I started reading The Shadow of Memory on a sizzling hot day in May and in minutes, I was whisked away to Long Barston, Suffolk, England on a cold night as Kate Hamilton (an American antiques dealer) and her dear friend Vivian Bunn (a retired secretary) find themselves in a graveyard with a problem. A dead man, that they later discover is a childhood friend of Vivian who she hasn't seen in many years. Kate is determined to find the murderer before Vivian becomes the next victim.

Connie Berry has a true gift of creating characters who are so "real" that the reader feels as if they are right there sleuthing and has wonderful and cozy descriptions of the English countryside, townfolk and food that add to the enjoyment of the mystery. In this book, not only is Kate sleuthing, but she and her fiance, DI Tom Mallory are planning their upcoming wedding. I enjoy seeing Kate in all her roles - mother, amateur sleuth, antiques dealer, fiancee and loyal friend. The fact that Kate is somewhere in her 40's also makes the character relatable and fun. Kate is level-headed, smart, kind and has a great sense of humor. The supporting characters are well-written and you'll grow fond of them - especially Lady Barbara and Vivian.

The Shadow of Memory is another winner in the Kate Hamilton series!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Three young girls are orphaned one night, and their unusual family home is locked up for decades.

An investigation by five sleuths (teens who broke in) and left evidence behind in a metal box.

One of the sleuths became a policeman; CID. After he retired, he discovered deadly secrets and was murdered.

Kate, taking a shortcut home, finds the body and has a nagging feeling that something is missing.

Hale helps appraise a painting worth millions, but her inner voice warns of danger. The voice has not been wrong yet...

This is a complex story and may require more effort from "the little gray cells" than some other mysteries. (It's a very good story, but it's best not to read if you are feeling depressed.) However, it's entertaining and well worth the time to unravel it. Every book I've read by this author (so far), has been great!

4.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook!

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#CozyMystery #AntiqueStoreMystery
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This cozy series first got my attention for its focus on antiques. It has remained on my list of favorites through four books, each one becomes my favorite. American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is planning her wedding to DI Tom Mallory. As Kate is from Ohio now living in England one big question becomes which side of the pond will they make their new life together? In this mystery not only does a fresh death overshadow that question but it connects to a poisoning from 1961 and that involves one of Kate's English friends who was a teenager in 1963. That Summer she and several friends investigate the abandoned home of the poisoned couple and play detective. Something follows them into their senior years and now, 60 years later, one of those friends is found dead in the local grave yard.
The death 60 years ago somehow also connects to the renovation of a former sanatarium that involves Kate and her friend, Ivor, another antiques dealer. They have been asked to authenticate an old master painting by Jan Van Eyck and owned by the sanatarium. If it's the real deal the painting will fetch a fortune at auction.
With more than one mystery to follow, connections to be made and a killer revealed will Kate and Tom be able for unravel it all before the killer strikes again, this time aiming at Kate's friend Vivian? Put it all together and it makes for a five star mystery. If this is the first Kate Hamilton mystery you have read it's fine as a stand alone but do yourself a favor and binge read the other three.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Kate Hamilton Mystery series is a great series of mysteries that is engaging and entertaining. The first story was set in Scotland while this one is set in Suffolk in the village of Long Barston. In this, the fourth story of the series, Kate and Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, who met in Scotland, have their upcoming wedding in their future. They have some decisions to make. Since she owns an antique shop in Ohio, and he works in Suffolk, they need to decide where to get married, where to live, and to set a date for the wedding. This is running in the background as Kate has a mystery that she is working on. A body is found near the cottage where she lives with an older woman, Vivian. The body turns out to be an acquaintance of Vivian's from near sixty years ago, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of a long-ago mystery that has surfaced again. This is a mystery that had me caught up right away with its twists, turns, and multilayers. I enjoyed the setting and the well-developed and interesting characters. Outstanding story! Highly recommend!

This series has become one of my most favorite cozy series. The mysteries are always phenomenal, the English setting is super fun for me, and I really like the characters. This mystery was superb, with a present-day murder tied to two mysterious deaths nearly 60 years ago made for a story I could not put down! A simply fantastic read for me!

This has essentially all of my favorite things in one book. There's potential art forgery, antiques, and an old mystery involving an abandoned house that was left fully intact. Kate's dear friend and housemate, Vivian's past is front and center in this book as she has to remember details of one pivotal week of a teenage summer vacation. As well, Kate and her business associate Ivor have been called to appraise and auction off contents of a sanatorium that is changing purposes.

I enjoyed this book from the beginning though as soon as the abandoned house entered the plot I was absolutely hooked. The mystery was engaging and really kept me guessing. The fact that so many aspects are connected did feel a bit contrived but not enough to temper my enjoyment of the book.

As well, I have really come to love these characters. Kate is the kind of woman I would like to be friends with. She's intelligent with common sense and a bit of a sense of humor. She is struggling with some decisions as her relationship with Tom is evolving but the in a realistic way that never interferes with the plots.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end and was sad to see the last page. If you enjoy solid mysteries with likable characters and plots that dig into the past this is a must read!

4th book in the lovely series.
Kate Hamilton is planning her wedding to DI Tom Mallory, and helping out Ivor.
A sanatorium is being converted to high end condominiums, in its halls has been hanging a painting by Jan Van Eyck, Kate assists Ivor with its provenance.
Walking home with Vivan after a party at the rectory, they find a body, even more surprising is that it turns out to have been Vivan’s first love.
Great story! Perfect cozy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an early read.

The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry is the fourth installment in the Kate Hamilton mysteries and my first read by this author. Kate is an American expert on antiquities and is currently employed by Ivor Tweedy, the owner of The Cabinet of Curiosities based in Long Barston, Suffolk, England.

Kate is engaged now to Tom Mallory, a police officer with the Suffolk, England police force. Because he lives in England and Kate has a home and business in America, they need to decide where they will live.

Kate and two other women were walking home after a 'hen' party and she virtually stumbles over a dead body in the cemetery. Come to find out that the dead man was a retired police officer. There is a note next to the body with her friend, Vivian Bunn's name on it. Why would the man have her friend's name? It turns out that the dead man, Will Parker, had been Vivian's first love when she was seventeen.

Doctor Beaufoy and his wife, had been murdered at the Monkey Puzzle House. Vivian, Will, and three other teenagers decided to conduct their own investigation as to what actually happened in that house on that fateful day. Sixty years later, all of the people died mysteriously except for Vivian. Is she in danger also?

The investigation takes Kate and Ivor to the Netherfield Sanitarium which is being converted into townhouse and flats. They are hired by the board members of Netherfield to authenticate the fifteenth-century painting and verify that its provenance is the Dutch master Jan Van Eyck. The painting and the murders become intertwined with a past mystery that can threaten, Kate, and Vivian. As the investigation goes deeper into the past, will Kate and Tom discover the truth from all those years ago?

I could tell that there was a lot of research that went into the telling of this story, plus the continuing love affair between Kate and Tom brought the whole story into perspective. We have the murders, who was killing off the 'original' teenage investigators? The painting and the board members also lend a different twist. Who can be trusted? Who is the killer/s and why? A wide range of characters also populate the pages making this book a real who dunnit.

I don't often read a cozy-type mystery but I did enjoy this one. I give it 4 stars!

This fourth book of the series does not disappoint! Kate and Vivian discover a dead body in the church graveyard. The man was an old flame of Vivian and tied to an old mystery. Kate helps Tom to discover more about the man and the cold case he was pursuing. A great puzzling plot! A surprise at the end and a promise of more to come. Loved this installment of the series! I was given a free copy of this book from Net galley in return for a review.

The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry is the 4th book in her Kate Hamilton Mysteries series. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it very much. The cozy mystery read very well as a standalone, with details of the main characters giving us a wonderful background. I plan to read more about Kate Hamilton and adding Connie Berry to my list of authors I want to read.

Kate Hamilton, our heroine, is a visiting American antiques dealer currently living in Suffolk in the small village of Long Barston. She is a widow with two grown up children, and is now engaged to Englishman DI Tom Mallory; they are still in the process of planning where they want to live. Kate is currently working with antiques dealer Ivor Tweedy, arranging an auction for valuable antiques belonging to the Netherfield Sanatorium, which is being converted to deluxe apartments. One of the main items is a painting that is valued to be in the millions; with Kate and Ivor appraising the originality of the item.

Kate and two friends, out for the evening and taking a short cut home, come across a body of an elderly man, who is dead. The dead man was identified to be Will Parker, and old friend of Vivian (one of Kate’s local friends), she has not seen this man in more than sixty years. Kate will learn from Vivian about what happened all those years ago, when a group of them spent a week at Hopley’s Holiday camp, with five of them going to a local house belonging to the Beaufoy family, where the parents died suddenly, and they decided to be sleuths playing the game ‘clue’. After Ivor (with Kate’s help) hypnotizes Vivian to remember all she could back to the past, detailing that they put all their clues in a metal box. Now it appears someone in the present is wanting to find that box, and why was Will Parker trying to visit Vivian?

Kate works with Tom, trying to investigate what turns out to be Will’s murder; and as time goes on, the other 4 people seem to be targeted. While Tom does his police investigation, Kate and Vivian travel to meet family members of the other possible targets; learning several of the former teen group have recently died.

What follows is an excellent mystery tying in the poisoned deaths of the Beaufoy parents years ago; what is in the missing box, and how the current painting was part of the past. I really thought Kate was a fabulous heroine, and loved her relationship with Tom; hoping in the next book Kate and Tom do marry. I also enjoyed many of the local secondary characters, as well as the wonderful village. The Shadow of Memory was a cozy, fun and entertaining story line, with a number of surprising twists. The Shadow of Memory was very well written by Connie Berry, and read very well as a standalone. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

When the past comes back to haunt us, it can leave a twisted trail of dead bodies. American antiques dealer, Kate Hamilton, and her friend Vivian Bunn are returning home from a ‘Hen Party’ when they discover a man’s body. The man is a stranger in their quiet village of Long Barston because nobody recognizes him. So, why is he laying dead on a pathway in their cemetery? He’s in his seventies, maybe he had a heart attack – or not.

When Kate’s fiancée, DCI Tom Mallory shows up to investigate, they can’t find any identification on the man, nor any sign of his car. Yet, the autopsy shows he died from a bee sting – natural causes then – or not.

While Tom is busy investigating the man’s death, Kate and local fine antiques dealer Ivor Tweedy head to the coast to do some appraisals and perhaps secure a commission to auction off some of those antiques – including an almost priceless painting. Unless that painting is really genuine – or is it?

When the body is identified as someone who had been a friend of Vivian’s sixty years ago, Kate and Vivian want to know more about him and why he was in Long Barston. Over sixty years ago, a teenage Vivian and her family spent time at a coastal resort each summer. There, Vivian, along with four other friends, discovered an abandoned house that appeared to be the scene of a crime. The friends went back to the home several times collecting ‘evidence’ and trying to deduce what had happened. Vivian had a crush on the boy who had found the abandoned house and who acted as their leader. Vivian had never forgotten him – and now – he was lying dead in the local morgue.

As Kate begins to try to learn more about the man, she learns that others from that group have just recently met their end. Could all of those current deaths be related to the events of sixty years ago? They were just kids – and they certainly didn’t learn anything – why would someone be coming after them now? Kate didn’t know, but she did know she had to keep Vivian safe.

Tom and Kate are trying to plan their wedding and decide where they’ll live – in the US or England – while also trying to solve the many mysteries that are cropping up in this case.

I can highly recommend this read. The characters are so very likable and I’ve come to love them as I’ve learned more about them. I love that Tom and Kate are older and have an appreciation for the life they have and the love they now share. You’ll love the mystery because it really is filled with twists and turns and you won’t guess the culprit until the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A delightful mystery. The Kate Hamilton Mysteries have become one of my favorite mystery series. It is filled with good storytelling and engaging and real characters. No one is overly sugary or a caricature of a villain.

In this latest installment, Kate is walking home from a bachelorette party when she finds a dead body and the name of a friend on a slip nearby. Soon Kate discovers a series of deaths of people tied to a childhood game played about 60 years before have all occurred within a couple of weeks of each other. Is it murder or just a strange coincidence? Kate must hurry to discover the truth before a dear friend just becomes another “accidental” death.

Berry has deftly written a cold case story that has ties to the present day in a way that makes sense without stretching the bonds of credulity. The personal relationships, with triumphs and conflicts, adds warmth to the story. There are plenty of surprise twists that keep the story interesting to the end. Enjoy a quality mystery series. I know I have.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 4 of the series, but the first I have read. I will definitely be going back to read the previous books (reading them before this book is not required), for more of Kate and Tom's history. FYI, book 3 is on sale for Kindle right now! This is an interesting story, with the appraisal process bringing firth a historical mystery, that is somehow affecting the current day remodeling of the sanatorium. As Kate gets thrown into the lives of those involved, she learns more about the past history of the area, and eventually some long held secrets come forth. It's a great mystery wrapped up in history! Don't miss this series if you love historical mysteries!

Vivian hadn't seen Will for over 60 years- since they were teens- but now he's turned up dead in the village cemetery. Kate, an American who is building a life (including an engagement to DI Tom Mallory) in the small Suffolk village, is concerned, especially because Vivian has been a maternal figure to her. She's especially concerned when others from the camp where Will and Vivian met turn up dead. What happened all those years ago to cause this? At the same time, she's working with her pal Ivar to validate a painting by a Dutch master. And she's working with Tom to find a happy place for their future. There are several threads here and no spoilers from me but know that there are a few red herrings. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books- this will be fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I enthusiastically love everything about Connie Berry's A Kate Hamilton Mystery 'The Shadow of Memory.' I was whisked away to a different place and immersed in joys and trials of Kate's life. The mystery was chillingly tense and I appreciate the time put forth to let the story unfold. Tom and Kate are wonderful characters, and all of the surrounding characters are endearing. The ending was so delightful that I am anxious beyond words for the next in the series. I would give this 10 stars if I could.

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

A chance to assess and possibly auction off an unknown Vermeer sends Kate and her mentor Ivor Tweedy to Netherfield which is being converted from a mental hospital to upscale condos. The auction would be a windfall for Ivor whose business is in quite a downturn. However, Kate isn't sure that the painting is an original. Her feeling is that it is a forgery. The trustees and developer of Netherfield is really counting on the money of an original work of art to save the project.

While the painting is being authenticated, Kate and her elderly landlord Vivian discover a body in the local graveyard. The victim turns out to be Vivian's first crush and the boy she played detective with in their days at a vacation camp which happens to be near Netherfield. Learning that the victim was retired CID and obsessed with solving the mystery that they worked on as young teens, makes Vivian and Kate want to solve the case themselves.

And when two of the other of the group of five also die in suspicious accidents, Kate is convinced that this mystery from the past is stretching its tendrils into the present. However, her fiancé Tom Mallory, also of the police, can't be of much help to her since the deaths were determined to have been accidents, ergo, no crime was committed.

As Kate investigates both the past mystery and the current deaths, she puts herself in some danger from villains willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. But her unique way of making connections might be the thing that finally solves both mysteries.

Beyond the mystery, Kate and Tom are trying to figure out their future. They are engaged but don't know where they will live. Kate has a thriving business in Ohio; Tom has the chance at a promotion in his work in England. Tom's mother hates Kate and is a roadblock on any path to happiness in England. But Kate loves England and the friends she has made there. Tom would be willing to quit his job and find a new one in Ohio if that is what Kate wants. The need to make a decision is adding tension to both of their lives.

This was an excellent entry into this series.

The Shadow Of Memory by Connie Berry

American antiques dealer, Kate Hamilton, uncovers a dark secret which is buried in Victorian England.

Well-written with many characters, both friendly and unsavory. Reveals a secret that was harbored for years. I enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Kate Hamilton is a visiting American antiques dealer currently living in Suffolk in the small village of Long Barston. A widow with two grown up children she has recently become engaged to Englishman DI Tom Mallory, but they have yet to work out the details of when and where they will marry and which country they will live in. In the meantime she is working at an antiques store for dealer Ivor Tweedy. He has recently been asked if they arrange an auction of some antiques belonging to Netherfield Sanatorium, an old mental asylum which is being converted into deluxe apartments. The main feature of the auction is to be a painting by a Dutch master which should fetch millions once it’s been verified by experts.

Taking a shortcut home with two friends after a Hen’s night, they stumble across a body of an elderly man in the cemetery. He’s later identified as a retired detective Will Parker, who was on his way to visit Kate’s elderly friend, Vivian Bunn. More than fifty years ago, Vivian and Will once spent a week together with their families at Hopley’s Holiday camp on the coast. With another three teenagers they broke into an empty house belonging to the Beaufoy family where both parents died suddenly and played at being sleuths, looking for clues and forming theories for what happened. Now someone is trying to find out what they learnt all those years ago. What follows is a good mystery entwining the deaths of the Beaufoy parents with past events at Netherfield.

This is a very enjoyable cosy type mystery with Kate doing a lot of the sleuthing and the police jumping in when needed. There are a few interconnected mysteries to solve with quite a few twists and answers that take a while to become clear. I also enjoyed the cast of interesting characters and want to find out what happens to them next. Although this is the fourth book in the series, it’s the first I’ve read. I found it worked well as a stand alone with enough background about the characters to understand their history so far but I enjoyed it so much that I will definitely go back to read the series from the beginning so I can find out more about Kate and Tom and how they met.

Nothing like opening a book with a dead body in a cemetery. Sure, that’s where you normally find them, but this one is above ground, and turns out to be a visitor to the area. First order of business is determining who he is and then, how he died. These are the questions that open
The Shadow of Memory, the fourth book in the Kate Hamilton series by Connie Berry.

As the book begins, Kate and Vivian, with whom she is staying for her visit in England, are walking through the cemetery when they discover the body. The question of his identity is soon answered, and creates more questions for Vivian. Apparently he is Will Parker, a retired CID officer. More importantly, he spent a week-long holiday exploring with Vivian and three other teens when they were on vacation at a holiday park almost 70 years ago.. He and Vivian had a mild summer romance, but lost touch when they left the holiday park. Now, questions arise as to why he was visiting her village.

Kate suspects the man was murdered and is eventually proved correct. That doesn’t explain his presence nor does it explain the scrap of paper in his pocket with Vivian’s name on it. Kate pushes Tom, her police detective fiance, to investigate and it is discovered that while Will died as a result of an allergy to bee venom, it may have been manufactured rather than naturally occuring. As Kate begins to investigate, it becomes apparent Will’s visit was associated with the case the teens were investigating while they were at the holiday camp.

Although the case has been ruled a suicide, the teens discovered several “clues” Will thought possibly important. At the end of the week, they put all their clues in a metal box which Will hid and now it appears someone in the present is wanting to find that box, although no one knows why. When the box is found, there appears to be nothing of importance in it, leaving everyone even more confused.

It is not practical, or possible, for Tom to reopen the cold case from so long ago that intrigued the group of teens. Kate, however, is not sure the coroner’s judgement of suicide was correct and she begins her own investigation. She and Vivian contact others who might have information regarding the old cold case. As they investigate, they learn several of the former teen group have recently died and now they want to know if those deaths were natural or if someone is killing members of the old group.

As Kate pursues answers to what took place, she is also working with Ivor, an antiques dealer, to appraise the value of items a group wants to put up for sale to raise funds for a reconstruction project. Included in these items is a painting that, if genuine, is worth several million pounds. The group, and the painting have some threads linking them to Kate’s other investigation, and the more she investigates the more convinced she becomes that the two cases are connected.

Throughout this mystery are several on-going relationship stories that have been part of the previous books; including Kate and Tom’s relationship, how Ivor and Kate came to work together, and other issues affecting residents of the village. If you are a reader who prefers to follow along as relationships develop, you may prefer to read the series in order starting with the first book. Ms. Berry provides some explanation of how relationships have evolved in this novel, but not to the depth she does in the previous books
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The mystery itself begins and ends in this book, so if you just want a good, cozy mystery that is well paced and plotted, it is easy to enjoy this it as a stand alone. The characters are well developed, the village is charming, and the entire story moves at a good pace.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy for this review. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.

The Shadow of Memory the 4th instalment in the “A Kate Hamilton Mystery” series by Connie Berry. This can be read as a stand-alone but I find its always better to read in order. American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton uncovers a dark secret buried in Victorian England.

I loved visiting the village of Long Barstow in Suffolk again, and hanging out with Kate, Vivian, Tom and Ivor. Protagonist Kate is level headed, kind hearted and very talented at seeing little details and putting clues together to solve crimes. I enjoyed the ending of the story but wont give out any spoilers.

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in one sitting. I did not suspect the killer until Kate did, there were lots of twists and turns to keep me absorbed in the story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good traditional British cozy mystery with a historical background.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.