Murder Past and Present
While I don’t tend to read many cozies with an antiques theme, I have enjoyed the Kate Hamilton Mysteries. So I added the sixth, A Grave Deception, to my December reading list.
At this point in the series, Kate in a newlywed. However, unlike many of the series I read, she is middle aged, so she was widowed and has two grown kids before she met Tom Mallory, a Detective Inspector. Kate is an antiques expert, and she is working for Ivor, the owner of a local antiques shop. She’s enjoying her new life in the English countryside, even if it does seem to come with the occasional murder.
In this case, the murder is from centuries ago. An archeological group from a college is working in an area nearby, and they’ve found a very well-preserved body. Kate and Ivor are brought in to investigate the items found with the body. The owner of the property where the find was made is very curious and asks Kate to try to find out who this woman was.
But that is complicated when a modern-day murder also takes place. Kate is well positioned to figure out what is happening. Can she piece together clues to solve the modern mystery as well?
What keeps drawing me back to the books are the characters. I love Kate and Tom, and we’ve gotten to see their relationship bloom over the course of the series. It’s wonderful to get to see their relationship continue to grow. We also got to see some of the regulars again, although they didn’t have quite as big a presence as normal. And the suspects kept me guessing.
Since I’m not interested in antiques as a general rule, I find that the plots in the series can be uneven for me. This one was good. It did wander a bit, but never for very long. It managed to balance the past mystery and the present story well, and there was enough going on in the present to keep me occupied. Having said that, I still had a couple of niggles with it, but they were minor overall. The climax was suspenseful without being over the top, and the ending made complete sense to me.
Those who are fascinated by antiques and the history of England will love this series. There’s plenty of information and history woven into this book, and I learned some stuff along the way.
Fans of the series will be delighted in A Grave Deception. If antiques and the English countryside appeal to you, you’ll love this series.
Enjoy the rest of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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