The Shadow of Memory

About the Book: 

In Connie Berry’s fourth Kate Hamilton mystery, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton uncovers a dark secret buried in Victorian England.

As Kate Hamilton plans her upcoming wedding to Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, she is also assisting her colleague Ivor Tweedy with a project at the Netherfield Sanatorium, which is being converted into luxury townhouses. Kate and Ivor must appraise a fifteenth-century painting and verify that its provenance is the Dutch master Jan Van Eyck. But when retired criminal inspector Will Parker is found dead, Kate learns that the halls of the sanatorium housed much more than priceless art.

Kate is surprised to learn that Will had been the first boyfriend of her friend Vivian Bunn, who hasn’t seen him in fifty-eight years. At a seaside holiday camp over sixty years ago, Will, Vivian, and three other teens broke into an abandoned house where a doctor and his wife had died under bizarre circumstances two years earlier. Now, when a second member of the childhood gang dies unexpectedly—and then a third—it becomes clear that the teens had discovered more in the house than they had realized.

Had Will returned to warn his old love? When Kate makes a shocking connection between a sixty-year-old murder and the long-buried secrets of the sanatorium, she suddenly understands that time is running out for Vivian—and anyone connected to her.

My Review: 

American antiques dealer and amateur sleuth Kate Hamilton once again finds herself caught up in a mystery as she is attending a Hen Party for one of her friends in the English village where she is currently residing. Kate, with her insatiable curiosity and sense of justice, must find out why a man was found dead in a cemetery with a piece of paper near his body that has a friend’s name (Vivian) on it. 

Seemingly unrelated to this incident is the authentication of a priceless Van Eyck painting that the now defunct local sanatorium is selling and an unsolved murder from the 1960’s. But, that is where Kate, and her fiancé DI Tom Mallory, make the perfect crime solving team in uncovering details. What is happening to Vivian’s old chums as they seemingly die from natural causes?

With a sense of foreboding, many red herrings, and plot twists, this story has you quickly turning pages and trying to solve the case along with Kate. I loved the funny and dramatic antics of Vivian as she becomes a major key in helping to solve the mystery and avoid being the final victim. I was concerned for Vivian, hoping she wouldn't end up dead before Kate and Tom solve the case.

Not only are there these intriguing details and events, but there is the relationship between Kate and Tom.  I find this to be one of the story elements that keeps me engaged and hopeful there will be more stories of this perfect crime-fighting couple. The clean romance is a terrific and integral part of the story, but doesn’t overshadow the plot and is appropriate for all readers.

Tying up all of the pieces of the various events was well done, and I had a sense of satisfaction that I was able to solve a part of the mystery. After all, isn’t that the allure to reading a mystery? Seeing if you can bring all of the clues together and be as clever as the sleuths? I enjoyed reading this latest book of Ms. Berry’s and highly recommend it. 

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary electronic copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.