Member Reviews

Mistletoe and Murder, the 5th in Connie Berry's excellent A Kate Hamilton Mystery series, fits beautifully with the earlier books in the series. The gentle feel of a British cozy combined with the forcefulness of an American main character makes the series a complete delight and totally relatable read.
In typical Kate Hamilton fashion, she is less than a week from her wedding to DI Tom Mallory and just now getting her act together when a friend's disappearance sidetracks couple. Terrified for what the evidence might mean, Kate's focus is on her concern for her friend more than the wedding and the minor disasters that always seem to accompany nuptials. Her mind might not be as focused on the ceremony as it needs to be, but every moment with Tom reinforces her decision to marry him.
This book, as with the others in the series, can be read as a standalone, but the relationships that grow through the series are best enjoyed in sequence.
Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this wonderful cozy mystery. Mistletoe and Murder was the perfect read to pull me out of a reading slump. I know my friends will love it, too.
#NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks #ConnieBerry #MistletoeandMurder #AKateHamiltonMystery

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I enjoyed this book. It's an interesting fast-paced story with great characters. Would recommend.

Thank you to Connie Berry, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book.

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I can never pass up a Christmas cozy. In Mistletoe and Murder, American-born antique dealer Kate Hamilton is all set to marry her English detective fiancé Tom Mallory in just a few days on Christmas Eve. Her dress is ordered, local friends have planned the ceremony and reception and family is flying in from near and far. Of course, nothing is ever easy and Kate and Tom are soon mixed up in a missing person case. And flights are delayed. And there’s a fire and Kate’s dress may have some lingering smoke smell.

I read this as a stand alone and felt like the characters and setting were introduced well. I liked Kate and Tom and would consider picking up more in the series. For a novella, the mystery was well done with enough clues and suspects to keep it interesting.

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This is the first book I get to read in the Kate Hamilton mystery series, and I was really happy to see that it can easily be read as a standalone. I very much enjoyed it, it’s fast-paced and the whole mystery surrounding Queen Victoria’s letter and gold coin was a great historical aspect of this Christmas-infused novella. Between the excitement about antiquities and the lead character’s upcoming wedding, and the whole drama about Sheila (inspired by a very real situation in the UK), I thought this was a strong read. I would surely like to read more books in the series.

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This was a good, quick, holiday mystery. It has all the good stuff: Christmas in an English village; a wedding; a mystery; families both found and born.I loved it. A great, short addition to a great series. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this novella.

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What a perfect novella to give you all the holiday feels! It's quick to read, so if you are too busy for a full book, definitely pick this one up. Featuring a Christmas wedding, it has some romance but it's the murder that's compelling and difficult to solve. This is instalment 4.5 in the series. I haven't read any of the others but this is perfectly fine as a standalone. A very satisfying Christmas mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. I'll post about this book on my IG page, bookwormdownunder, on October 16, the day before pub day.

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What a quick and easy book to read and it is a Christmas themed cosy. I love Christmas. And being such a short book I sat down and before I knew it I was finished reading it.

Kate Hamilton, an antiques dealer on the verge of marrying Detective Inspector Tom Mallory but it seems her friend needs help getting her fiancé home from a situation in Venezuela. So how will this play out and will Kate be ready for her wedding day? One thing after another happens which cold very well hamper her big day. But why is this all happening now?

A great and fun read with some wonderful characters, a story that will make you want to read more of this authors books (which I will).

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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A holiday novella set in England. Tom and Kate are getting everything ready for their wedding and searching for a missing woman. Great character development. A fun read. Thanks # Netgalley and #Crookedlandbooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

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This novella in the series is absolutely stunning. I loved it so much. We needed this cozy mystery novella in the series. Love this series!!
I just reviewed Mistletoe and Murder by Connie Berry. #MistletoeandMurder #NetGalley
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This enjoyable novella adds an important element for fans of the series: Tom and Kate’s long anticipated wedding. With a plot involving a Victorian-era gold coin, a snowy English village setting, and familiar and well-loved characters, it makes for a light but entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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With only five days left before her wedding to Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, antiques Dealer Kate Hamilton squeezes in time to help her friend Sheila sell her antique coin collection. When Sheila disappears, and they find her house ransacked, Kate and Tom pull out all the stops to find her before they say their vows. This was a page turner with lots of plot twists that were all tied together at the end. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing this ARC for me to Read and review.

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Billed as a novella, the latest installment in this series finds Kate and Tom searching for a missing woman who may be tied to the drugs or antiquities trade, all while they get ready for their Christmas wedding. Fairly complicated plot the author ties together at the end. Many of the well-known characters from the series make an appearance to celebrate the wedding, and the author does a good job developing the characters and their relationships. Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

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I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, how well done they are. The mystery is interesting and the path to the end is convoluted. I was a bit thrown when it was Brian at Sheila’s bedside and not Dennis. It was nice to have a mystery that didn’t involve a murder. #MistletoeandMurder #NetGalley

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Mistletoe and Murder is a British cozy mystery - part of the Kate Hamilton series. Is it a short novella that brings love, upcoming nuptials, a murder, a fire amid the holiday season.

i enjoyed reading this fascinating book

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Mistletoe and Murder is a holiday novella by Connie Berry set in Suffolk England. Set on the eve of the wedding between Detective Inspector Tom Mallory and Kate Hamilton, the owner of an antiquities business, this mystery unfolds amidst the festivities of the holiday season, adding a unique touch to the suspenseful narrative.

The mystery at the heart of the story is intricately woven, keeping readers guessing until the very end. Berry presents a complex web of secrets, motives, and potential suspects, ensuring that the reader's interest is constantly piqued. The pacing of the plot is well-executed, with the tension steadily building as the investigation unfolds. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) I look forward to reading other books in this series.

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Readers who love Connie Berry's Kate Hamilton Mystery series, as I do, need to read this novella to experience the postponed wedding between American antiques dealer Kate and her British detective fiancé, Tom. With just one week until the big event, there are last-minute obstacles--lots of them--to nailing down all of the details of a Christmas wedding, even though Kate's landlady is acting as their almost military-like wedding planner.

At the same time, Kate is shocked by the disappearance of her friend Sheila, who figured prominently in a previous book in the series. Sheila is planning her own second wedding, to take place in Portugal. She is counting on bringing some unexpected cash to the marriage by selling some valuable coins, one of which may have historical value, but she has experienced more than one break-in by others interested in profiting from the coins themselves. Now Sheila is nowhere to be found. Of course, Kate and Tom are on the case, but will they make it to their own wedding and honeymoon?

I was hoping for a bit more of the holiday festivities promised in the Amazon summary, but the length of the novella didn't allow for it. However, I enjoyed spending time with some of my favorite characters and look forward to the next full-length entry in the series. (October)

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Kate and Tom’s marriage is looming. Just five short days and they’ll wed on Christmas Eve. When Kate’s friend, Sheila, another bride to be, who’s house is ransacked when she makes it known she has a rare and valuable coin. Kate and Tom agree to look into things to help their friend.

It seems that when it rains it pours, literally in the UK, but figuratively for Kate as the wedding gets ever closer. From family having flights cancelled, to another having a medical complication preventing their arrival, a wedding dress mishap, and some strange turns with Sheila and her case, it’s a literal tsunami for Kate. Can she and Tom calm the storm and make it down the aisle, or will they be stopped before they get a chance to say I do.

While this is considered a novella, it surely delivered a great entry in this series. I also like the ending where it may provide a new path for the series as Mr and Mrs Mallory move forward in married life as a true partnership in all things. Connie Berry’s books are always a delight and I wouldn’t miss a single one!

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This novella, part of a great series, was the perfect way to spend and evening, and a perfect way to catch up with the author’s characters while waiting for her next book.
Set in England, the protagonist is an American widow who is finally marrying the English detective she’s fallen in love with. Kate, as she puts it, tempts fate by declaring everything is in going to be absolutely perfect, with all of the details in place, five days before her wedding. Things begin to unravel quickly, with the biggest snag being a disappearance, and we all know Kate isn’t one to just leave her friends’ fate to the police. Tom gets the local force onboard but not everyone involved will cooperate with them, so he needs to investigate in an unofficial capacity.
As the wedding draws near the tension ratchets up, ultimately at the end we get a tease of what’s to come in the next book.
I enjoyed how the characters in the series are written with such an honest touch, they come through as real people with real emotions, and interactions. While it’s so well written you can read it as a stand alone, but please read the earlier books to fully learn the backstory.Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy, it was a joy to read.

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England, law-enforcement, missing-persons, wedding, family-dynamics, family, friendship, suspense, small-business, small-town, antiques, relatives, relationships, widow, widower, series, novella*****

A wedding, a valuable coin, a missing friend.
Plus relatives coming in from Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Kenya.
A widowed antique dealer with a shop Ohio who grew up in Wisconsin, Kate is managing the antiquities shop in England with her elder friend Ivor. Tom is a DI in Suffolk who might be leaving the force to work for a friend in a private investigation firm after their wedding at Christmas. There is a bit of wedding madness but that gets underplayed when one of Kate's good friends goes unaccountably missing and more. Lots of suspense, red herrings, and fascinating plot twists! A great short read from a fine series that can easily stand alone.
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

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If, like me, you are a fan of British cozy mystery series you will enjoy Mistletoe and Murder. It is Christmas time and American born antique dealer Kate Hamilton is all set to marry her English detective fiancé Tom Mallory. Her dress is ordered, local friends have planned the ceremony and reception and family is flying in from near and far. But…. Kate and Tom are soon mixed up in a missing person investigation and one hitch after another occurs. As in many cozy mysteries the reader may need to suspend belief as Kate manages to get herself deeply involved in a way that wouldn’t happen in real life. However, the richly drawn characters are so likable and the setting so lovely that it works. The previous 4 books in this series introduce the characters but this novella can certainly be read as a stand alone.

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