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Victorian Village Mysteries #2
Killer in the Carriage House
The second book in the Victorian Village Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly!
After fifteen years away, Kate Hamilton never expected to end up back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland full time. And she definitely didn’t expect to be leading the charge of recreating the town as a Victorian village and tourist attraction. But as unexpected as the circumstances are, Kate is ready to tackle them.
The town, on the other hand, is going to take some convincing. Ever since Henry Barton’s shovel factory closed down, it’s started to seem like there are more tumbleweeds than tourists rolling down Main Street. Kate’s ideas are good, but ambitious—and her friends and neighbors are worried that finding the money for them would push the town even further into debt.
Luckily, Kate and the handsome historian Joshua Wainwright are two very determined people who may have come up with a solution. The Barton mansion, meant to be the centerpiece of the Victorian village, has proven to be a veritable goldmine of documents about the town’s nineteenth-century history, and Kate is convinced the papers hide something of value. When a dead body turns up in the town library—mere hours before the documents were meant to arrive there themselves—Kate begins to worry that the papers spell danger instead of dollars. It seems that someone doesn’t want these forgotten secrets coming to light, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kate quiet…
After fifteen years away, Kate Hamilton never expected to end up back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland full time. And she definitely didn’t expect to be leading the charge of recreating the town as a Victorian village and tourist attraction. But as unexpected as the circumstances are, Kate is ready to tackle them.
The town, on the other hand, is going to take some convincing. Ever since Henry Barton’s shovel factory closed down, it’s started to seem like there are more tumbleweeds than tourists rolling down Main Street. Kate’s ideas are good, but ambitious—and her friends and neighbors are worried that finding the money for them would push the town even further into debt.
Luckily, Kate and the handsome historian Joshua Wainwright are two very determined people who may have come up with a solution. The Barton mansion, meant to be the centerpiece of the Victorian village, has proven to be a veritable goldmine of documents about the town’s nineteenth-century history, and Kate is convinced the papers hide something of value. When a dead body turns up in the town library—mere hours before the documents were meant to arrive there themselves—Kate begins to worry that the papers spell danger instead of dollars. It seems that someone doesn’t want these forgotten secrets coming to light, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kate quiet…
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 9, 2019
287 people are currently reading
660 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Connolly
65 books1,389 followersSheila Connolly taught art history, structured and marketed municipal bonds for major cities, worked as a staff member on two statewide political campaigns, and served as a fundraiser for several non-profit organizations. She also managed her own consulting company providing genealogical research services.
She was a member of Sisters in Crime-New England (president 2011), the national Sisters in Crime, and the fabulous on-line SinC chapter, the Guppies. She also belonged to Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.
Sheila was Regent of her local DAR chapter, and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was also the grandchild of Irish immigrants. In addition to genealogy, Sheila loved restoring old houses, visiting cemeteries, and traveling.
She was a member of Sisters in Crime-New England (president 2011), the national Sisters in Crime, and the fabulous on-line SinC chapter, the Guppies. She also belonged to Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.
Sheila was Regent of her local DAR chapter, and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was also the grandchild of Irish immigrants. In addition to genealogy, Sheila loved restoring old houses, visiting cemeteries, and traveling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
October 23, 2019
I quite enjoyed the first mystery in this series, and I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, about halfway through, I found myself unable to ignore some things that really annoyed me. It got to the point where I found I was unable to really enjoy the story anymore, so I probably won't continue with the series. I know some of them may seem nitpicky, but I can't help it.
In no particular order:
1) The title. What relevance does the title have to the actual story? I'm about three chapters from the end, and unless all the action happens in the carriage house in these last few chapters (doubtful), the title seems oddly inappropriate.
2) MAN do these characters love wine. They love wine a LOT. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a teetotaler. I like wine too. But it got to the point where every time someone mentioned food, I knew there would be a conversation about how they should drink wine with it. Followed by them drinking the wine. Followed perhaps by them being drunk on the wine. Wine is great, but if they started talking about having wine for breakfast, I wouldn't be surprised at this point.
3) Blame this one on a book I read about fifteen years ago that was so egregiously bad at this, I can't help but notice (and be annoyed by it) ever since. In your day-to-day life, when you're in a conversation with one other person, try to see how many times you call each other by name in the course of that conversation. It's not that it never happens, but it got to the point where I kept noticing it in this book every time it did. We know who the characters are in the conversation! We don't need them to keep reiterating each other's names like they're afraid the other person got amnesia in the past 15 seconds!
4) What does the murder have to do with the plot? I mean, I get that there was a murder. You'd think that would be the main force of the story. But instead it seems kind of like a...mild inconvenience that causes a temporary delay and subsequent mild paranoia. I'm sure it comes back up in the last three chapters (we have a murderer to catch, after all). I just...don't...care. It's a murder mystery, and I just am not all that interested in who killed the dead guy. Let alone why. I imagine it will have something to do with Henry Barton. I still don't care. Which is just odd for a murder mystery novel.
5) I just peeked at the end. I know who the murderer is. I don't know why, but given the complete unimportance of the murderer throughout the entire book, whatever speck of caring that I might have had is gone. I don't care about the murderer. I don't care why they killed the victim. I don't care what they were after. I don't care how they were caught. Every reference to any of the above probably fit on a total of...I'll be generous and say five pages of the book. The real mystery in this book is what the murder mystery has to do with the story the author clearly wanted to tell instead.
5) I don't know if the author ran out of time or if she just got fed up with the book. But at one point, everything seemed to get repetitive, and the characters didn't even seem to like each other that much. Kate and Josh sniped at each other so much over two chapters (passive-aggressively) that when Kate later thinks to herself that she's glad he's with her, I was downright surprised. It happened rather out of the blue, too, so it was like the author woke up one morning, decided Josh just irritated the hell out of her, and it came through in her writing.
Also, some of the dialogue and exposition really WAS repetitive. Paraphrasing because I'm not even interested enough in this book to look up the page: "Why don't you drop us off at our car and then drive to the B&B and we'll be right behind you?" "Okay, I will drive you to your car and then head to the B&B and meet you there." Did these people just land on Earth from another planet and haven't yet mastered human speech? Plus, at one point, I swear the author loses track of conversations that happened less than a chapter before. Kate will tell someone about some papers and why secrecy is vital and she's concerned they're dangerous to have around, and five pages that later, that person won't understand why she's being so secretive and worried. Characters will discuss how to keep papers a secret from the stranger in town, but two pages later, Kate will freak out that she forgot to tell them to keep the papers secret from the stranger in town.
It's not that this book was terrible. I've certainly read worse. But I just found myself irritated by some things and confused by others. And since one of those things was why the book even has the title and why anyone should care about the murder in question...now that I think about it, three stars may be somewhat generous.
I had been quite interested in the people of Ashboro and the plan to revive the town. But this book kind of killed any desire I had to continue the series.
In no particular order:
1) The title. What relevance does the title have to the actual story? I'm about three chapters from the end, and unless all the action happens in the carriage house in these last few chapters (doubtful), the title seems oddly inappropriate.
2) MAN do these characters love wine. They love wine a LOT. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a teetotaler. I like wine too. But it got to the point where every time someone mentioned food, I knew there would be a conversation about how they should drink wine with it. Followed by them drinking the wine. Followed perhaps by them being drunk on the wine. Wine is great, but if they started talking about having wine for breakfast, I wouldn't be surprised at this point.
3) Blame this one on a book I read about fifteen years ago that was so egregiously bad at this, I can't help but notice (and be annoyed by it) ever since. In your day-to-day life, when you're in a conversation with one other person, try to see how many times you call each other by name in the course of that conversation. It's not that it never happens, but it got to the point where I kept noticing it in this book every time it did. We know who the characters are in the conversation! We don't need them to keep reiterating each other's names like they're afraid the other person got amnesia in the past 15 seconds!
4) What does the murder have to do with the plot? I mean, I get that there was a murder. You'd think that would be the main force of the story. But instead it seems kind of like a...mild inconvenience that causes a temporary delay and subsequent mild paranoia. I'm sure it comes back up in the last three chapters (we have a murderer to catch, after all). I just...don't...care. It's a murder mystery, and I just am not all that interested in who killed the dead guy. Let alone why. I imagine it will have something to do with Henry Barton. I still don't care. Which is just odd for a murder mystery novel.
5) I just peeked at the end. I know who the murderer is. I don't know why, but given the complete unimportance of the murderer throughout the entire book, whatever speck of caring that I might have had is gone. I don't care about the murderer. I don't care why they killed the victim. I don't care what they were after. I don't care how they were caught. Every reference to any of the above probably fit on a total of...I'll be generous and say five pages of the book. The real mystery in this book is what the murder mystery has to do with the story the author clearly wanted to tell instead.
5) I don't know if the author ran out of time or if she just got fed up with the book. But at one point, everything seemed to get repetitive, and the characters didn't even seem to like each other that much. Kate and Josh sniped at each other so much over two chapters (passive-aggressively) that when Kate later thinks to herself that she's glad he's with her, I was downright surprised. It happened rather out of the blue, too, so it was like the author woke up one morning, decided Josh just irritated the hell out of her, and it came through in her writing.
Also, some of the dialogue and exposition really WAS repetitive. Paraphrasing because I'm not even interested enough in this book to look up the page: "Why don't you drop us off at our car and then drive to the B&B and we'll be right behind you?" "Okay, I will drive you to your car and then head to the B&B and meet you there." Did these people just land on Earth from another planet and haven't yet mastered human speech? Plus, at one point, I swear the author loses track of conversations that happened less than a chapter before. Kate will tell someone about some papers and why secrecy is vital and she's concerned they're dangerous to have around, and five pages that later, that person won't understand why she's being so secretive and worried. Characters will discuss how to keep papers a secret from the stranger in town, but two pages later, Kate will freak out that she forgot to tell them to keep the papers secret from the stranger in town.
It's not that this book was terrible. I've certainly read worse. But I just found myself irritated by some things and confused by others. And since one of those things was why the book even has the title and why anyone should care about the murder in question...now that I think about it, three stars may be somewhat generous.
I had been quite interested in the people of Ashboro and the plan to revive the town. But this book kind of killed any desire I had to continue the series.
May 30, 2020
An average read. Doesn't deliver as a cozy mystery. I did enjoy the quirky characters.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.
September 14, 2019
I expected to like this book. Kate Hamilton has lost her hotel job, and her friend asks her to come back to their home town and find a way to help it survive. Kate's idea is to turn the town into a Victorian village, complete with the town founder's mansion and all it's original furnishings as well as his now vacant shovel factory.
Kate sounds incredibly like the girl from the Apple Orchard series. She is quite arrogant and condescending. Worst of all, she maunders. I am now 93 pages in, and I don't know how many times she has said, "I don't know what I can do" and even more frequently "We don't know what we have; we'll have to scope it out; let me get a sense of how much we have..."
30 pages later:
This is the strangest book I have ever read. There is little happening and no character development. Little is made of the dead body in the library. We never did find out how the bookcase ended up on his head (Kate knows it was not the killer who knocked it over).
I am wondering about Kate's accommodation situation in the former B&B of her high school nemesis, Cordelia. Ryan, the owner, calls Kate and says. "I know this is an imposition, but could you put (his friend) up for a couple of nights?.......I'll owe you".
Kate fumes and tells the friend SHE has invited to stay in the house with her, "Technically Ryan owns this property" and "Apparently Ryan still feels he has a certain claim on the place." Although she used to work in a hotel, she has no idea what the rooms would require in a mere 6 room guest house.
Eric, Ryan's friend, arrives and is greeted by Kate, "Welcome. Although I don't know why I should be the one to welcome you...the place actually belongs to Ryan."
So, if Ryan owns the house and Kate is squatting, what gives her the right to get upset at him inviting his friends to stay? Why is she even there? She is obviously not looking after the place and admits she has done no cleaning. Not to mention that she raids the expensive wines stash on a regular basis. She does this because she says Cordelia owes her. The wine belongs to Ryan!
Ok, I have finished the book and am astonished that Connolly's editor allowed this poorly written book to be printed. Never have I seen more repetition. There are many flaws and contradictions, but my main problem is the fact that Kate is simply not like-able. She has a very abrasive manner of speaking. "I already told you." She doesn't ask, she demands. She also feels that she alone can save the town. Perhaps her vision can, but she is not the one who will be doing the work. (After a hard morning of supervising others' work, the poor thing is exhausted). She seems to expect full creative control. In the end, although it appears that her project will likely go forward, she still has not been actually employed.
Most of this book is merely filler. Connolly obviously ran out of ideas but had a deadline to meet.
Kate sounds incredibly like the girl from the Apple Orchard series. She is quite arrogant and condescending. Worst of all, she maunders. I am now 93 pages in, and I don't know how many times she has said, "I don't know what I can do" and even more frequently "We don't know what we have; we'll have to scope it out; let me get a sense of how much we have..."
30 pages later:
This is the strangest book I have ever read. There is little happening and no character development. Little is made of the dead body in the library. We never did find out how the bookcase ended up on his head (Kate knows it was not the killer who knocked it over).
I am wondering about Kate's accommodation situation in the former B&B of her high school nemesis, Cordelia. Ryan, the owner, calls Kate and says. "I know this is an imposition, but could you put (his friend) up for a couple of nights?.......I'll owe you".
Kate fumes and tells the friend SHE has invited to stay in the house with her, "Technically Ryan owns this property" and "Apparently Ryan still feels he has a certain claim on the place." Although she used to work in a hotel, she has no idea what the rooms would require in a mere 6 room guest house.
Eric, Ryan's friend, arrives and is greeted by Kate, "Welcome. Although I don't know why I should be the one to welcome you...the place actually belongs to Ryan."
So, if Ryan owns the house and Kate is squatting, what gives her the right to get upset at him inviting his friends to stay? Why is she even there? She is obviously not looking after the place and admits she has done no cleaning. Not to mention that she raids the expensive wines stash on a regular basis. She does this because she says Cordelia owes her. The wine belongs to Ryan!
Ok, I have finished the book and am astonished that Connolly's editor allowed this poorly written book to be printed. Never have I seen more repetition. There are many flaws and contradictions, but my main problem is the fact that Kate is simply not like-able. She has a very abrasive manner of speaking. "I already told you." She doesn't ask, she demands. She also feels that she alone can save the town. Perhaps her vision can, but she is not the one who will be doing the work. (After a hard morning of supervising others' work, the poor thing is exhausted). She seems to expect full creative control. In the end, although it appears that her project will likely go forward, she still has not been actually employed.
Most of this book is merely filler. Connolly obviously ran out of ideas but had a deadline to meet.
July 6, 2019
This second book in the Victorian Village series picks up Kate Hamilton's vision of bringing back prosperity to small-town Asheboro, Maryland--where she was born and raised. Putting her management skills to work after being downsized from a major hotel in Baltimore, she has made it her mission to find a way to revive her hometown. She hopes that Barton mansion will again provide an answer. But does the mysterious death of an intruder into the now-closed town's library have a connection to these plans?
The book can be read as a standalone, although it is helpful to read the first book to get a sense of the town,the significance of the Barton name, and his role in the community. As there are only a few characters, none of whom are particularly well-developed, there is a seemingly lack of a surprising suspect pool for most of the book. While the murder mystery unfortunately took a back seat until the very end, I really enjoyed the historical focus and what the potential was for the town. Kate's connection to her hometown deepens as she explores ways to develop her ideas, though some seem rather obvious, like meeting with the town's newspaper publisher and looking up articles relating to the relevant times. I wish there had been a little bit more romance between Kate and Josh but their seemingly casual relationship appears to be heading in a different direction at the conclusion of the book. I would definitely be interested in reading the next installment in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for an ARC of this book. My review is voluntary.
The book can be read as a standalone, although it is helpful to read the first book to get a sense of the town,the significance of the Barton name, and his role in the community. As there are only a few characters, none of whom are particularly well-developed, there is a seemingly lack of a surprising suspect pool for most of the book. While the murder mystery unfortunately took a back seat until the very end, I really enjoyed the historical focus and what the potential was for the town. Kate's connection to her hometown deepens as she explores ways to develop her ideas, though some seem rather obvious, like meeting with the town's newspaper publisher and looking up articles relating to the relevant times. I wish there had been a little bit more romance between Kate and Josh but their seemingly casual relationship appears to be heading in a different direction at the conclusion of the book. I would definitely be interested in reading the next installment in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for an ARC of this book. My review is voluntary.
January 6, 2020
I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this short story set in Asheboro Maryland. I live in Maryland so that was a nice surprise. The characters were fun, and I figured out who the killer was before they announced it which is always nice.
July 3, 2019
Series: Victorian Village Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 7/9/19
Number of Pages: 288
I can hardly believe that this is only the second book in the series. The first book, Murder At The Mansion, did such a phenomenal job of setting up the characters and the backstory that you feel as if, in this book, you are coming home and visiting with old friends and places. The overarching background story concerns Asheboro, Maryland – a very small town that has gotten lost in the migration to larger cities. The only industry has closed down and the younger people are all moving to the larger cities for work. This leaves the town with few residents and no money to sustain itself. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to save the town, they are looking are re-making the town into a Victorian Village in the vein of colonial Williamsburg, VA.
Kate Hamilton is busily trying to figure out how to convince the town merchants to rip out all of the modernization in their storefronts and change them back to their original Victorian configuration. Most of the changes from the last hundred years has been superficial and left the original structures intact. She also needs to find another tourist draw to the village and is hoping to find that in the remainder of the Henry Barton papers. In the last book, they found valuable and historic letters to Henry from Clara Barton, but that won’t be enough to draw tourists to their town. So, they are hoping that there will be additional historical documents of significance in Henry’s papers. Those things are very, very important because the town doesn’t have the money for any of the projects and if something of importance and value isn’t found, the town will just wither and die. So Kate has her hands full.
As Kate, Josh and Carroll ready the documents from the Barton mansion to the town library, Kate has a young man drop in at the closed library asking to visit the family section of the library. Kate tells him that the library is temporarily closed because they don’t have a librarian and that he’ll have to ask permission from the town leaders before he can come in. The young man leaves and Kate soon locks up and leaves the library. When she returns the following day with her friend Carroll, it is to discover the body of the young man who had just visited the day before.
Kate calls Detective Reynolds of the State Police and tells him what has happened. Nobody knows who the young man is – and his death wasn’t natural or accidental. Kate and company try to leave the murder investigation to Detective Reynolds while they focus on the documents – but – things keep happening that lead them to believe that the murder is somehow associated with the documents and they begin to wonder if there aren’t more documents stored somewhere else. What other secrets could there be? Is there something that would garner the town the money it needs to save itself? What was the young man looking for? Who could have killed him and why?
This is a fun read with excellent mysteries – murder and other. I also liked the introduction of the historical and research information included because it made the scenarios very believable. All-in-all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next book.
I’ve read other series by the author and she seems to bring any romance elements into it very slowly – much to my dismay. I love a good mystery, but it also needs to have a good, strong romance element in it for me. So far, the romance in this series is tenuous and I’m getting antsy about it. Is Josh the one? The real, strong connection doesn’t seem to be there so far. Is it Ryan? Unlikely, but possible. Someone else? Who knows. I’m ready for it to be settled.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Publication Date: 7/9/19
Number of Pages: 288
I can hardly believe that this is only the second book in the series. The first book, Murder At The Mansion, did such a phenomenal job of setting up the characters and the backstory that you feel as if, in this book, you are coming home and visiting with old friends and places. The overarching background story concerns Asheboro, Maryland – a very small town that has gotten lost in the migration to larger cities. The only industry has closed down and the younger people are all moving to the larger cities for work. This leaves the town with few residents and no money to sustain itself. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to save the town, they are looking are re-making the town into a Victorian Village in the vein of colonial Williamsburg, VA.
Kate Hamilton is busily trying to figure out how to convince the town merchants to rip out all of the modernization in their storefronts and change them back to their original Victorian configuration. Most of the changes from the last hundred years has been superficial and left the original structures intact. She also needs to find another tourist draw to the village and is hoping to find that in the remainder of the Henry Barton papers. In the last book, they found valuable and historic letters to Henry from Clara Barton, but that won’t be enough to draw tourists to their town. So, they are hoping that there will be additional historical documents of significance in Henry’s papers. Those things are very, very important because the town doesn’t have the money for any of the projects and if something of importance and value isn’t found, the town will just wither and die. So Kate has her hands full.
As Kate, Josh and Carroll ready the documents from the Barton mansion to the town library, Kate has a young man drop in at the closed library asking to visit the family section of the library. Kate tells him that the library is temporarily closed because they don’t have a librarian and that he’ll have to ask permission from the town leaders before he can come in. The young man leaves and Kate soon locks up and leaves the library. When she returns the following day with her friend Carroll, it is to discover the body of the young man who had just visited the day before.
Kate calls Detective Reynolds of the State Police and tells him what has happened. Nobody knows who the young man is – and his death wasn’t natural or accidental. Kate and company try to leave the murder investigation to Detective Reynolds while they focus on the documents – but – things keep happening that lead them to believe that the murder is somehow associated with the documents and they begin to wonder if there aren’t more documents stored somewhere else. What other secrets could there be? Is there something that would garner the town the money it needs to save itself? What was the young man looking for? Who could have killed him and why?
This is a fun read with excellent mysteries – murder and other. I also liked the introduction of the historical and research information included because it made the scenarios very believable. All-in-all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next book.
I’ve read other series by the author and she seems to bring any romance elements into it very slowly – much to my dismay. I love a good mystery, but it also needs to have a good, strong romance element in it for me. So far, the romance in this series is tenuous and I’m getting antsy about it. Is Josh the one? The real, strong connection doesn’t seem to be there so far. Is it Ryan? Unlikely, but possible. Someone else? Who knows. I’m ready for it to be settled.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 28, 2021
*3-3.5 stars
Book two in the Victorian Village Mysteries series by the late Sheila Connolly finds Kate Hamilton pursuing her idea to turn Asheboro, MD, into a destination tourist area with a Victorian flavor. She hopes to find more information about Henry Barton, the former owner of a fabulous Victorian mansion that the town now owns. The first step is to go through the papers in the mansion's attic and to do that she enlists the aid of Carroll Peterson, a grad student at Penn who has been working as an archivist. They plan to have the boxes of papers brought to the town library where they can be spread out on tables but when they go there to check out the space, they discover a dead body! They don't actively pursue the murder mystery but end up making a big leap of logic which allows them to figure it out. Believable? Perhaps.
This book is fairly short, under 300 pages, which makes it a quick, light read. The story has a bit more meat to it than book one and didn't seem quite as repetitive. I enjoyed Kate's ideas about how to transform the town. Wouldn't I love to be part of that! One has to wonder why that title was chosen though--it's kind of a spoiler!
I received an arc of book #3 in this series, The Secret Staircase, and after reading the synopsis of that book, knew I needed to catch up with the previous books in the series first.
Book two in the Victorian Village Mysteries series by the late Sheila Connolly finds Kate Hamilton pursuing her idea to turn Asheboro, MD, into a destination tourist area with a Victorian flavor. She hopes to find more information about Henry Barton, the former owner of a fabulous Victorian mansion that the town now owns. The first step is to go through the papers in the mansion's attic and to do that she enlists the aid of Carroll Peterson, a grad student at Penn who has been working as an archivist. They plan to have the boxes of papers brought to the town library where they can be spread out on tables but when they go there to check out the space, they discover a dead body! They don't actively pursue the murder mystery but end up making a big leap of logic which allows them to figure it out. Believable? Perhaps.
This book is fairly short, under 300 pages, which makes it a quick, light read. The story has a bit more meat to it than book one and didn't seem quite as repetitive. I enjoyed Kate's ideas about how to transform the town. Wouldn't I love to be part of that! One has to wonder why that title was chosen though--it's kind of a spoiler!
I received an arc of book #3 in this series, The Secret Staircase, and after reading the synopsis of that book, knew I needed to catch up with the previous books in the series first.
April 5, 2019
The second book of the Victorian Mysteries series is an outstanding history of the town of Asheboro, Maryland, it's library and Henry Barton's factory.
Kate Hamilton is attempting to move ahead with the plans to turn Asheboro back to a VICTORIAN VILLAGE. She is finding it to be huge. She invites an expert, on manuscripts to catalog the paper in the Barton's Mansion. Plans to move the papers to the library are delayed as a body is found in the library just before the papers are to be delivered. Nowhere do they find the records for the factory. A Visit to the factory brings a huge surprise to light. What other secrets are to be found as Kate and historian Joshua explore the Mansion documents and Henry Barton's life.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.
Disclosure: Thanks to St. Martins Press for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
Kate Hamilton is attempting to move ahead with the plans to turn Asheboro back to a VICTORIAN VILLAGE. She is finding it to be huge. She invites an expert, on manuscripts to catalog the paper in the Barton's Mansion. Plans to move the papers to the library are delayed as a body is found in the library just before the papers are to be delivered. Nowhere do they find the records for the factory. A Visit to the factory brings a huge surprise to light. What other secrets are to be found as Kate and historian Joshua explore the Mansion documents and Henry Barton's life.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.
Disclosure: Thanks to St. Martins Press for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
August 30, 2019
Kate goes back to her hometown to try and figure out a way to stop the town from dying. She starts a project to turn the town back in time to how it looked in 1900 and make it a tourist destination. While she is going through old records, she finds a dead body and several old papers. Was the owner of the mansion the owner of old patents? Why are several people in town from the same company without letting each other know. Kate has to sort through everything.
December 22, 2021
Gran parte del libro vede la protagonista e due suoi amici controllare dei vecchi documenti e questo è piaciuto alla storica che è in me. Però l'omicidio di un giovane sconosciuto resta completamente in secondo piano fino alla fine, quando c'è la spiegazione di quanto è successo. Nonostante questo avevo capito chi fosse il colpevole.
July 19, 2021
Kate and crew are back and trying to save the town from disappearing, but things go awry when a dead body appears in the library. Once again Kate is busy trying to unravel multiple mysteries while trying to figure out what comes next for her. Great characters and intriguing mysteries to entertain you for hours. I am really getting into this series and can't wait to see what happens next for the characters and town.
May 12, 2019
I really want to like this series, but Katherine, the main character, is hard for me to like. She reads very wooden. The conversations in the book felt like characters were just repeating what they just heard the other person say.
Despite all of that, the story of getting Asheboro on the map and setting the village up as an authentic Victorian village is interesting. The search for anything that could be of use to the town and help with the efforts to turn the village into something noteworthy have lead Katherine and Josh on the hunt for more information about Henry Barton, the owner of the mansion and old shovel factory. The introduction of other townspeople like Frances at the newspaper help move the story along and made me want to read on and see if they can pull this off.
The revelation of the motive behind the murder didn't make sense to me. It's like it just happened and the murderer just did it to do it.
With the Victorian Village looking more and more like it is going to happen, it will be interesting to see what else happens to Katherine in Asheboro.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Despite all of that, the story of getting Asheboro on the map and setting the village up as an authentic Victorian village is interesting. The search for anything that could be of use to the town and help with the efforts to turn the village into something noteworthy have lead Katherine and Josh on the hunt for more information about Henry Barton, the owner of the mansion and old shovel factory. The introduction of other townspeople like Frances at the newspaper help move the story along and made me want to read on and see if they can pull this off.
The revelation of the motive behind the murder didn't make sense to me. It's like it just happened and the murderer just did it to do it.
With the Victorian Village looking more and more like it is going to happen, it will be interesting to see what else happens to Katherine in Asheboro.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
July 25, 2019
I don’t think I’ve ever rated anything by this author so low but this book was just boring.
July 4, 2019
Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in A Victorian Village Mystery series. It can be read alone for those who are new to this series. Kate Hamilton lost her job when a big conglomerate took over the hotel where she worked. Her friend, Lisbeth Scott asks her to return to Asheboro and come up with a plan to save the dying town. Kate’s idea is to turn the town into a Victorian village after seeing the Henry Barton mansion. However, it will take a massive amount of planning, money and help to pull it off. Money is something that is in short supply after the banker embezzled the town funds. Kate is hoping Henry Barton’s papers will be a help and gets assistance from Josh Wainwright and Carroll Peterson. I like that we are introduced to some of the townspeople like Mayor Skip Bentley, Frances who owns the newspaper, Ted the diner owner, and Mr. MacDonald with his hardware store. Killer in the Carriage House is a slow starter with a sluggish pace. I thought the mystery was light. The dead body is found after I was a quarter of the way through the book and is barely addressed after that point. Identifying the killer is a piece of cake and the resolution was lacking. Kate has great ideas for the town with no idea on how to execute them. She is also a procrastinator. Kate keeps putting off things she needs to accomplish (even going to the grocery store). She should be looking into funding, building codes, talking to towns people and doing research. Instead, Kate devotes her time to the Barton papers. Henry Barton does sound like a fascinating man and I am sure there is more to discover about him. I like the inclusion of Nell Pratt in the story from A Museum Mystery series. A Victorian Village Mystery series is a concept that I think is charming and I enjoyed Murder at the Mansion. Killer in the Carriage House, though, was lacking which is unusual for Sheila Connolly. I am curious to see what Kate and her friends uncover in the next A Victorian Village Mystery.
September 6, 2021
In the first book we meet Kate Hamilton who returned to her hometown to help out her best friend with a town situation. In this addition to the series, Kate is once again back in Asheboro, Maryland, but it might be for good. She recently lost her job when the hotel chain she worked for was bought out by a foreign company. She is hoping to help the town transform itself into a Victorian Village to bring in more tourists and keep them afloat. She is working with papers and manuscripts that have been found in the Barton mansion as well as the office in the old Barton factory. They are moving them to the closed library for safety, as well as to have room to examine them. What they didn't expect to find in the library was the body of a man that recently arrived in town. Who is he and why is he in Asheboro? Will this derail the plan for the town? Was it an accident or was he killed?
Kate, Josh and a few others are working hard to try and convince the town's movers and shakers that this plan is viable and will help save the town. Examining the paperwork and trying to highlight the history is necessary, but some information they find could shake up a few people and a large company. The characters are realistic and I like that. They have jobs and other responsibilities which makes them easy to identify with. The murder is not the real mystery in this story and as more information is revealed, it becomes a bit harder to figure out who killed the man in the library. I had some suspicions, but that changed a few times. I enjoyed this mystery and liked learning more about early electricity and what it was like to live just after the Civil War. I enjoyed this story and am ready to start the next one. Emily Durante narrated this story. I am always pleased to listen to books she performs. She has a pleasant voice and reads with expression and emotion. Always a good listening experience for me.
Kate, Josh and a few others are working hard to try and convince the town's movers and shakers that this plan is viable and will help save the town. Examining the paperwork and trying to highlight the history is necessary, but some information they find could shake up a few people and a large company. The characters are realistic and I like that. They have jobs and other responsibilities which makes them easy to identify with. The murder is not the real mystery in this story and as more information is revealed, it becomes a bit harder to figure out who killed the man in the library. I had some suspicions, but that changed a few times. I enjoyed this mystery and liked learning more about early electricity and what it was like to live just after the Civil War. I enjoyed this story and am ready to start the next one. Emily Durante narrated this story. I am always pleased to listen to books she performs. She has a pleasant voice and reads with expression and emotion. Always a good listening experience for me.
June 18, 2019
In this second book of the series Kate has come up with an idea on how to make her hometown a place that people may want to visit. She thinks turning it into a Victorian Village is the way to go and hopes that she will be able to get the whole town involved on making the changes needed for this to happen. The mayor has basically given her the keys to all of the city so that she can do the research she needs in turning the town around. Having found the Barton papers on her return to the town she is hoping that by emptying out the attic of Barton mansion more important papers can be found. They need something big and catchy to help make her ideas for the town take it to another level. While checking out the library to see if they have enough space for the papers to be catalogued there she meets a young man who says he needs to use the library to do some family research. She turns him away because for the moment the library is closed to the public. The next day when returning to the library it looks as if someone has broken in, but she soon realizes that there is a body inside, it turns out to be the young man she met the previous day. With so much on the line with her project for the town a murder isn't something that she really needs to have to worry with. Follow along as Kate tries to figure out who the young man was, what he was really doing in town, and why someone would want him dead. She needs to find answers so that she can move forward with plans for the town. This was a fun read that had me looking every which way for a killer. I'm enjoying the concept that Kate has for the town and can't wait to see what all the town will go along with.
I received an ARC of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I received an ARC of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 11, 2019
The timeline in the book was picking up fairly soon after the last one, and now it was time for Kate to propose her idea for a Victorian Village to the town council and town gathered that night. She knew she'd have her work cut out for her, but she didn't expect to find another dead body so soon. Kate and her friend Nell's grad student Carroll found a young guy dead in the library. Later in the book, they found out what if any, his connection was to the Barton papers that Carroll had rescued from the Barton Mansion attic.
I enjoyed this trip back to Asheboro, MD and could just picture the town, even though it's not supposed to be much to picture at this point. I had a suspicion about who the killer was, but I had no idea why. Kate and Josh seemed to be growing a little closer, her ex-boyfriend Ryan who owned the B&B where she was staying was just a good friend now (he came in handy as an attorney for their project), and Kate's bestie Lisbeth was involved in the project too. Kate, Josh and Lisbeth did the main sleuthing though, and they do make a great team. I hope that Josh decides not to cut ties with Asheboro when his caretaker's position is over. It'll be interesting to see how they pull off the Victorian Village project in the time frame that Kate was hoping for, so I'm anxious to read on in the series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this trip back to Asheboro, MD and could just picture the town, even though it's not supposed to be much to picture at this point. I had a suspicion about who the killer was, but I had no idea why. Kate and Josh seemed to be growing a little closer, her ex-boyfriend Ryan who owned the B&B where she was staying was just a good friend now (he came in handy as an attorney for their project), and Kate's bestie Lisbeth was involved in the project too. Kate, Josh and Lisbeth did the main sleuthing though, and they do make a great team. I hope that Josh decides not to cut ties with Asheboro when his caretaker's position is over. It'll be interesting to see how they pull off the Victorian Village project in the time frame that Kate was hoping for, so I'm anxious to read on in the series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.
June 29, 2019
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.
Kate Hamilton has returned to the small town she grew up in an attempt to save it from complete bankruptcy and thus essential extinction. She comes up with a plan to take the town back in time and turn it into a Victorian village for tourists to visit. But on top of all the usual hurdles, Kate also must deal with a dead body, boxes of documents, and the possibility of romance.
Small town settings typically work really well for cozy mysteries, and the town of Asheboro is a good fit for the story being told. Having a small town for a setting also keeps the action in one place, meaning all kinds of people must interact and the suspect list is centralized.
Connolly has a really nice writing style for this genre. It's light enough for a cozy, but able to handle the darkness of a murder mystery.
Unfortunately, there was a lot I didn't like about this book.
The main problem for me is it's a mystery where the actual mystery doesn't start until over a quarter of the way into the book. And even when the mystery does start, it feels like it's essentially a last-minute addition to the book. The story is far more centered around historical research than the murder, and the solution to the murder feels like a throwaway afterthought.
While I know this is an ARC, and thus not a finished work, there were a ton of really glaring typos, including a whole chapter repeated (the beginning of the chapter was changed to present a different scenario, but then the rest of the chapter was completely duplicated as a new chapter). This was really distracting and took me out of the story.
I've enjoyed other of Connolly's cozy mysteries, so I'm not sure what happened with this one, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it.
Kate Hamilton has returned to the small town she grew up in an attempt to save it from complete bankruptcy and thus essential extinction. She comes up with a plan to take the town back in time and turn it into a Victorian village for tourists to visit. But on top of all the usual hurdles, Kate also must deal with a dead body, boxes of documents, and the possibility of romance.
Small town settings typically work really well for cozy mysteries, and the town of Asheboro is a good fit for the story being told. Having a small town for a setting also keeps the action in one place, meaning all kinds of people must interact and the suspect list is centralized.
Connolly has a really nice writing style for this genre. It's light enough for a cozy, but able to handle the darkness of a murder mystery.
Unfortunately, there was a lot I didn't like about this book.
The main problem for me is it's a mystery where the actual mystery doesn't start until over a quarter of the way into the book. And even when the mystery does start, it feels like it's essentially a last-minute addition to the book. The story is far more centered around historical research than the murder, and the solution to the murder feels like a throwaway afterthought.
While I know this is an ARC, and thus not a finished work, there were a ton of really glaring typos, including a whole chapter repeated (the beginning of the chapter was changed to present a different scenario, but then the rest of the chapter was completely duplicated as a new chapter). This was really distracting and took me out of the story.
I've enjoyed other of Connolly's cozy mysteries, so I'm not sure what happened with this one, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it.
May 3, 2021
Enjoyed this one a lot! I really like the characters and the premise of taking a town back in time is interesting, and the mysteries in both books of the series so far have been engaging and enjoyable. Looking forward to the new title coming out later this year!
November 25, 2022
I was hoping that this series would get better with the second book, but I fear that it is in a hole, and it can’t get out.
The problem, in my opinion, is that the author had no idea how to carry out her concept, which was a decent one. And the editor and publisher published them without giving them the necessary care they desperately needed.
The main character is supposed to be revitalizing the small town where she grew up. She wants to turn it into a Victorian Village that would attract tourists, but all she does in the first and second books is ask herself and everyone around her the same questions over and over and over. She has no clue what to do or how to begin, so when dead bodies appear, she winds up half caring about that while still wandering around trying to pretend she knows what she is doing.
Although this book was marginally better in the editing department, it still had major issues that should have been caught before going to publication. One occurs in Chapter 8. The main character invites a woman named Carroll to town to help go through some old documents.
Here’s the scene from the book: …when she returned I led Carroll to my car. As we drove slowly down Main Street, I said, “You haven’t seen the town before, have you?”
They get to the library, some stuff happens, and then here’s the passage from the book, “I need to get my car-it’s still at the B&B,” I told Carroll.
“Oh, right-we walked to the library,” Carroll said.
I had to go back and read it all again because I remembered them driving there, and then, they talk about how they had walked.
The books are also extremely repetitive. This isn’t a series where you can read them out of order because everything from book one is repeated, several times over again, in book two.
I know this author passed away, and these were probably her last three books. I don’t think they should have been published in this state. I don’t know why this publisher didn’t put any effort into fixing them. It makes me sad.
2 stars
The problem, in my opinion, is that the author had no idea how to carry out her concept, which was a decent one. And the editor and publisher published them without giving them the necessary care they desperately needed.
The main character is supposed to be revitalizing the small town where she grew up. She wants to turn it into a Victorian Village that would attract tourists, but all she does in the first and second books is ask herself and everyone around her the same questions over and over and over. She has no clue what to do or how to begin, so when dead bodies appear, she winds up half caring about that while still wandering around trying to pretend she knows what she is doing.
Although this book was marginally better in the editing department, it still had major issues that should have been caught before going to publication. One occurs in Chapter 8. The main character invites a woman named Carroll to town to help go through some old documents.
Here’s the scene from the book: …when she returned I led Carroll to my car. As we drove slowly down Main Street, I said, “You haven’t seen the town before, have you?”
They get to the library, some stuff happens, and then here’s the passage from the book, “I need to get my car-it’s still at the B&B,” I told Carroll.
“Oh, right-we walked to the library,” Carroll said.
I had to go back and read it all again because I remembered them driving there, and then, they talk about how they had walked.
The books are also extremely repetitive. This isn’t a series where you can read them out of order because everything from book one is repeated, several times over again, in book two.
I know this author passed away, and these were probably her last three books. I don’t think they should have been published in this state. I don’t know why this publisher didn’t put any effort into fixing them. It makes me sad.
2 stars
July 19, 2019
Kate has been coerced into trying to save her hometown from fading away. Her vision is to recreate the town as it was nearly a century ago, as a tourist attraction. But first, she has to get the townspeople to agree, and she has to find a way to fund it. The characters are engaging, and the story line of saving the town is quite interesting, but as a mystery, it falls a bit short. There is a body, an apparent murder victim, that turns up after about 75 pages, but solving the circumstances of the death never seems to be the focus of the story. Most of the book centers on Kate and her plans, and finding the old documents that would support her theories. The solution to the death is covered in less than than two pages and what mystery there is, is over and done with in the blink of an eye. The book continues with a town meeting, explaining Kate’s vision. An interesting tale but hardly a real mystery.
August 5, 2019
Upon further consideration, I'm lowering my rating by one star. As I mentioned elsewhere, the murder didn't take place in the carriage house, nor could I really find any connection between the carriage house and the killer. I think the author just decided the title sounded good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2019
Killer in the Carriage House by Shelia Connolly is the 2nd book in the Victorian Village mystery series, and another enjoyable addition. Katherine Hamilton is contacted by her high school friend to help with their home town of Asheford, Maryland. The town spent all their resources on a mansion, and the town is now broke. Kate has her hands full convincing the town that her, and historian Joshua Wainwright have a plan that could work. Hoping that the Barton mansion has some hidden valued papers, they arrange to move them to the library. Before they can be moved, a body is found in the library. Kate is determined to get to the truth behind the killing. I really enjoyed this story, and am looking forward to reading about how the town digs out of their hole. I highly recommend this book for any one who enjoys history and mystery.
I reviewed an arc from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. Thank you.
I reviewed an arc from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. Thank you.
July 9, 2021
I thought that I would give this series a 2nd chance, since I already had the second book. However, I found it to be much like the first, boring and full of repeating filler. I will not go looking for the third book, if there is one.
November 13, 2019
WAY too much detail on the town planning and not nearly enough action or mystery. I liked the first book in this series, but I finally gave up around 50% in to this one.
August 16, 2022
Too many city plan details this time.
In Murder at the Mansion, I liked all the emphasis on the town and the mansion, this time the amount of energy Kate spends on wondering about how to best recreate life in the early 20th century feels like a stalling tactic. Where Kate seemed focused and on top of things in the first volume, her she seems distracted.
The most basic mystery, though, is the murder of a man in the library. If you can sit through, or skim through Kate's plans and questions about the town and house, the mystery is pretty easy to solve.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...
In Murder at the Mansion, I liked all the emphasis on the town and the mansion, this time the amount of energy Kate spends on wondering about how to best recreate life in the early 20th century feels like a stalling tactic. Where Kate seemed focused and on top of things in the first volume, her she seems distracted.
The most basic mystery, though, is the murder of a man in the library. If you can sit through, or skim through Kate's plans and questions about the town and house, the mystery is pretty easy to solve.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2019
This is the 2nd book in the Victorian Village Mysteries series and it was very enjoyable! The character development continues to grow from the first book and the plot is becoming more intricate. Kate, the main character, is trying to restore the town back to its original glory when she stumbles upon a dead body....again. Her luck seems to be running out and she’s faced with the constant worry of who she can trust. This could be a stand alone book but you wouldn’t be able to go back and read the first in the series without the mystery being spoiled. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy the cozy mystery genre!
July 26, 2021
There is no way this book had an editor, because it is the most confusing (published) mess I've ever read.
The continuity is shockingly bad (they're driving a car, then they're walking; they've eaten lunch, then they're looking for a place to eat).
The dialogue is strange and borders on angry for no reason. Characters appear and disappear like ghosts, and plotlines are established--sort of--and are soon forgotten.
It's insulting to readers, and all involved in its publication should be embarrassed.
The continuity is shockingly bad (they're driving a car, then they're walking; they've eaten lunch, then they're looking for a place to eat).
The dialogue is strange and borders on angry for no reason. Characters appear and disappear like ghosts, and plotlines are established--sort of--and are soon forgotten.
It's insulting to readers, and all involved in its publication should be embarrassed.
May 10, 2020
I kept thinking I had read this book, but finally realized that it was just that it repeated so much information from the first book in the series, it just seemed as if I'd read it. The plot and motivation makes basically no sense at all, the premise of the series is unlikely, and the title has no relationship to the murder, which takes place in the library. Truly terrible. Just skip this series entirely.
February 19, 2022
Just like the other one, I personally found the plot boring compared to the mysteries I normally read. When the killer was caught they gave up themselves up so easily, pretty boring. I’m only reading this series because I got the third one out of the library, and decided I had to read the other two first. Hopefully #3 is better.
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