Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly is the first book in the NEW “Victorian Village” mystery series. Publisher: Minotaur, coming June 26, 2018

Katherine Hamilton’s goal in high school was to escape from her dead-end hometown of Asheboro, Maryland. Fifteen years later she’s got a degree in hospitality management and a great job at a high-end boutique hotel in Baltimore. Until, that is, the hotel is acquired by a chain, and she’s laid off. When Kate’s high school best friend calls with a mysterious invitation to come talk with the town leaders of Asheboro, she agrees to make the trip, curious about where this new opportunity might lead.

Once Kate arrives, the town council members reveal that their town is on the verge of going bankrupt, and they’ve decided that Kate’s skills and knowledge make her the perfect person to cure all their ills. The town has used its last available funds to buy the huge Victorian mansion just outside of town, hoping to use it to attract some of the tourists who travel to visit the nearby Civil War battle sites. Kate has less-than-fond memories of the mansion, for personal reasons, but to make matters worse, the only person who has presented a possible alternate plan is Cordelia Walker—Kate’s high school nemesis.

But a few days later, while touring the mansion, Kate stumbles over a body—and it’s none other than Cordelia. Kate finds herself juggling the murder investigation and her growing fascination with the old house, which itself is full of long-hidden mysteries. Kate must clear her name and save her town—before she ends up in hot water.

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Kate comes back to her hometown to see if she could turn it around. But instead a murder mystery looms and the author takes us on a nice journey with multi-plot storyline. With plenty of suspects and strategically placed clues, the drama escalated to a frenzied pace that kept me engaged between the discovery of the body, the investigation, Barton House, the letters, the town’s plans, a blossoming romance, various interactions with the residents and the build-up to solving the murder. The development of the backstory and the characters all played pivotal roles in how well this intriguing tale was being told and I got wrapped up in finding all those little details that would eventually point to the killer’s identity. The descriptive narrative put me in a different time and place where I could feel a sense of the old community while maintaining present day and that made this story a worthwhile reading.

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FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.