A Dream of Death

Ohio antique dealer, Kate Hamilton, has been called to the Scottish family manor of her deceased husband's sister. He's been gone three years and Kate still struggles with the loss. But when family beckons, who can argue? The sister-in-law had turned the home into a stately country hotel and was one of the major employers in the area. The evening of Kate's arrival is the Tartan Ball and everyone who is anyone is in attendance (including that most handsome Detective Inspector, Tom Mallory of Suffolk, who was seeking some R&R in the outer Scottish reaches). The sister-in-law announces at the soirée some news which did not sit well with the locals nor the staff. Sure enough, by the next morning, there's a body in a snowdrift and Kate is show more on the case (regardless of being instructed by the constabulary to stay out of the investigation). Interestingly enough, there appears to be some similarities between this death and an unsolved crime there from 200 years previously. The police dismiss Kate's assertions but perhaps she's actually on to something. Only time will tell.

This was a delightful start to Connie Berry's, "Kate Hamilton Mystery" series. It's part cozy mystery, a bit of police procedural and holds a small touch of later-in-life blooming romance. The story calls into play Kate's knowledge of history and antiques. There were a number of red herrings where everyone is a suspect at some point or another. Secrets abound - not the least of which are those of the house itself. As cozy mysteries go, there was a bit more gravitas than is often found in the genre which personally, I found quite appealing. All in all, this was a most enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the other books in this series. show less

This was such a good, classic mystery and introduction to what I hope will be a long series with Kate Hamilton. Kate's late husband Bill had implored Kate to always help his sister, so when Elenor calls, Kate leaves her home in Ohio to return to the small Isle of Glenroth in Scotland.She arrives near the end of the regular tourist season, just in time for the Tartan Ball. With missing luggage and a helpful housekeeper, Kate is well dressed and ready to see Elenor and others she hasn't connected with after her husband's death on the isle three years ago. The country house that seems like a castle, stories of Jacobites, Culloden and Bonnie Prince Charlie--thank goodness I have read Outlander to be on top of certain areas of Scottish show more history! A murder is discovered after the ball, and mimics the murder of a young bride named Flora 200 years earlier. The isle is full of suspects and there is no shortage of atmosphere. I can't wait to turn the next page with Kate in another story. show less

A Dream of Death has an interesting premise and setting. Kate travels from Ohio to the Isle of Glenroth. If she had not promised her deceased husband, Bill that she would take care of Elenor if anything ever happened to him (I bet she is regretting it now) she would never set foot on remote island again since it is where her husband died in a sailing accident. Kate owns an antique shop in Jackson Falls, Ohio that her mother is currently watching while she is away. DI Tom Mallory is the only other guest at Elenor’s Glenroth House Hotel and Kate finds herself attracted to him. Elenor’s murder gives the pair the opportunity to spend more time together since Kate is determined to investigate despite being told several times to leave the show more case to the professionals. I admit to having a hard time liking our main character, but I am hopeful for improvement. Her behavior was off-putting at times as she jumped to conclusions and make sudden decisions based on little evidence or facts. Kate’s behavior reminds me of a younger woman instead of someone in their 40s (now, I am assuming she is in her 40s since she has two children in college. We are never really told her age). There are some lovely secondary characters that I liked, and I felt bad for Bo (such a sweet man). The Isle of Glenroth is a unique and beautiful setting. I loved the descriptions of this Scottish island. I found this sentence compelling “Isle of Glenroth rose before me like Brigadoon materializing in the Highland mist”. The mystery was clever and thought out with misdirection that will send readers down the rabbit hole. There is a lack of clues to help readers in solving the crime. I like how the two hundred year old unsolved murders were worked into the story. It added depth to A Dream of Death. I appreciated that all threads of the whodunit were wrapped up at the end of the book. The paranormal element was miniscule. I wanted more of it and I did not like how Kate wrote it off (disappointing). The “romance” between Kate and Tom was lacking. It needed more development or build up earlier in the book so what happened at the end would make more sense. The author was overly descriptive of food, clothing and mundane details (like washing hair, drying it with towel, combing it behind ears, putting on lotion, etc.). My favorite phrase from A Dream of Death is “don’t let your yesterdays define you”. A Dream of Death is a good beginning to A Kate Hamilton Mystery series. A Dream of Death has an intriguing mystery, quaint Scottish isle, disappearing antiques, a dashing inspector and a determined antiques dealer. show less

Generous with 4 stars because I did voraciously read the novel over 3-evenings. The plot ran along the classic "Agatha Christie" mystery structure: a murder is committed, there are multiple characters who are all suspected of concealing secrets, and the main protagonist, usually the detective, gradually uncovers these secrets over the course of the story.

In Connie Berry's novel, the female lead (Kate Hamilton) fulfills the trope of the insightful, but ignored, participant who has ties to the victim and is there by accident. Kate is annoyingly idiotic about her own safety (and declares so several times), plus acts like an airhead in a number of situations (no spoilers here, you'll find them without my help).

Despite some tactless and show more less than wise actions, Kate is an engaging character. Readers may find themselves drawn to her plight and rooting for a happy ending. I ticked that box, although it was left with a certain amount of uncertainty. For my tastes, Berry has to learn not to gallop through the action and to write more evocatively. show less

4.5 stars.

The first installment in the Kate Hamilton Mysteries series, A Dream of Death by Connie Berry is a suspense-laden cozy mystery.

Kate Hamilton is returning to the Isle of Glenroth, Scotland at the request of her estranged sister-in-law, Elenor Spurgeon. The two women were never close but since Kate's beloved husband, Bill, passed away, they have not been in contact. Despite not particularly liking Elenor, Kate cannot refuse Elenor's urgent request for her help. She is dismayed to discover she is even more disagreeable than ever and she is frustrated when Elenor puts off telling her why she needs Kate's assistance. The next day, a shocking murder stuns Kate and the rest of the community. The murder is eerily similar to one that show more took place hundreds of year ago and Kate is convinced there is a connection. When the police zero in on handyman Bo Duff, Kate begins her own investigation since she is certain he is not the killer. Will she uncover the murderer's identity before it is too late?

Kate lives in Jackson Falls, OH where she owns an antique store. Her children are now grown and despite the passage of time, she still deeply mourns Bill's death. Kate's relationship with Elenor has always been tense, but she cannot ignore her promise to Bill to care for his sister. She is hoping to quickly get to the root of the problem, but Elenor is focused on the upcoming Tartan Ball. She drops a bombshell on the attendees and then brushes off Kate's questions. After the stunning murder, Kate puts her investigative skills to work in an attempt to catch the killer.

With an isolated setting, an intriguing murder and the tantalizing historic murders, A Dream of Death is an absorbing cozy mystery. The characters are vibrantly developed and quite appealing. Despite warnings from the police to stay out of the investigation, Kate just cannot resist trying to piece together the pieces of this perplexing mystery. With some well-placed red herrings and sneaky misdirects, Connie Berry brilliantly keeps the perpetrator's identity and motive for the crime cleverly under wraps until the action-filled denouement. An enjoyable beginning to the Kate Hamilton Mysteries series that I highly recommend to readers of the genre. show less

cosy-mystery, law-enforcement, Scotland, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, murder, suspense

I was hooked when Kate's luggage including the phone charger went to warmer climes well south of Cleveland instead of the Scottish Isles where they were supposed to go.
A widowed antique dealer who grew up in Wisconsin, she has come at her self absorbed sister in law's begging to the place where she spent her honeymoon more than twenty years ago, and three years ago saw her husband die suddenly. Said sister in law is beloved by few, but there are many who remember Kate fondly.
On her first night there she meets a vacationing CID detective inspector from Suffolk also staying at the inn. Later that night the first body is found and the danger and show more sleuthing begin. Well, the first murder this century. The characters certainly are and the plot twists and red herrings abound. An excellent read that kept me up way too late!
Can't claim to be unbiased as Kate and I both come from Southeast Wisconsin, have ties to both Cleveland and the North Sea, and have a love for antiques.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Kate Hamilton is a young widow who hasn't been back to the Scottish island where her husband grew up and later died; she wouldn't be there now if it weren't for a telephone call from her sister-in-law begging her to come.

When she arrives she finds her late husband Bill's family home much changed; his sister Elenor has turned it into a hotel (which she did know) and renovated the property to the point of being unrecognizable to her. While she's curious to find what it is Elenor found so dire she needed Kate's help, Elenor refuses to tell her until after the annual Tartan Ball that evening.

But there's more surprise yet - at the ball, Elenor announces her engagement to a local, Hugh Guthrie, who's written a book about an eighteenth-century show more inhabitant, a copy of which Elenor has left for Kate to read. But when Elenor is found dead that evening by an arrow to the neck - the same way as the woman in the book - Kate wonders if the coincidence is more than that.

When Bill's childhood friend and protector Bo Duff is accused of the murder, Kate knows that it's not possible, but it seems the police aren't interested. Then when she starts to receive threatening notes she also wonders if she's not right about Elenor's murder - and if the killer is closer than she wants them to be...

Since this is a new author, I usually try to give them a pass as to setting and characters; and while I thought the setting wasn't given much aside from descriptions of the hotel, I didn't really get a feel for Kate; she seemed withdrawn into herself, showing very little emotion at all and somewhat with a dull personality, but perhaps this is what the author was going for; after all, she was widowed at a young age and didn't seem to handle the loss. For myself, I couldn't see how Tom was interested in her, though why she seemed intelligent enough, it was this dullness of personality that bothered me. I couldn't imagine her enjoying much in life.

Aside from that the mystery was written well and I enjoyed the story line. The clues were there throughout but the culprit wasn't that easy to figure out. There was plenty of intrigue and suspense as Kate went about trying to find Elenor's killer. With enough twists and turns to keep anyone interested, this is an admirable first novel. Since I love mysteries, I decided to read it, and was not disappointed; but I won't say any more about it, because I don't want to give away the ending to anyone, but I will say I would have liked to see it end differently, not that it was bad, for it was not; but I just would have preferred otherwise. show less