Saturday, November 2, 2019

A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry: Review and Giveaway!


A Legacy of Murder

 A Kate Hamilton Mystery

by Connie Berry

About A Legacy of Murder


Traditional Mystery
2nd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (October 8, 2019)
Hardcover ~336 Pages
ISBN-10: 1643851543
ISBN-13: 978-1643851549
Digital ASIN: B07NKQDYM3

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.

About Connie Berry

Like her protagonist, Connie Berry was raised in the antiques trade. After teaching theology for twenty-five years, she took up writing mysteries featuring high-end antiques and the legacy of the past. Connie loves history, cute animals, travel with a hint of adventure, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable dog, Millie.

Author Links

Website:  www.connieberry.com

Facebook:   Author@Facebook.com

Twitter:   @conniecberry

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My Thoughts


A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry is the second A Kate Hamilton Mystery.  Kate Hamilton is visiting her daughter, Christine who obtained a position as an intern at Finchley Hall in Long Barston, Suffolk, England.  Kate is enjoying a tour with the docent’s spiel on the four murders that have occurred on the Elizabethan estate as well the infamous Hoard.  As they approach the lake, a young boy screams, and Kate sees the body of a woman.  Kate calls her beau, Detective Inspector Tom Mallory with the Suffolk Constabulary who rushes to the scene.  The victim is Tabitha King who is an intern on the estate working on the upcoming display of the Finchley Hoard.  When Lady Barbara Finchley-fforde learns of Kate’s background, she asks if Kate would take over Tabitha’s work for the upcoming exhibit.  Kate also agrees to help Tom by keeping her eyes and ears open for intel that would help the investigation.  Kate’s pleasant Christmas vacation takes a turn when she gets caught up in mysterious happenings at Finchley Hall.  Connie Berry is a descriptive writer whose details brings the scenes and characters alive.  The setting was lovely, and I felt like I was in Suffolk.  The antiques store in town sounded wondrous along with its quirky owner.  If you have not read A Dream of Death, you will not be lost.  Everything a new reader needs to know is included in A Legacy of murder.  I thought the story contained good writing, but it does moves along at a slower pace.  Things do pick up later in the story.  Kate is a strong female protagonist.  She is a widow with two grown children and runs an antique shop in Ohio.  I can tell the author is familiar with antiques and this knowledge is beautifully incorporated into the story.  The mystery is multifaceted which I enjoyed.  Kate also gets to spend time with Tom, and I like that he finds her observations helpful.  Kate’s daughter, Christine has some growing up to do.  She needs to learn that work and hunky boyfriends do not mix.   A Legacy of Murder is an intriguing cozy mystery with multiple murders, extraordinary exhibition, boyfriend brouhaha, and a stately estate.
Holt North Norfolk, try Byfords café & shop for delicious goodies or pop over to Bakers & Larners a truly old fashioned (in a good way) British Department Store, it has everything you may need, prides itself in high quality goods and a fab foodhall!
A Legacy of Murder is available at Amazon*, Amazon UKBarnes & NobleIndiebound, and Kobo.  The first book in A Kate Hamilton Mystery series is A Dream of Death.  To enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card, please click here.  You can also enter via the Rafflecopter form below.  Good Luck!  Thank you for dropping by today.  I will return tomorrow with share my review of Amish Front Porch Stories by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Richelle Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter.  May you have a cheery day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader


Tour Participants


November 1 - Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

November 1 - The Power of Words – REVIEW

November 1 - Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 2 - The Avid Reader – REVIEW

November 2 - FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

November 2 - MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 3 – Carole's Book Corner – REVIEW

November 3 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW

November 3 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

November 4 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW

November 4 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

November 4 – Diane Reviews Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 5 – Brianne's Book Reviews - REVIEW

November 5 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

November 6 – Reading Is My SuperPower - REVIEW

November 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

November 7 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 7 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

November 8 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

November 8 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 8 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – GUEST POST

November 9 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

November 9 – The Bookwyrm's Hoard – REVIEW

November 10 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 10 – Here's How It Happened – GUEST POST

November 11 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW

November 11 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW

November 11 – Christa Reads & Writes – REVIEW

November 12 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 12 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 12 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

queen elizabeth ii
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3 comments:

  1. Thanks, Kris! Such a pleasure to read your very nice review of A LEGACY OF MURDER.

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  2. Thank you for your review on "A Legacy of Murder" by Connie Berry and for being part of the book tour. Sounds like a fabulous book and one that I would greatly enjoy reading. It's on my TBR list and can wait for the opportunity to do so.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  3. I am so excited to read this book!

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