Tom and Kate are on their honeymoon but that doesn’t mean they won’t find a murder that they can’t solve.

Tom is considering taking early retirement from policing to join a private investigation firm based in Toronto. They have chosen Devon as their honeymoon destination because they are looking into the mystery of a blood-stained dress that supposedly was worn by a lacemaker accused of murder while deciding which direction Tom will take professionally.

Oh, the tangled webs we weave! I was kept on my toes reading this one, there were so many twists and turns, characters not telling the whole truth, just parts, I was kept impatiently waiting to find out who killed and did Nancy Thorne murdered anyone, and was anyone telling the truth or was it just a collection of lies! The cast of characters was engaging and rich; the history of the area of Devon is peat moss deep!


I wholeheartedly recommend this latest installment of Kate Hamilton mysteries. It was exactly the kind of mystery I need to read right now. It kept me glued to the pages and I would’ve read in one reading but I have to work and sleep!

My gratitude to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are honest and mine.

The fifth in series, A Collection of Lies doesn’t fail to entertain. I enjoyed Kate and Tom working so closely together while on their honeymoon/trial job for Tom to decide if he wants to leave the police force and become a private investigator. The descriptions of Devon, and the lifestyle of the Roma people who traveled through the area added so much authenticity to the story that had centered in part on a past event that may or may not have been a murder. Tom and Kate are trying to find answers about an old bloodstained dress with an intricate lace collar but soon find themselves working with local police to solve a murder, are the two things related? The ending tied things up nicely, and left us with a tease for future storylines, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read an advance copy, Fresh from finishing it, I’ve already suggested the entire series to two fellow readers, I think they and everyone else will follow Kate and Tom’s adventures with the same pleasure I did.

The 5th book in Connie Berry’s “Kate Hamilton” mystery does not disappoint! While Tom and Kate are on their honeymoon in Devon, they take on the official role of private investigators through the firm Nash & Holmes. Charged with determining the provenance of a mid-1800’s simple frock covered with blood, Tom and Kate must determine if a lace maker named Nancy Thorne was the owner, and if so, was she a murderess? And does a recent murder have ties to this past murder? A cast of characters that includes a present day eccentric living as a Victorian era gentleman who runs a cybersecurity business, conservators of a historical museum’s Local Crimes Display who seem to have something to hide and a sketchy politician and his affluent wife, there is much intrigue as their investigation unfolds. As a bonus, Ms Berry’s research into the intricacies of living in the 1870’s shines in her depictions of the lace making trade and the lives of the local town folks. A real gem.

Connie Berry’s fifth Kate Hamilton mystery, A Collection of Lies, combines some of my favorite elements, a cold case, a contemporary murder investigation, and a drowned village. Kate Hamilton and her new husband, Tom Malloy, aren’t on the usual honeymoon as they’re plunged into a fascinating case.

Kate and Tom are on their honeymoon in Devon, England, a working honeymoon. Tom has accepted a case from an international private investigation firm, trying to decide if he wants to take early retirement from the Suffolk Constabulary and become a private investigator. This case provides an opportunity for Kate, an antiques and antiquity expert, to work with him. The client is the Museum of Devon Life, recipient of a donation of a bloodstained dress from the late 1800s. They’re to establish the provenance. Did the dress actually belong to Nancy Thorne who was supposed to have murdered someone in 1885?

All of the clues seem to lead nowhere. Then, on the night of a fundraising gala at the museum, there’s a shooter. Gordon Littlejohn, the man who donated the dress, is grazed by the bullet, but politician Teddy Pearce claims he was the target. But, it’s Littlejohn who becomes a murder victim, leaving Kate with so many questions about the donated dress. When the Devon constabulary as Tom for his help, Kate is left to dig into the history of the bloodstained dress.

Kate’s search for answers leads her to stories of two accomplished working class women, lacemaker Nancy Thorne and her seamstress sister, Sally Tucker. But, it’s a local researcher and librarian who finds answers to many of Kate’s questions about the sisters, Romani in the area at the time, and even people who might be involved in the current murder investigation.

If you enjoy cold cases, facts about working class life in the late 1800s, and cold cases, you’ll want to try A Collection of Lies. And, Berry leaves readers with just a hint of a new direction for Kate Hamilton’s investigatory interest. This latest is a terrific addition to the traditional mystery series.

This is number five in the Kate Hamilton Mysteries.


Kate and Tom are honeymooning in Devon, where a local history museum has asked them to authenticate a Victorian dress covered in blood to find out if it belonged to the infamous Nancy Thorne. Kate is excited and Tom as well.


The more they find out the further away they seem to find themselves. Until shots ring out at the museum and they are on another case altogether!


With gypsies, and thieves and murderers, the story quickly becomes a race to the truth. And what a fabulous wrap up this was!!


There were so many suspects and they all were truly despicable! But oh so much fun to read!


Always a Pleasure.

I enjoy this series and the latest is no exception. Kate and her detective Inspector are on a "working" honeymoon, checking on the provenance of a dress purported to bethat of a murderess from the past, when they find a more recent dead body! I think the opportunity to provide Kate with a professional sleuthing opportunity bodes well for the continuing series. A minor criticism is the use of Kate's historic flashbacks - I think that the author should either lean in to this aspect or drop it completely. These moments often seen out-of-place.,