I love cozy murder mysteries. I also like listening to audiobooks on my commute. I was excited to find to find this book and it had very good reviews. I am presently about ⅔ through the book but felt compelled to write a review. The narrator is doing a pretty decent job. However, after a few chapters, the book became slow, and the story line dragged on with lots of contradictory information.
* Kate grew up in the town but did know any boardmembers and her best friend Lizbeth told her about the only restaurant in town (mcdonalds) but later they order pizza for delivery.
*Josh, professor on sabbatical writing a book about industrialization, knows a lot about the Barton house but had no idea whatsoever what was manufactured in the factory?
*the board members gave Kate 1 week to submit a preliminary proposal and throughout the story she is not even bothered with it.
*she finds a letter which could be a clue for the police but SHE decides that the police will not give it due diligence so she does not notifiy them.
* she goes back to the house and finds more letters, which she is removing from the property without letting anybody know, because "she wants to keep them safe" . At this point she was not yet hired as consultant.

I could go on and on, I will finish the book but now i dont want to listen to the authors other books, which i heard where so much better. I am quite disappointed because the setting and the story line would have lent to a great series. I am hoping the author will improve the shallow main character and cliches. Too bad I wont be reading this series or her others . ( )

Katherine Hamilton is the manager of an upscale hotel in Baltimore. She finally has all her ducks in a row and loves her life. Then a high school friend, Lisbeth, comes to visit her, begging her to return to their hometown, Asheboro, MD to talk to the city council. Lisbeth won't say why, but it's a short trip across the state, so Katherine agrees. Turns out that Asheboro is nearly bankrupt. The city leaders want her to help them turn an old Victorian mansion in town into a tourist destination. Old issues crop up almost immediately because her old high school enemy, Cordelia Walker, has presented an alternate plan. Things get even worse when Cordelia is found dead and Katherine becomes a murder suspect. Katherine finds herself not only investigating the mysteries of the old mansion...but Cordelia's murder as well.

This is a nice start to a new cozy series. I like the characters and the setting. The mystery was nicely paced and there were plenty of suspects and small town gossipy clues to keep me interested. I like the fact that the old house had some mystery to throw in to the mix as well. I definitely like Katherine as a main character. She is an intelligent and driven woman, but still was willing to put her career aside to help her hometown (no matter how much hot water it got her into!) I sympathized with her and felt a certain kinship, as I always seem to find myself knee-deep in crap every single time I put personal interests aside to help someone else. I had to smile knowingly several times when Katherine really tried to do something good...and ended up with egg on her face. Maybe instead of the old saying being "You can't go home again'' it should be "You SHOULDNT go home again. Don't do it!''

I will definitely be reading more of this series. Very enjoyable read!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

A weak romance novel thinly disguised as a murder mystery. The town bully is killed and someone did it. But no one particularly cares. The book is mostly clumsy dialogue with chunks of inserted descriptions obviously lifted from reference material. The conclusion comes as a magician's trick, but none too soon. Kudos for the attention to the historical Clara Barton and her research into Civil War MIA.
The big mystery is why other reviews are so generous. ( )

Katherine Hamilton is the manager of an upscale hotel in Baltimore, that is until she finds out that it has been bought out and they are bringing in their own management team. Then a high school friend, Lisbeth, comes to visit her, begging her to return to her hometown of Asheboro, MD to help the town solve their finance issues. The town had bought an old mansion, was basically broke now, and Lisbeth just knew that Kate would figure out the best way to use that mansion and save the town. Katherine falls in love with the Civil War Mansion and can see a destination Victorian village in its future. While she was exploring the Mansion, the body of her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker, is found just outside with her head bashed in. Katherine must find the answer to the death before the plan to change the town and the mansion can move forward. She moves into the local B&B in town in order to be on site to do her research on the mansion and Henry Barton.

I have enjoyed everything thing I have by Sheila Connolly and the first book of the Victoria Village Mysteries was another winner. The characters are likeable and the setting fits the plot nicely. I can feel the desperation in the small town and the council members. The mystery was nicely paced and there were plenty of suspects and small town gossipy clues to keep me interested. I like the fact that the old house had some mystery thrown into the mix as well. I definitely like Katherine as the protagonist. She is an intelligent and driven woman, yet not afraid to ask for help when needed. Josh, the caretaker of the mansion as well as college professor on sabatical, is perfect as Katherine's partner in crime and romantic interest, although the romance came at the end, setting up a relationship for the next book in the series. Kate and Lisbeth re-started their friendship without any problems. Lisbeth would be an awesome friend to have, she is sweet, knows how to keep a secret and can be a great sidekick when called upon. I didn't guess the culprit involved in the side mystery and I didn't figure out who the killer was until the author started sprinkling clues closer to the end of the story. When the killer was taken in and Kate's museum friend was brought in to authenticate any pieces from the house, the book sets up the story line for the next mystery. Kate will be back in Asheboro to carry out her plans with the help of the Museum and their donors. I will definitely be reading more of this series. I am anxious to read what happens next. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. All the opinons/ideas shared are my own.




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Kate Hamilton left her hometown of Asheboro, MD for the big wide world and didn't look back. She kept in touch with one friend from high school, but got her degree in hospitality management and secured a great job at a big luxury hotel in Baltimore. However at the same time as her friend needs help in their hometown, a chain buys the hotel and Kate is laid off.

Figuring what has she got to lose, Kate heads "home" to find that the little town is nearly bankrupt and needing a plan to revitalize. While working on a plan, Kate discovers her high school nemesis murdered and becomes an outside consultant to the police in the investigation.

Loved the beginning of this series! The setting and issues of a small town (near my hometown) really grabbed me.
I loved the characters too! ( )