Author: Connie Berry
Series: A Kate Hamilton Mystery (Book 6)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (December 9, 2025)
Description: Antiques expert Kate Hamilton dives into the past to solve a fourteenth-century mystery with disturbing similarities to a modern-day murder in the sixth installment of the Kate Hamilton mystery series.
Kate Hamilton and her husband, Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, have settled into married life in Long Barston. When archaeologists excavating the ruins of a nearby plague village discover the miraculously preserved body of a fourteenth-century woman, Kate and her colleague, Ivor Tweedy, are asked to appraise the grave goods, including a valuable pearl. When tests reveal the woman was pregnant and murdered, the owner of the estate on which the body was found, an amateur historian, asks Kate to identify her and, if possible, her killer. Surprised, Kate agrees to try.
Meanwhile, tensions within the archaeological team erupt when the body of the lead archaeologist turns up at the dig site with fake pearls in his mouth and stomach. Then a third body is found in the excavations. Meanwhile, Kate’s husband Tom is tracking the movements of a killer of his own.
With the help of 700-year-old documents and the unpublished research of a deceased historian, Kate must piece together the past before the grave count reaches four.
My Thoughts: The sixth Kate Hamilton mystery begins when she and her partner Ivor are invited to appraise some grave goods found at an archaeological site. A miraculously preserved body of a fourteenth century woman has been found. Investigations reveal that she was pregnant and she was murdered. Her sealed and lead lined coffin yields a variety of goods including a large pearl.
The millionaire who owns the land where the dig is happening wants to hire Kate to see if she can discover who the woman was. She also learns that his young wife, a fashion model and amateur archaeologist, disappeared nine years earlier. He was suspected of murdering her, but lack of evidence and a body meant the case was stalled. Now, he is hoping that the grave goods will be the centerpiece of a museum he is creating at his estate in his wife's honor.
When rivalry among the team currently exploring the site results in the death of the lead archaeologist, there is also a current murder to solve. Meanwhile, Kate's husband Tom, now a chief inspector, is trying to find a murderer on the run.
This was an engaging mystery. I liked the setting and the historical details. I enjoyed the way Kate and Tom worked together. I liked the way the murders in the 1400s and the one nine years earlier have so many parallels. I was surprised by the identity of the villain even though the clues were there in the story.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
