This is book 2 in the Kate Hamilton Mystery series. It can be read as a stand alone because I missed book 1, A Dream of Death but I already have it on my TBR stack. Kate is visiting her daughter Christine in England before Christmas and getting to know her boyfriend Tom a little better. He's with the local police and Kate is happy to be seeing both of them. Christine is doing an internship at Finchley Hall and Kate is excited to take the tour of the historic home. Finding a dead body wasn't part of the plan. Great mystery with loads of information about antiques and British history. Interested to see where the romance goes in book 3. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Kate Hamilton is in England to visit her daughter Christine who is an intern at Finchley Hall. She is on a tour of the estate while waiting for her daughter to finish orientation when the tour group comes upon the body of a young woman in a lake.

The young lady is Tabitha King who is another intern and who was in charge of organizing a exhibition of the Finchley Hoard which is celebrating its 200th anniversary of being rediscovered. The hoard is a collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts and is literally priceless. The fees for the exhibition will go a long way to keeping Finchley Hall in the possession of almost-blind Lady Barbara.

Lady Barbara convinces antiques dealer Kate to take over the final organization of the exhibition. Kate is also busy, along with her boyfriend Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, trying to find out who murdered Tabitha. Kate is also dealing with relationship drama with her daughter Christine and her boyfriend Tristan who is being vamped by another of the interns. Christine has a very difficult, prickly personality.

Also raising tensions is an organized group of thieves who are targeting nearby stately homes and stealing assorted small but very valuable items - just the sort of thing that the Finchley Hoard is known for.

This was an engaging mystery in a great setting. I loved all the distinct characters. I was almost certain I had figured out who the murderer was by the middle of the story and was pleased to be correct. I was intrigued by the relationship between Tom and Kate which had a number of impediments including the fact that the two live in different countries.

Fans of British cozy mysteries will enjoy this one.

This is the first book by this author I've read,. This is the second book in the series and I've just put the first one on hold at my library. Even though this is the second book, I never felt confused by not having read the first one. I am sure you'll get more out of it if you read them in order. I enjoyed the characters and the location. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest reveiw.

I'm not familiar with this author but I was looking for something different to read and the title intrigued me.
I had a bit of a hard time trying to get into the story, it didn't capture my attention like I was hoping it would.
I found the book to be well written, it just didn't appeal to me. This has nothing to do with the author or the style of writing, just my own personal preference.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.

In this third book in the A Kate Hamilton Mystery series, the body of a young woman is discovered on Finchley Hall grounds during a tour of the estate.

Kate, an antiques dealer and appraiser is visiting her daughter, Christine in England. She is also shopping for her antique shop back in the states. Her daughter studies in Oxford and is currently interning in Finchley Estate.

During a tour of the Finchley estate, Kate and her tour group discover the body of a young woman lying dead by the lake.

Something about the position of the body by the lake does not seem right and the police and Kate Hamilton suspect foul play.

Interesting characters and a beautiful setting in the English countryside. I felt like I was being transported to a different time period. Even the pubs in the village have a personality of their own. Looking forward to reading the third book. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Connie Berry, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Hamilton is in England to visit her daughter, who has an internship at a large country house, as well as to buy some antiques for her shop in Ohio. It also gives her the opportunity to resume in person her romance with police inspector Tom. When a body is discovered during her tour of the country house, Kate stays to comfort her daughter and assumes the work of the murder victim in order for the special exhibit she was planning to be held. Luckily, the country house is located within the bailiwick of Tom, the inspector she met in Scotland in the first book in the series. But their romance can only proceed fitfully given the murder investigation and the presence of his late wife's mother. I wanted to warm up to Kate a little more than I did, as she is a contemporary age-wise, but there was something about her that prevented my identifying with her. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, and since it took place at Christmas, it provided a cool escape from the hot desert summer

It was supposed to be a pleasant visit with her daughter and an opportunity for widowed antiques dealer Kate Hamilton to look for merchandise for her business. Her daughter Christine is a student at Oxford who took a summer internship at Finchley Hall. Before meeting her daughter Kate decides to tour the estate, where her group finds the body of another intern.

The murder victim had been working on an exhibit for the Finchley estate. In 1549 during a peasant revolt, Sir Oswyn Finchley had a servant bury the estate’s valuables. Lost for almost 300 years, the Finchley Hoard had been scheduled to be exhibited in 1996. This exhibition was cancelled when the museum curator in charge was murdered. Now history seems to have repeated itself.

The current exhibit was planned to raise funds to restore Finchley Hall. As an antiques dealer, Kate offers to complete the preparations for Lady Barbara Finchley-fforde. One of the pieces in the Hoard is a ruby ring which Kate finds, although a garnet has taken the ruby’s place. There are other discrepancies in Kate’s inventory notes as well, which Kate attempts to discover with the help of an antiques dealer in the village of Long Barton.

A suspicious stranger on the estate grounds, the disappearance of Lady Finchley-fforde’s son after the 1996 murder and a chain of thefts from estates in the area provide a satisfying mystery for the reader. Kate’s developing relationship with DI Tom Mallory, the investigator on the case, also provides an opening for further mysteries in this series. Connie Berry has written an entertaining mystery that I would recommend for fans of Sheila Connolly and Stella Cameron.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of this book for my review.

Kate is spending Christmas in a small English village. Kate owns an antique shop in the states. While visiting her daughter Christine, she plans on meeting up with the detective she met with on her last trip. While on a tour body turns up and Kate's curiosity gets the best of her. Must find the killer before anyone else gets hurt

Kate Hamilton is in England, she is indulging her love of antiques and history by combining a holiday with bonding with her daughter at the latter's workplace. It has the added benefit of being in the same town as the man who she crossed paths with, in the first book. With such a stage set all things should have gone smoothly but murder happens to rear its ugly head once again. This was not something new either for Finchley hall- as they have had multiple cases of bodies in their long history- or for Kate who solved a case quite recently. Kate gets involved in the workings of Finchley hall more than she could have ever anticipated.

I loved the previous book because of the narration, and the story seemed to be set in a different time and place than in our contemporary world. This installment was more grounded in the woes of owning and feeding old homes in England with the current issues at hand. Kate is a very interesting character, she is intelligent but not arrogant. She has multiple insecurities and if an outburst from her seems odd to us, she will feel the same way once she cools down. Her biggest insecurities are her relationship with her daughter and the 'future' with Tom. Both of these topics are tackled in-depth here, without a proper conclusion making it feel surprisingly realistic. The investigation spans a lot of issues and like the previous story, we follow each suspect until he/she is no longer one and then switch tack. It is streamlined and concise with the only superfluous bits being the dramas amongst the interns at Finchley Hall but that serves its own purpose at a later stage.

I liked most of the characters but I would have willingly scolded Christine for her asinine behaviour, the older ladies were a treat to read about. I would recommend this series to those on the lookout for cozy mysteries with a little more content than quirks.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.

Take one American antiques dealer on holiday, add a quaint English village, a pair of dueling pubs, a crumbling Manor house, an Anglo Saxon hoard, a busy Detective Inspector, a dash of romance and sprinkle liberally with a handful of red herrings and you've got a romping good murder mystery!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. It's delightful! #ALegacyOfMurder #NetGalley

Although this is the first title I've read from this series, I didn't feel like I was missing something. The characters are well developed, and the story can stand alone.

I enjoyed the mystery and wasn't disappointed by the killer's identity, despite the cliche. Everything unfolded in a way that had me guessing and thinking right until the reveal.

I look forward to reading more by this author. Her writing is good, just enough detail to entertain, with some subtle humor thrown in: "The walk to the Three Magpies took me past the Finchley Arms. The sidewalk signboard said TODAY’S SPECIAL: NOTHING. YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL."

Overall, a good mystery and an entertaining read.

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.

This was quite intriguing and suspenseful! I really enjoyed the plot of this and the setting was just great. The characters were well-developed and even though I hadn't read the first book in the series, I had no trouble catching up.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I always love a good mystery. I really enjoyed Kate’s “detective” skills. I do hope there will be a sequel in which Kate and Tom find themselves together. I’m so glad they solved the mystery of the killer and their. I would have never guessed who it was! Great book!

There was nothing I did not love about 'A Legacy of Murder'. I was realistically transported to Long Barston in Connie Berry's latest offering in A Kate Hamilton Mystery series. The descriptions of the area and all of the characters completely engaged me. Having been a young widow myself I found Kate's struggles with her daughter totally believable. Without giving too much away I think the issues of abandonment were honestly dealt with in a realistic way. This was an expert mystery with a perfect blend of romance. I'd rate the ending with is perfect 'cliffhanger' 10 stars if I could. I can't wait for the next in the series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions express in this review are entirely my own.

It's nearing Christmas and Kate Hamilton, an American antiques dealer, is visiting England to see both her daughter Christine and her new boyfriend Tom Mallory, a DI with the Suffolk police. She's staying in a private room on the Finchley estate where her daughter works as an intern, and she, too, is housed there. On this day she's taking a tour of the estate while Christine is in orientation. But the tour is cut short when a young boy - who is on the tour along with his mother - discovers the body of a young woman in the pond.

It turns out the woman is Tabitha King, who also worked as an intern. She was designing and preparing an exhibit on the estate - an exhibit of The Hoard, the Finchley treasure - which had only been seen as partial items on exhibit throughout the years. This was to be the first time that the entire Hoard would be shown.

When Kate finally meets Christine's new boyfriend, Tristan Sorel, she takes an instant dislike to him, but says nothing to Christine, having realized that Christine was always attracted to men who were less than she thought they were, and she believed Tristan to be another of this ilk.

But then the lady of the manor, Barbara Finchley, is determined that the Hoard will be shown, because they've already sold tickets and the estate needs the funding. When she discovers Kate's background in antiques, she eventually gets her to agree to take over Tabitha's job. But it's not too long before Kate finds Tabitha's notes and discovers discrepancies; it seems pieces that should be in the group are not, and no one seems to know where they've gone to.

But there's more drama afoot when Tristan is pursued by Alex, who works at the estate. She makes an overt play for him, and he doesn't resist very much. Now, with Christine angry at both Tristan and Alex, a dead girl that's turned out not to be a suicide, and missing pieces from the collection, how will Kate find time to be with Tom while he's investigating a murder? And is the murderer among them - one of the interns, an employee, or a mysterious stranger who's been traveling through town? Kate's up to her ears in intrigue, and she needs to find out the truth before she's due to return home to spend Christmas with her mother...if she ever does...

This is the second book in the series and I have to say that I did like it much better than the first. The author is finding her way and honing the characters, and we have more depth and feeling out of Kate than we did in the first book, so that's a good thing.

Following are a couple of plot points that bothered me, but I have hidden them in a spoiler for those who have not as yet read the book:

THE FOLLOWING IS HIDDEN IN A SPOILER SO NO ONE CAN SEE IT WITHOUT CLICKING ON THE SPOILER:

However, I'm still of two minds: on the one hand I loved the plot and thought the mystery was well done, but one the other hand I couldn't stand Christine. How could Kate have raised such a selfish, immature, self-centered daughter, and then make excuses for her bad behavior?

To wit: Christine is not passionate, she's immature. What adult throws things at another woman she's angry with, pouts and buries her face in her blankets to cry? This is pre-teen behavior, not that of an adult. She refuses to discuss the situation with her mother (who could at least offer her another point of view) and is extremely rude to Kate.

She's upset that Kate is dating Tom and is rude to him (more childish behavior) because her father has been dead only three years and she tells Kate that she's still in mourning and shouldn't be seeing anyone. Three. Years. How long is Kate supposed to wear the black before her daughter deems it "acceptable" that she has a life? How long is she supposed to be lonely, living by herself? Let's face it, people aren't spending all their time mobbing antique shops, either, so she's probably even there by herself a lot.

It seems she doesn't want her mom to be happy - doesn't care if sh's lonely, considering both she and her brother live overseas and don't make an effort to come home; and her mom doesn't even have pets. (It reminds me of that old '50s movie, All That Heaven Allows with Jane Wyman. Jane's daughter and son throw a fit because she's dating Rock Hudson and their father has only been dead five years - and breaks them up; then buy their mom a TV set for Christmas so she won't be lonely. Earlier in the film, having a TV was mentioned as being for people whose life was pretty much over and they spent their time sitting in front of it. These were two selfish kids, and Christine reminds me of that.

Everything about her screams spoiled child, and I certainly wouldn't want to spend time with her. I disliked her immensely because of this and how she treated her mother - she hated the fact Kate was dating Tom, but wouldn't listen to her mother's reservations about Tristan. Does that sound very adult to you? She also acted like a teenager around him - fawning over him, etc. - and didn't spend any time at all with Kate. She never even apologized to her mom for her behavior, and I didn't understand why she'd go to jail for Tristan after the way he treated her, or that he would allow her to. He never went to the police and said Christine didn't try to kill Alex. What a weasel. She should have told him to man up.

I also didn't like the fact that Kate didn't seem to care that Tom lost a promotion because of her anger. She couldn't see that he was trying to do his job and that he was doing what he could to keep Christine comfortable. She'd rather fill herself with hate - no matter the reasons why, she still cost him a promotion. I'm sure it won't keep her up at night, but I consider it a crappy thing to do. And just like her daughter, she never apologized or tried to make it right.

Then Kate, for some odd reason, decided to "talk British." Americans don't say 'packet of paper', we say 'ream of paper'. We don't say 'crisps', we say 'potato chips'; 'baked potato' not 'jacket potato'; 'tennis shoes' not 'trainers' - well, you get the idea. Just because you're visiting England you wouldn't talk like them. A British person visiting the USA isn't going to suddenly start saying 'sweater' instead of 'jumper' or 'cookies' instead of 'biscuits'. (She could have put the British terms in parentheses or vice versa and it would have made more sense). That's like saying a person from New York visiting Texas is suddenly going to be saying "y'all" after a couple of days there. They won't. They're on vacation, just like Kate. So I didn't get the "Brit talk" at all; it was starting to get on my nerves. I actually wanted to tell her to knock it off, that she was American, for goodness' sake. (I travel, and I certainly don't start speaking like the natives after a few days).

END OF SPOILER

However, once I got past the annoying things, the book took a decent turn and I followed the clues along with Kate right down to the end of the book. When the killer was revealed it was actually a bit of a surprise, but even in its being necessary, there is no excuse for murder to keep secrets hidden.

I will say of all the characters introduced in this book, I liked the one of Ivor Tweedy the best. Although I knew from the beginning where the ending was going to go, he was such a whimsical character, full of exuberance of life. I hope to see much more of him in later books. All in all, I really did enjoy this book and hope to see the next in the series arrive soon. Recommended.

An excellent and well-written mystery featuring an American antiques dealer visiting her daughter, and trying to establish a potential relationship with an English DI. The story was good, the characters full-bodied and interesting, and there were plenty of red herrings to keep the suspects fluid and the plot engaging.

Will definitely be going back to the first to read. Recommended!

I am a sucker for a good Christmas cozy, and this one was as festive and fun as they come. I thoroughly enjoyed the charming setting, and the mystery was a pretty good one. It was a bit slow in the middle, but other than that I found the book to be extremely enjoyable and one I'd recommend to mystery lovers.

I always thought the phrase “the butler did it” was a bit of a cliche but in this case, I’m sorry folks the spoiler is, the butler did do it, I just couldn’t resist saying that. To think he did it all for the Lady of the house, he is a loyal and faithful crazy, that much I can say. Intriguing and some times frustrating read, all in all, it was very entertaining.

law-enforcement, family-dynamics, museum, murder-investigation, England *****

All Kate wanted when she left the Cleveland airport was a pleasant holiday in England with her daughter at Finchley Hall and get to know better the interesting police detective she met not long ago.
What she got was confrontation with her daughter who thought her mother should mourn her father lots longer than three years, issues with the man she has fallen in love with because his duty to the law was in conflict with her personal issues. And a murder or two.
The characters are interesting and engaging, the investigation twisty and packed with misdirection, and the whole is simply riveting. Hope there's another book in the offing!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

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?


Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience. It had me on the edge of my seat