The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly

 The Secret Staircase

Book Summary

From New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, The Secret Staircase is the third Victorian Village Mystery, which finds Kate Hamilton discovering a long-dead body in a hidden staircase.

Kate Hamilton is feeling good about her plans to recreate Asheboro, Maryland as the Victorian village it once was. The town is finally on her side, and the finances are coming together.

Kate's first goal is to renovate the Barton Mansion on the outskirts of town. Luckily, it's been well maintained in the century since the wealthy Henry Barton lived and died there. The only substantial change she's planning is to update the original kitchen so that it can be used to cater events in the building. But when the contractor gets started, he discovers a hidden staircase that had been walled in years earlier. And as Kate's luck would have it, in the stairwell is a body.

After her initial shock wears off, Kate is relieved when the autopsy reveals that the man had died around 1880. Unfortunately, it also reveals that his was not a natural death—he was murdered. And serious questions remain: who was he and what was he doing there?

Kate begins a hunt to identify the man and figure out what he was doing at the Barton Mansion. But when a second body is found—this time from the present day—Kate realizes that real dangers lie in digging up the past...

My Thoughts

The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly has Kate Hamilton working on her plans for the Barton Mansion in Asheboro, Maryland.  Her first order of business is to find a contractor.  The third one on the list seems like the best fit for the project.  He discovers a hidden staircase in the kitchen with a body laying at the bottom.  It turns out that the man has been there since the late 1800s and someone murdered him.  This is not the type of history Kate wanted to uncover on the Victorian home nor the family that occupied it.  Not long after the kitchen work begins, a second man is found dead inside the mansion.  Kate wonders if there is a connection between the two deaths and sets out to get answers.  

The Secret Staircase is the third book in A Victorian Village Mystery series.  I like the premise for this series which is why I have kept coming back to it.  I grew up in German Village in Columbus, Ohio and nearby there is a Victorian Village.  I find myself, though, unable to get into the story.  It is told in the first person, so we are subject to Kate’s thoughts (she has so many of them).  Kate seems to have an endless list of questions and list of items to accomplish (but she does not write them down).  If she is going to get this project completed, Kate needs to get organized (and be more professional). She also needs to get over her self-doubts (she goes on endlessly about them).  Kate needed a contractor for the project who does reconstruction not renovation.  Most people would have used a search engine, but Kate kept asking people if they knew a contractor.  I wondered if Kate owned a computer (or any office supplies).  There are quite a few characters in the story.  We are given basic information on them, but they are not fully fleshed out.  I like Carroll, Lisbeth, and Bethany.  Josh seems like a nice man, but how many times do we have to hear about his looks.  The author’s descriptions of the mansion allowed me to visualize the beautiful Victorian home.  However, the details about the renovations were dry and repetitive.  The story moved at a slow pace and many details were repeated at least three times (sometimes more).  The research into the Barton family is interesting (some parts were more fascinating than others).  It just became dreary at times (the research part).  I found this series different from Sheila Connolly’s A Museum Mystery series.  I wanted this series to be more like the one featuring Nell Pratt.  The mystery was fascinating.  I was curious to see how everything would tie together.  I was beginning to wonder if any progress would be made on the Barton Mansion.   As you can tell, I did not enjoy my experience with The Secret Staircase.  There are good bones, but it did not come together into a pleasing whole.  The Secret Staircase is small town cozy with staircase surprises, a kitchen conundrum, fine food, congeries of research, and a pair of murders.  

The Secret Staircase publishes Tuesday, August 24 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon*.  The first two novels in A Victorian Village Mystery series are Murder at the Mansion and Killer in the Carriage House.  You can find Sheila Connolly's other novels here.  Thank you for reading my review today.  Tomorrow I am featuring An Unexpected Amish Harvest by Carrie Lighte.  It is the 2nd novel in  The Amish of New Hope series.  I hope you have a joyful day.  Take care of yourself, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly

Good Day!  Peach Clobbered by Anna Gerard, The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis and Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly are out today.  Shamed by Linda Castillo releases on July 16 along with Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber.  There is no shortage of new books coming out this summer.  

Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly returns readers to Asheboro, Maryland.  Kate Hamilton was asked by her best friend, Lisbeth Scott to help revitalize the town.  After viewing the Henry Barton mansion, Kate came up with the idea to turn Asheboro into a turn-of-the-century village.  There are two big obstacles standing in the way of transforming the town:  money and citizen approval.  Kate feels they need to finish going through Henry Barton’s papers and contacts her friend, Nell Pratt for a referral.  Carroll Peterson is eager to dig through the Barton papers and see the Victorian mansion.  To sort through the papers properly, Kate gets permission to use the town library which is closed since the librarian is in jail awaiting her trial.  The next day, Kate is showing Carroll the space and they find a broken window, a knocked over bookcase and a dead body.  Detective Reynolds arrives quickly (he cannot believe Kate found another body) to take charge of the scene.  Kate is curious if the victim was trying to access the Barton papers not knowing they had yet to be moved into the library.  While the police begin investigating the murder, Kate and Carroll roll up their sleeves to begin sorting the papers in the Barton attic and get them ready to transport.  One thing Kate has been unable to learn is how Henry Barton earned his massive fortune.  She finds it hard to believe that it came from the now defunct shovel factory.  When they fail to find business papers in the house, the group troops over to the factory.  The information they uncover could be life changing if they keep the papers from falling into the wrong hands. 

Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in A Victorian Village Mystery series.  It can be read alone for those who are new to this series.  Kate Hamilton lost her job when a big conglomerate took over the hotel where she worked.  Her friend, Lisbeth Scott asks her to return to Asheboro and come up with a plan to save the dying town.  Kate’s idea is to turn the town into a Victorian village after seeing the Henry Barton mansion.  However, it will take a massive amount of planning, money and help to pull it off.  Money is something that is in short supply after the banker embezzled the town funds.  Kate is hoping Henry Barton’s papers will be a help and gets assistance from Josh Wainwright and Carroll Peterson.  I like that we are introduced to some of the townspeople like Mayor Skip Bentley, Frances who owns the newspaper, Ted the diner owner, and Mr. MacDonald with his hardware store.  Killer in the Carriage House is a slow starter with a sluggish pace.  I thought the mystery was light.  The dead body is found after I was a quarter of the way through the book and is barely addressed after that point.  Identifying the killer is a piece of cake and the resolution was lacking.  Kate has great ideas for the town with no idea on how to execute them.  She is also a procrastinator.  Kate keeps putting off things she needs to accomplish (even going to the grocery store).  She should be looking into funding, building codes, talking to towns people and doing research.  Instead, Kate devotes her time to the Barton papers.  Henry Barton does sound like a fascinating man and I am sure there is more to discover about him.  I like the inclusion of Nell Pratt in the story from A Museum Mystery series.  A Victorian Village Mystery series is a concept that I think is charming and I enjoyed Murder at the Mansion.  Killer in the Carriage House, though, was lacking which is unusual for Sheila Connolly.  I am curious to see what Kate and her friends uncover in the next A Victorian Village Mystery.  

Thank you for joining me today and reading my review.  If you are on the fence about Killer in the Carriage House, I suggest that you download a sample to see if this cozy mystery is the right fit for you.  I will be back tomorrow to share my review of Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher.  I hope you have a magical day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

Murder at the Mansion: A Victorian Village Mystery

How are you doing?  In the Dog House by V.M. Burns will be released on August 21 along with As the Tide Comes In by Cindy Woodsmall.  Goodbye Cruller World by Ginger Bolton comes out on August 28 along with Halloween Murder by Leslie Meier.  

Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly is the beginning of A Victorian Village Mystery series.  Katherine “Kate” Hamilton left her home of Asheboro, Maryland after high school.  Katie currently works at Oriole Suites Hotel in Baltimore and is surprised when she gets a call from Lisbeth Scott, her best friend in high school.  A storm went through Asheboro a few weeks ago causing severe damage and many of the residents do not have insurance to cover repairs.  The town is on the verge of going under and they want Kate’s assistance.  The town council had been convinced to buy the Old Barton home (a beautiful Victorian mansion) by Cordelia Walker.  It turns out she had personal motivations for the venture and her plan would not benefit Asheboro.  They are hoping Kate can use her skills to come up with a viable and inexpensive plan for to resurrect the town.  Kate tours the Barton mansion and meets the caretaker, Josh Wainwright.  She is surprised to see it in such beautiful condition.  It is like stepping back in time to the Victorian era, and Kate begins to formulate a plan.  As Kate exits the mansion with Josh, she finds her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker dead on the front steps.  Detective Reynolds of the Maryland State Police Criminal Division is in charge of the case, but he could use someone local to be his eyes and ears.  Since the Oriole was bought out, Kate has the time to aid the town and Detective Reynolds.  While in Asheboro working on her plan for the town and researching the Barton family, Kate delves into Cordelia’s life looking for clues.  What had Cordelia uncovered that got her killed?  Join Kate on her inaugural mystery in Murder at the Mansion.

Murder at the Mansion contains good writing and with varying pacing.  The story starts out strong as we are introduced to Kate.  I like the main character as she is smart, likeable, hardworking, and willing to help her hometown.  Kate does need to work on her self-confidence (don’t we all).  I like the books concept of a struggling small town with a beautiful Victorian home.  If something is not done to draw in tourists, Asheboro will die quickly.  The Barton mansion sounds gorgeous.  I just loved the descriptions of the Victorian masterpiece (I would love to own this home).  I like the vision Kate came up with for the town and I am looking forward to seeing it come to fruition in future books in this series.  The mystery has layers to it which are revealed as Kate searches for clues and I like that the mystery ties into the Barton mansion.  I wish, though, that it had been harder to pinpoint the guilty party.  I found the pace to vary throughout the story and it was especially slow in the middle.  There was too much repetition and speculation.  I feel that the book needed further editing.  If Murder at the Mansion had been tightened up, it would have been a much better cozy mystery.  I was curious as to why Kate did not look up information online.  She kept wanting details on the original owner of the Barton home, but she did not do the obvious.  There is mild foul language in the book (and it is not needed).  Overall, I thought Murder at the Mansion was an intriguing first novel in A Victorian Village Mystery series.  I am giving Murder at the Mansion 3 out of 5 stars.  I am curious to see what happens next as Kate works to save Asheboro.

Sheila Connolly's next novel is The Lost Traveller in A County Cork Mystery series.  It will be out on January 8, 2019.  Thank you for visiting today.  I will be sharing my thoughts on Through the Autumn Air by Kelly Irvin next time.  I hope that you have a spectacular summer day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader