The Shadow of Memory is the fourth Kate Hamilton village cozy by Connie Berry. Released 10th May 2022 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

Readers who enjoy British village cozy murder shopfront mysteries are in for a treat with this series. Series protagonist Kate is an American expat antiques dealer who is engaged to local Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. She came to England to enjoy a vacation some years prior and wound up staying. She's now a permanent resident and working on an art authentication project at a former sanatorium, which is now being converted into luxury townhouses.

I really enjoy murder mysteries built around long-ago cold cases which resonate down the decades to the present day, and this one is an exceptional example of the subgenre. With the addition of clever plotting, good pacing, and engaging background history, it's a winning combo.

I liked the characterizations here; the characters live and breathe and the dialogue was never clunky. There were several seemingly disparate plot threads which intertwined into a satisfying denouement and resolution. Despite being the fourth book in the series, it worked well as a standalone, though there are some minor spoilers for earlier books if read out of order. I was engaged enough with the writing and the mystery, that I've picked up the previous books in the series.

Four and a half stars. This is definitely one for British village cozy readers. Very well written and constructed. Clean language and mostly off-page violence. With four books extant in the series at this point, it would make a good choice for a long weekend binge read or buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Gorgeously atmospheric and a delightful treat!

I love brewing a hot cup of tea and settling into a good mystery and Connie Berry’s fourth Kate Hamilton book doesn't disappoint.. Engaging plot, interesting character development, and an ending you don't see coming makes this another great read from this writer.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Press for an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I couldn’t put this book down! The mystery begins right away. I loved the different storylines and trying to figure out how they relate to each other. As a chemistry nerd, I loved how science was woven into the story. I would have never guessed the twist at then end.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I love mysteries and I have never read anything by this author before. I really enjoyed this one. It was fun and full of complex twists that kept me busy and guessing up until the end. I will definitely be reading more by this author and look for the other books in this series.

While walking home from a Hen Party one evening, Kate and two of her neighbors stumble across a dead man leaning against a tombstone in the local cemetery. Who is he? And why was he left in the cemetery?

This is a very sophisticated read with a complex storyline. I loved it because the plot uncovers two mysteries. I loved the characters and the non-stop action. I also enjoyed how Kate and Tom worked together to solve the cases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Story of the book-

Kate Hamilton is supporting her coworker Ivor Tweedy with a project at the Netherfield Sanatorium, which is being turned into opulent townhouses, while simultaneously organizing her forthcoming wedding to Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. In order to determine if a picture from the fourteenth century is indeed by the Dutch painter Jan Van Eyck, Kate and Ivor must rate it. But when former criminal investigator Will Parker is discovered dead, Kate discovers that the sanatorium’s rooms contained much more than beautiful artwork.

When Vivian Bunn, a friend of Kate’s, tells her that Will was her first love and that she hasn’t seen him in 58 years, Kate is taken aback. Will, Vivian, and three other teenagers broke into an abandoned home where a doctor and his wife had perished in strange circumstances two years prior at a coastal summer camp more than sixty years ago. Now, it becomes apparent that the kids had found more in the home than they had thought when a second member of the childhood group unexpectedly passes away—and then a third. Had Will come back to warn his former flame? Kate suddenly realizes that time is running out for Vivian—and anybody related to her—when she uncovers a startling connection between a sixty-year-old murder and the long-buried mysteries of the sanatorium.

My Review-

While Kate does much of the investigation in this delightful cozy mystery, the police do step in when necessary. It takes some time to figure out the solutions to the several interrelated puzzles because there are many unexpected turns in the story. I liked the ensemble of fascinating individuals and am interested in seeing what will happen to them next. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, despite this being the fourth. I thought it worked well as a standalone, giving me enough information on the characters to comprehend their pasts up to this point. However, I found it to be so enjoyable that I want to go back and reread the entire series to learn more about Kate and Tom and how they met.

Although a lot is going on in this novel, I never had any problem following it. I find it impressive how everything comes together in the end while maintaining all of the narrative aspects. We already know these individuals, and it’s amazing to witness how their connections develop. Despite not spending a lot of time on the page, the new characters seem genuine. The level of seriousness in this novel is on the higher end of the cozy continuum, but it is only a fact to be noted, not a warning. I was annoyed because I wanted to know what was going to happen next but life kept getting in the way of my reading. There will be happy fans. Start this series right now if that isn’t you yet.

Barry’s novel had a wonderful pace, endearing characters, and sympathetic villains, and I liked it. She’s quickly elevating to one of my favorite mystery authors. In each tale, the village calls, and it seems like returning to a familiar setting. There are many morally challenging choices made in the main narrative and its subplots, and the hints are strategically placed. The Shadow of Memory was an excellent addition to the wonderful, addictive series overall, and it was the ideal book to cozy up with on a warm evening. Already, I am eager to read the upcoming chapter.

The Shadow of Memory
By Connie Berry
Crooked Lane Books, 10 May 2022


“In Connie Berry’s fourth Kate Hamilton mystery, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton uncovers a dark secret buried in Victorian England.”


Though I read this book not having read the previous three books in this series, I still enjoyed it and had no trouble appreciating the characters. There was enough back story that I didn’t feel lost and I enjoyed this book enough that I would like to read the earlier books.

Kate Hamilton is an American living in England. She is an antiques dealer (which is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book) with a shop back in the United States. She is also an amateur sleuth with a detective fiancé. Though the law-enforcement boyfriend is a typical trope of this genre, this book is so well-written that I didn’t mind.

When a retired detective is found dead, Kate makes a shocking connection between him and her friend, Vivian. More of Vivian’s friends, ones she hasn’t seen is almost sixty years, die of apparent natural causes. Kate fears her friend will be next. While working on an art appraisal and planning her wedding, she investigates this mystery and tries to protect Vivian.

For cozy mystery lovers, and lovers of antiques, this series is a must-read. Kate is a smart, interesting character and I look forward to more of her adventures.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Hamilton is engaged to Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. They have a few details to work out yet—where the wedding will be and when, if they’ll live in the US or the UK, if she’ll sell her antique business in Ohio or he’ll take a promotion, and most importantly, where Tom’s mother will live. She’s been against the match since their first date. Meanwhile, Kate lives with Vivian and her pug, Fergus. On their way home from a celebration, Kate spots a purple sock in the graveyard. It’s on a foot and the foot belongs to a dead man. Near the body is a note with Vivian’s name on it.

“The mystery of his death spans sixty years.”

Vivian knew the man but a much younger version. As teens at camp for a week, the pair, along with three friends, broke into an abandoned house where mysterious deaths took place. Fancying themselves detectives, they search for clues and write their theories for future investigators. Now members of their group are dying at an alarming rate.

While helping Vivian remember that summer, Kate and Ivor Tweedy are hired to verify a rare painting that could be worth millions. There’s also an engagement party for Kate and Tom where Tom’s mother doesn’t bother to hide her feelings.

This is book four in the series. Because the plot involves characters from both the ‘60s and the present, some now the adult children of the originals, there are a number of names to keep straight. The good news is, the story is so compelling, you’ll want to read it straight through. Kate and Tom are a good match, personally and professionally, as she is as involved in the case as much, if not more, than Tom. Vivian is the neighbor you’d love to have, and Fergus? Who can resist a pug? I enjoy a book where the characters know their business, don’t have messy love lives, and who are old enough to have adult children.

That plot? It has more twists than Chubby Checker, including one on the very last page. I always look forward to a visit with Kate and Tom. They’ll have a place on my Best of 2022 list for sure. Now to plan what I’ll wear for their wedding…

I loved sleuthing with Kate in this interesting mystery. The characters are engaging.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set in England, this mystery was one that kept my attention. I at times felt like I was watching one of my favorite British shows as the characters traveled through their community. It was interesting that the story followed a group of people who were now elderly but were once close friends and when they were youngest attempted to solve a murder mystery. Years later the mystery has come to light and the group of older friends is receiving gifts from their past and now one by one they are dying. Kate has become friends with some of this group and begins attempting to figure out the current mystery and the one from the past.

You will enjoy this book if you enjoy cozy reads or mysteries set in an English setting.

Thank You Crooked Lane Books and Connie Berry for the gifted ebook.
#TheShadowofMemory #NetGalley

This fourth installment in its series finds American antiques dealer Kate and her British Detective Inspector fiancé Tom trying to figure out the logistics of their future, but they are having a hard time making any decisions. Plans take a back burner when Kate gets involved in a murder investigation and potential art forgery. Author Berry does a fantastic job of weaving past and present mysteries together to make a cohesive, compelling, and entertaining story. The various plot threads kept me guessing until the very end. I enjoy all of the characters; they are all well dawn but continue to grow. I enjoy spending time with them. The English setting is charming and makes for great armchair travel.

THE SHADOW OF MEMORY is a top notch read! Recommended to any mystery or cozy reader.

I received an ARC of this title from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.

Another fantastic Kate Hamilton mystery. Kate is still assisting Ivor Tweedy, planning to marry Inspector Tom Mallory and living with her elderly friend Vivian near Finchley Hall. When a former campground, needing capital to renovate for present day living, they invite Kate and Ivor out to appraise some artwork. On the grounds, a cottage that has been sealed since murders occurred there in the early sixties. All bits lead to other clues and mysteries, especially as Vivian remembers the cottage well. She and her friends, the Five Sleuths, did just that, and buried their clues and guesses in the cottage. Now, her old friends are being killed and Kate assists Tom in sleuthing of their own. I remain curious about Ivor Tweedy--this time, he alludes to the time he was charged with reindeer rustling in Northern Mongolia. There seems to be quite the story under his shopkeeper demeanor.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Kate and Tom still have many decisions to make after their engagement. Do they stay in England or do they return to Ohio, which is where Kate has her antiques business. In the meantime, she is working with Ivor and they have a fascinating challenge. They are asked to validate a Van Eyck painting owned by a former mental hospital which could pay for the renovations to turn the property into a profitable concern. As Kate and Ivor are checking the provenance of the painting, she is also drawn into an intrigue of her room-mate Vivian.

It seems someone from her past, long past indeed, has been murdered in the local churchyard. The deceased and Vivian spent several summer vacations together when they were in their teens and the final year, they and the other three friends with whom they hung out, broke into an abandoned house with a mysterious secret. The “five sleuths” came up with clues and theories about what had occurred. Who was to guess that their game would cause the deaths of three of the five.

Kate and Tom want to keep Vivian safe but they would also like to solve the murders and the other mysteries that seem to surround the events of the 1960s. Is it possible that is all interconnected and if so, how. They do uncover the truth and motive turns out to be sad on one hand and avaricious on another. It makes for a good summer time read with compelling characters and a fascinating story. Five purrs and two paws up.

The Shadow of Memory reminded me of an old English lady that used to tell stories to keep us quiet. Although a mystery and with death involved in the plot, the story does not have any gory details or leans to the dark side. Most of the time the story is upbeat, the old ladies are funny, Kate has a great mind and her fiancee is a gentleman! If you enjoy reading light mysteries full of small details that are very important to understand the whole plot, you should try this book. I'll be looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Another wonderful mystery where I learn so much about life in England and antiques. The appraisal of the painting was so fascinating! The mystery itself, really two in one with the one that happened in the past, held my interest and I didn’t want to stop reading to see what happened next. Bonus points for finally resolving the question of where they will live after they get married.

This is my favorite of Connie Berry's series featuring middle aged antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. The first three volumes in the series establish her relationships and the setting, but each of those found her in a temporary situation. In The Shadow of Memory she works with her friend Ivor and is once again called to investigate a mystery involving her friends. Her relationship with fiancée Tom progresses as they work together to plan a wedding and solve the problem of a long forgotten deaths. Berry has found her niche and I look forward to reading the next installment.

This was the best of the series - I enjoyed every second of this book [even with a narrator that apparently doesn't know how to speak and pronounces words in ways that have never been pronounced ever before] and the mystery it presents. Kate and Tom and the supporting characters [we spend the most time this book with Vivian and some of the most hilarious laugh-out-loud moments in the book came with her in the scene] are just fantastic [with the exception of Tom's mother - as someone who had a particularly nasty MIL, I totally and completely feel for Kate, but I am grateful that in this book that she has someone who supports her and loves her 100%; I am grateful to the author for how well she writes this particular story-line] and I love spending time with all of them.

This time out, there is a mystery within a mystery and I found myself so focused on the one [that I ended up being correct about] that I missed ALLLLLL the signals for the second one and therefore was shocked when the reveal happened. And what a reveal it was. WHOOSH. It really made the whole book come together so well and it was very satisfying.
I am so glad that I found this series; it has been nothing short of really great reads for me. Well done.

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

Kate Hamilton mysteries are always fun and entertaining and this one is even better than the other.
I had fun, the solid mystery kept me guessing, and I was glad to catch up with the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

If your favoured reading material is a compelling tale with a good sprinkling of mystery, murder, relationships and good old-fashioned policing and sleuthing then The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry is a must-read for you!

It’s August and independent and level-headed American antique dealer Kate Hamilton who has a degree in Brish history is back, along with DI Tom Mallory, in this fabulous continuation of a brilliant series! Kate, who is in her mid-forties is planning her wedding to Tom and the two, who met in Scotland are in the Suffolk village of Long Barston. Kate is helping the owner of The Cabinet of Curiosities, her friend Ivor Tweedy, with the Netherfield Sanatorium project (Netherfield was a lunatic asylum), consisting of a conversion to townhouses. They are appraising a particular painting by Jan Van Eyck, reported to be an original and therefore worth a lot of money. Kate and her friend, Vivian Bunn are on an outing along with some other friends for a hen party and at 9.30 pm Kate leaves, cutting across the Rectory graveyard on her way home. She spies a purple sock attached to a leg. It belongs to a dead older man.

This traditional mystery plot was very appealing to me in many ways. There were elements of history, a large bunch of colourful characters, and a fantastic setting in the English countryside. The whodunnit mystery contained red herrings that threw me off the scent and would satisfy many an armchair detective. Connie Berry’s knowledge of antiques was admirable and she clearly knew her subject matter very well. I found that this novel was suspenseful enough to keep my level of interest high and I wanted to keep reading just one more page.

All in all, The Shadow of Memory was a brilliant addition to marvellous, compulsive series and it was the perfect book to curl up with on a balmy evening. I am already looking forward to reading the next instalment.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

I loved this novel! It was filled with twists and turns. The characters are very likable and the ending 🤯
You won’t expect it coming!