioned just wouldn’t work – given the population of the town and the fact that the town will depend on tourists. Kate has already moved most of those out, but it will still be interesting to see where they go with that AND what all of the research turns up.

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

I love cozy mysteries and am always looking for a new series to fall in love with. Unfortunately, this was not it! I could not get on board with any of the characters. Most of them, seemed very shallow and unfeeling. And I wasn't delighted, amused or even interested in the story. I found myself bored and struggling to finish. I'm in the minority with this one but it just wasn't for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

This story has a lot of potential and while I enjoyed parts of it, it was ultimately a little bit of a letdown. The mystery was a good one, with some intriguing side plots and enough twists to keep me reading until the end. The writing and plotting were well done and I enjoyed the setting. What I didn’t like about this book was the repetitiveness that plagued it. The author spends far to much time talking about how Cordelia was in high school and repeats herself while rehashing aspects of the mystery a few too many times. I found myself skimming a bit toward the end because I kept feeling like I had already read the section. Overall though it was a good start to  a new series and a unique idea. Hopefully book two will be less repetitive. Given that I really enjoyed the authors Apple Orchard series I will still give book two a chance.

Once a high-flying hotel manager, and then overnight out of a job, Kate Hamilton finds herself on a mission to save her old hometown. When her old friend Lisbeth coaxes her back to save the dying town, she tempts her with a very well preserved Victorian mansion. Unearthing the history of the Barton Mansion and trying to come up with a hook to bring visitors to her Victorian-themed town, Kate has her work cut out for her. When a rival for the mansion is found dead, Kate wonders why.
This is the first in a new series and I am anxious to see how the Victorian plans progress.

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book in the Victorian Village mystery series. Sheila Connolly is an excellent writer and her characters really come alive. Kate Hamilton left her small town of Asheford, Maryland after high school, and she's got a great career in hotel management.

One of her old friends calls her and asks her to come back to help revitalize the town. Kate's not sure how until she sees the beautiful Victorian mansion just out of town. Unfortunately, one of the "mean" girls from high school, Cordelia Walker, wants to develop the hotel too. When she's found dead Kate and her friends step in to investigate the murder.

Great plot and characters, overall a great book and I highly recommend it. Thanks to St. Martin's/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time at first getting into the book but I finally did and by the end of the book I loved it. I was delighted to see that the main characters love interest wasn’t in the law professions like other cozy mystery books. I can’t wait to read the next book and see how the characters develop and the story evolves.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kate works and lives in Baltimore as a hotel customer specialist. Her friend from back home in Asheboro (Lisbeth) calls her out of the blue. Lisbeth needs a big favor: "We want you to save Asheboro". Curiosity piqued, Kate agrees to meet with Lisbeth. Lisbeth asks Kate if she remembers the old mansion of Henry Barton. It was built at the time of the Civil War, was proposed and sold to the City Council. This, to buy it from the bank and turn it into "something useful". Cordelia (on the city council) - a nemesis of Kate's from high school- has other plans and supposed backers with money. Lisbeth tells Kate that "We thought you could fix things up and make people want to visit..." Kate is worried that there is no money available and that the town probably needed "dressing up." But, Lisbeth says, You're our last resort!"

Now in Asheboro, Kate meets Josh, the mansion's caretaker. (Also a history professor). They both visit the mansion a while later and find a dead Cordelia on the front door. Kate had only promised to look into the town's situation, and now she is stuck in a murder investigation as well. Cordelia was divorced from Ryan - Kate's HS sweetheart. Ryan and Kate meet: he is a lawyer now and owns Cordelia's Bed & Breakfast. Wowee.
Kate stays there gratis for "a few nights at most" for the Barton plans and the murder investigation.

Josh and Kate sort of join forces and begin investigating the Barton mansion. Since he is caretaker, this is a bonus. Back at the B & B Kate finds an envelope with Clara Barton's letter in it. Clara is known for her efforts with the Red Cross. More snooping leads to a trunk in Barton's attic with a treasure trove of Clara's letters. They are then authenticated and hidden out of town.

They also find out that Henry's factory made shovels and plowshares also that Clara and Henry were distant cousins. Since Henry was second in line to a fortune (?), he wanted Clara to find out if his older brother had died in the War. Unfortunately, Clara's letters ended when she requested a face to face meeting with Henry.

The bank president siphoned $80,000 of the Barton Fund. Now, there was essentially no money left for restoring the town unless the letters proved to be worth a good deal of money.

Are the letters worth a lot of money for the town? Are there more artifacts in the mansion?
And... who murdered Cordelia?

Great mix of history and fiction. There truly is something for everyone in this gem! Recommend!
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an interesting reading experience!

Murder At The Mansion is the first book in the Victorian Village Mystery series.

I’ve read all of Connolly’s mystery series and was so excited to hear that she had a new series in print. I’m familiar with the general area of this series, having lived there for 20 years and this made it even more enjoyable for me.

Kate has been contacted by Lisbeth, a high school friend, asking her to help save the city of Asheboro. Cordelia Walker was able to convince her fellow town council members to buy the Henry Barton mansion on the outside of town and she had plans to convert it into a B&B. The town council didn’t particularly like her plan and then her financing went away and with a dwindling tax base Asheboro they are looking for some way to save the town and the mansion. Kate has been asked to visit Asheboro and come up with a plan to save the town.

Barton was childless when he died and had created a trust for the city to use for upkeep on the property until a buyer could be found, but finding a buyer proved fruitless. When Kate arrives to access the property she finds that finds that the mansion is still furnished with the same furniture that had been there when Barton passed.

On her first visit to the Barton House, Kate meets the current caretaker, Joshua Wainwright. Wainwright is on a sabbatical to write a book on post-war Civil War. She feels that Wainwright may be a great source of information about the time period to help her come up with a plan for Asheboro. On another visit, Kate finds the lifeless body of Cordelia on the front porch. Although, initially on the list of suspects, Kate gets cleared and will help the police with the investigation.

Kate soon learns from Wainwright that Cordelia has been made numerous visits, many after her plan for the mansion was dismissed, to the mansion. Then when a letter is found that shows Barton might be related to Clara Barton. Something like this could be cause for somebody wanting Cordelia out of the picture. In addition, Kate envisions the downtown being turned into a Victorian village and the mansion being turned into a B&B, thereby drawing more visitors to the community. But Kate needs to find something that will show historical significance to be able to get financing for her plan for Asheboro.

Another well-plotted and told story from Connolly. She skillfully weaves together the historical part with the current to provide an exciting read.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series to see how her plan is coming and to learn more about the residents of the community.

Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly is the first book of the new cozy Victorian Village Mysteries series. Sheila Connolly is an established author with multiple ongoing series but I have never had the chance to try her work so seeing this was the beginning to a new series I knew I had to try it out for myself.

Katherine Hamilton had left her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland and headed off to college without looking back, until now fifteen years later. Kate had been working in the hospitality field at a high end hotel in Baltimore when seemingly at the same time she finds she is out of a job due to a takeover and she receives a call from an old friend asking for help in Asheboro.

With nothing to hold her back in Baltimore Kate heads to Asheboro to hear the town council out with their dilemma in revamping the town to gain more tourism. Kate isn’t even deterred from helping when she finds her old nemesis, the high school queen bee/bully Cordelia, is going to be the competition for ideas. But when Cordelia’s body turns up Kate finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

Going into this series knowing that the book was by an established author I was not at all surprised to find very good writing in the book and had really expected it. The story being in a small struggling town drew me right into the story and I also loved the added look into history that it revolved around. The one thing I would have liked more of is of course the one that I say quite often is more quirkiness to the characters/story being a cozy mystery so I gave this opener 3.5 stars but it was enjoyable enough that I would definitely continue on.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

When I was contacted about some upcoming cozies, my eyes completely lit up. Though I haven’t reviewed any on the blog lately, cozy mysteries are near and dear to my heart and one in particular caught my eye. Sheila Connolly, author of several series that have forever been on my To Read list (like her Orchard series!), has once more decided to make waves in the genre with Murder at the Mansion. I was more than a little intrigued and settled in one weekend for what I expected to be a fun, murder-y ride.

Fifteen years ago Katie – now Kate, thank you very much – left her go-nowhere hometown after graduating and never looked back. Now working in the heart of Baltimore, her days are filled with running high end hotels and making sure the guests’ every needs are fulfilled. Out of the blue she receives a call from her best friend, asking her out to lunch, there’s something they need to discuss, but Lisbeth doesn’t mention specifics.

As it turns out, Asheboro is rapidly dying. Their town was quiet back in high school, now it’s more like a ghost town. People are leaving for larger cities like Baltimore, going where the jobs are. Lisbeth asks Kate for her help in turning things around, starting with the old Barton mansion, which the town nearly went bankrupt purchasing. Perhaps a blessing in disguise, Kate receives word her hotel has been bought by a foreign corporation…and she’s now out of a job. Could bringing Asheboro back to life be just the thing she needs?

But returning to her hometown means coming face-to-face with her past – literally. Cordelia was the most popular girl in school and made it her life’s mission to make Kate’s miserable. Cordy still sees herself as Queen Bee and has her own plans for the Barton place. Until she’s discovered dead on the front steps.

Oh dear. Murder at the Mansion would have been a really entertaining read…if Kate wasn’t in it. She was just plain awful, she thinks she’s better than everyone else because she left her town and has (had, rather) a high-paying job. I never highlight quotes from ARCs, but I couldn’t help myself here. At one point, when having lunch with her best friend, Kate thinks “I almost smiled: her crises and mine were so very different. She worried about misplaced baseball gloves, while at the hotel I had to track down international shipments of high-priority documents and make sure they reached the right people.” Ugh. Lisbeth is supposed to be her best friend – though they came off as mere acquaintances – and more than once Kate mused on how Lisbeth had stayed home to raise children, while big, powerful Kate earned multiple degrees and didn’t need a man (“Was I too smart for the men I met? Too successful?“).

Kate also seems like a stranger in town, a place where she grew up. At one point she asks “Does it snow much? Big storms?” Now, after I graduated, I moved from my own hometown. Yet I lived there long enough to know how the winters are. Kate’s comment also struck me as odd because she lives within driving distance of the town.

What really sealed the deal for me with Kate, however, was how she treated the town librarian. Kate graduated 15 years ago. I graduated 12 years ago. Kate is only three years older than me, making her 33. Audrey was a grade of two above her in school, yet at one point, Kate thinks of her as “an aging woman with a serious crush“. An aging woman? This entire crush plotline suffered from a serious case of telling – as the reader, I certainly didn’t see any signs of Audrey’s feelings for the mansion’s caretaker, a Civil War historian. “Audrey had fixated on Josh as her last best hope for love, or at least for escape from Asheboro, perhaps even knowing how unlikely it was that he was attracted to her.” “She really has nowhere else to be. Sad, isn’t it?” I came to despise Kate.

As for the mystery itself, the Big Reveal was a bit of a letdown unfortunately, though I enjoyed it far more than I did Kate’s character. Her plans for saving the town involve literally turning the place into a Victorian village, meaning all the modern shops need to go. Instead, they’ll move in a butcher, a saddle-maker, a hat shop. And she expects the shop owners to cough up the money.

Sadly, I’m in the minority here, but I wasn’t a fan of this one. Murder at the Mansion could have been a really fun, entertaining read…the only problem? The horrible main character. Unfortunately, the grand estate and Civil War history couldn’t save this one.

Kate Hamilton is asked back to her hometown to give some advice on how to help the town do fundraising to purchase an historic mansion that can be converted to a hotel. Having just lost her job, Kate agrees. However, the one person opposing the plan is Kate's high school nemesis. Kate later stumbles over her body when touring the mansion. Who in the town hated her (or her plans) enough for murder?
This new series introduces an interesting character in Kate and her decision to stay in town sets up for more titles in the series. I liked this enough to check out more titles as they appear.

Kate couldn't wait to escape from her hometown after she graduated from high school. Other than keeping in touch with her best friend, she has washed her hands of the town and couldn't be happier. But when Lisbeth reaches out to Kate fifteen years later to ask for help saving their hometown, Kate is curious enough to return to see what can be done. But when Kate's high school nemesis turns up dead and Kate finds herself on the list of suspects, she finds herself involved in a murder investigation while trying to come up with a plan to bring life back to the town.

I have really liked almost every book I've read by this author, so I was really looking forward to reading this book, and I was not disappointed. This was one of the best first-in-series books I remember reading in quite some time, perhaps because Ms. Connolly has written several previous first-in-series books? I grew up in a place similar to Asheford, so it was easy to picture the setting in my mind while reading. I liked the few characters we got to know in this book, and I hope we'll be introduced to more of the town's residents as the series progresses. It was fun to have a couple of characters from one of the author's other series play a part in this book, and the mystery itself had me stumped until nearly the end of the book. The addition of historical background of a well-known real-life person was an added bonus, and piqued my curiosity about the subject addressed in the course of the story. I look forward to reading the next book in this series!

It would be difficult for me to imagine that I've read a book more terrible than this one all year. It starts with the idea that Kate Hamilton is the only one who can save her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland. If that seems dramatic, it's only because it is. Worse yet, Kate has no qualities that would make any reasonable person believe she could save a town (or anything else for that matter). She is a recently unemployed hospitality manager who retains almost no connections to her childhood town. She isn't smart or resourceful or even kind. Yet somehow everyone she encounters is blown away by her greatness. On the flip side, the murder victim, Cordelia, is bad. Because she was mean in high school. Cordelia also has an evil plan: turn an old mansion into a bed and breakfast. Kate's super smart town saving plan: turn that same mansion into a luxury hotel. Clearly, you see why Kate is the hero here and Cordelia deserved to die, right?

The writing in this book is... not good. The dialogue is stilted and the prose immature. The choice to set sleepy, rural decaying Asheboro near Frederick, Maryland will seem a little odd to anyone familiar with the area. And, worse of all, the mystery boils down to a gaggle of grown women fighting about a boy.

Kate comes back to her hometown to see if she could turn it around. But instead a murder mystery looms and the author takes us on a nice journey with multi-plot storyline. With plenty of suspects and strategically placed clues, the drama escalated to a frenzied pace that kept me engaged between the discovery of the body, the investigation, Barton House, the letters, the town’s plans, a blossoming romance, various interactions with the residents and the build-up to solving the murder. The development of the backstory and the characters all played pivotal roles in how well this intriguing tale was being told and I got wrapped up in finding all those little details that would eventually point to the killer’s identity. The descriptive narrative put me in a different time and place where I could feel a sense of the old community while maintaining present day and that made this story a worthwhile reading.

Murder at the Mansion is the first in a new series by Sheila Connolly. I have not read another book by this author but was lured in by the scary mansion and the history to unfold. This book was a mixture of both. The characters were well developed while the plot moved along at a nice pace. Many suspects were given for the killing of the "mean" hometown girl. I really enjoyed this cozy and look forward to the next. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

3.5 stars

There is a lot to like in this series debut. Kate Hamilton is in the hospitality business, running a boutique hotel in Baltimore when she is unexpectedly laid off. At the same time, her old high school best friend Lisbeth shows up with a plea for Kate to come help out her old home town in rural Maryland. The town has few financial resources, a shrinking population, and only one big asset: a gorgeous old Victorian mansion. Plans are afoot (by Kate's old high school enemy Cordelia) to drastically alter the mansion and change the character of the community and the town council is resisting but needs some alternative ideas, which is where Kate comes in.

Kate agrees to come take a look and meet with the locals. It isn't long before Kate and the mansion caretaker stumble over Cordelia's body on the front step. Cordelia was universally disliked so there's no shortage of suspects.

Kate is an interesting character. The loss of her job gives her an opportunity to look over her life and make some decisions about what's important to her. And she surprises herself by finding out she really cares about her old home town and is excited by the prospect of revitalizing it.

Kate is the best developed character. There are several cliched figures in view, namely the callow old boyfriend who wants to rekindle their romance (yes, he's a lawyer), the antisocial and frumpy librarian, the best friend who chose marriage and children and spends most of her time apologizing for them. And the ending is sort of quickly slapped on.

But Kate herself, and the promise of what might be around the corner for her town, make this worth reading. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this review.

I absolutely love when a successful author with a number of series to his or her name creates a promising new series, such as this one. Sheila Connolly authors a number of excellent cozy series, including the Orchard Mysteries, the Museum Mysteries, and the County Cork Mysteries. Now, Connolly has authored an interesting installment in a new Victorian Village series.

Not that the town, Asheford, Maryland, already is a Victorian Village. However, the sleuth, Kate, who grew up in this small town and has worked in the hospitality business, is asked to come back to town to try to help the town overcome its financial difficulties by developing a concept based on a huge Victorian mansion outside of town, which the town has purchased using virtually the last of its money.

The historical aspects of this cozy were quite interesting but the mystery less so. Nonetheless, this book offers a nice start to a promising new series. I'm eager to see where the storyline goes.