Another solid entry in the Kate Hamilton series. Kate gets pulled into one mystery when she stumbles over a dead man in a graveyard and a second when she and Ivor are asked to authenticate a painting, all while negotiating her engagement and a prickly potential mother-in-law.

Another fantastic Kate Hamilton mystery. Kate is still assisting Ivor Tweedy, planning to marry Inspector Tom Mallory and living with her elderly friend Vivian near Finchley Hall. When a former campground, needing capital to renovate for present day living, they invite Kate and Ivor out to appraise some artwork. On the grounds, a cottage that has been sealed since murders occurred there in the early sixties. All bits lead to other clues and mysteries, especially as Vivian remembers the cottage well. She and her friends, the Five Sleuths, did just that, and buried their clues and guesses in the cottage. Now, her old friends are being killed and Kate assists Tom in sleuthing of their own. I remain curious about Ivor Tweedy--this time, he alludes to the time he was charged with reindeer rustling in Northern Mongolia. There seems to be quite the story under his shopkeeper demeanor. ( )

Could a murder from 60 years ago when Will, Vivian, and other friends were teenagers resurface and have them in danger?

Will was murdered as he was on his way to see Vivian, but no one is really sure what he was going to tell her.

Vivian's friend Kate finds out from Will's son that he had received a package that contained a piece he used when they played Cluedo those sixty years ago. Vivian remembered they each had a game piece.

Kate is an art dealer and very interested in the 60-year-old murder since a few other friends received packages with game pieces. This means danger for Vivian and the other friends. Vivian isn't sure how to get in touch with all the other teenage friends, though, but someone does.

Knowing Will was murdered after receiving that package and that others received packages too made Kate and Vivian nervous.

Another question and perhaps a problem is if a painting Kate is determining its value for may be connected to the murder as well as the person who bought Monkey Puzzle House.

Why would someone want to restore a house where a murder took place? Are they looking for clues as they tear the place apart and murdering those who knew something from 60 years ago?

This was my first book by Miss Barry and the first time I met Kate as a recurring character.

An enjoyable, non-violent mystery with very likable characters and a wonderful lesson about paintings, understanding how to determine their worth, and learning how they could be forged. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. ( )

The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry is the fourth installment in the Kate Hamilton mysteries and my first read by this author. Kate is an American expert on antiquities and is currently employed by Ivor Tweedy, the owner of The Cabinet of Curiosities based in Long Barston, Suffolk, England.

Kate is engaged now to Tom Mallory, a police officer with the Suffolk, England police force. Because he lives in England and Kate has a home and business in America, they need to decide where they will live.

Kate and two other women were walking home after a 'hen' party and she virtually stumbles over a dead body in the cemetery. Come to find out that the dead man was a retired police officer. There is a note next to the body with her friend, Vivian Bunn's name on it. Why would the man have her friend's name? It turns out that the dead man, Will Parker, had been Vivian's first love when she was seventeen.

Doctor Beaufoy and his wife, had been murdered at the Monkey Puzzle House. Vivian, Will, and three other teenagers decided to conduct their own investigation as to what actually happened in that house on that fateful day. Sixty years later, all of the people died mysteriously except for Vivian. Is she in danger also?

The investigation takes Kate and Ivor to the Netherfield Sanitarium which is being converted into townhouse and flats. They are hired by the board members of Netherfield to authenticate the fifteenth-century painting and verify that its provenance is the Dutch master Jan Van Eyck. The painting and the murders become intertwined with a past mystery that can threaten, Kate, and Vivian. As the investigation goes deeper into the past, will Kate and Tom discover the truth from all those years ago?

I could tell that there was a lot of research that went into the telling of this story, plus the continuing love affair between Kate and Tom brought the whole story into perspective. We have the murders, who was killing off the 'original' teenage investigators? The painting and the board members also lend a different twist. Who can be trusted? Who is the killer/s and why? A wide range of characters also populate the pages making this book a real who dunnit.

I don't often read a cozy-type mystery but I did enjoy this one. I give it 4 stars! ( )

When the past comes back to haunt us, it can leave a twisted trail of dead bodies. American antiques dealer, Kate Hamilton, and her friend Vivian Bunn are returning home from a ‘Hen Party’ when they discover a man’s body. The man is a stranger in their quiet village of Long Barston because nobody recognizes him. So, why is he lying dead on a pathway in their cemetery? He’s in his seventies, maybe he had a heart attack – or not.

When Kate’s fiancée, DCI Tom Mallory shows up to investigate, they can’t find any identification on the man, nor any sign of his car. Yet, the autopsy shows he died from a bee sting – natural causes then – or not.

While Tom is busy investigating the man’s death, Kate and local fine antiques dealer Ivor Tweedy head to the coast to do some appraisals and perhaps secure a commission to auction off some of those antiques – including an almost priceless painting. Unless that painting is really genuine – or is it?

When the body is identified as someone who had been a friend of Vivian’s sixty years ago, Kate and Vivian want to know more about him and why he was in Long Barston. Over sixty years ago, a teenage Vivian and her family spent time at a coastal resort each summer. There, Vivian, along with four other friends, discovered an abandoned house that appeared to be the scene of a crime. The friends went back to the home several times collecting ‘evidence’ and trying to deduce what had happened. Vivian had a crush on the boy who had found the abandoned house and who acted as their leader. Vivian had never forgotten him – and now – he was lying dead in the local morgue.

As Kate begins to try to learn more about the man, she learns that others from that group have just recently met their end. Could all of those current deaths be related to the events of sixty years ago? They were just kids – and they certainly didn’t learn anything – why would someone be coming after them now? Kate didn’t know, but she did know she had to keep Vivian safe.

Tom and Kate are trying to plan their wedding and decide where they’ll live – in the US or England – while also trying to solve the many mysteries that are cropping up in this case.

I can highly recommend this read. The characters are so very likable and I’ve come to love them as I’ve learned more about them. I love that Tom and Kate are older and have an appreciation for the life they have and the love they now share. You’ll love the mystery because it really is filled with twists and turns and you won’t guess the culprit until the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )