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    Murder at the Mansion
    Murder at the Mansion
    Murder at the Mansion
    Audiobook9 hours

    Murder at the Mansion

    Written by Sheila Connolly

    Narrated by Emily Durante

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 26, 2018
    ISBN9781541485570
    Murder at the Mansion
    Author

    Sheila Connolly

    SHEILA CONNOLLY (1950-2020) published over thirty mysteries, including several New York Times bestsellers. Her series include the Orchard Mysteries, the Museum Mysteries, The County Cork Mysteries, and the Victorian Village Mysteries. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of Mayflower Descendants.

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    Reviews for Murder at the Mansion

    4/5

    40 ratings8 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Kept me interested for most of the book, but wish it had spent less time with guesses and theories on crime, history, people and more on the actual mystery and “reality”. (You really have to take some large leaps of faith to go with the premise of the book and the proffered solution to the town’s problem.) Also, many of the chapters, if not most are cut off at the end, so the last word or two are either interrupted or missing entirely.

      I will likely read the next in series to see where it goes, but won’t continue after that if technical issues continue or if the solution doesn’t transform to become a bit more believable.
    • 2/5
      A weak romance novel thinly disguised as a murder mystery. The town bully is killed and someone did it. But no one particularly cares. The book is mostly clumsy dialogue with chunks of inserted descriptions obviously lifted from reference material. The conclusion comes as a magician's trick, but none too soon. Kudos for the attention to the historical Clara Barton and her research into Civil War MIA.The big mystery is why other reviews are so generous.
    • 4/5
      Katherine Hamilton is the manager of an upscale hotel in Baltimore, that is until she finds out that it has been bought out and they are bringing in their own management team. Then a high school friend, Lisbeth, comes to visit her, begging her to return to her hometown of Asheboro, MD to help the town solve their finance issues. The town had bought an old mansion, was basically broke now, and Lisbeth just knew that Kate would figure out the best way to use that mansion and save the town. Katherine falls in love with the Civil War Mansion and can see a destination Victorian village in its future. While she was exploring the Mansion, the body of her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker, is found just outside with her head bashed in. Katherine must find the answer to the death before the plan to change the town and the mansion can move forward. She moves into the local B&B in town in order to be on site to do her research on the mansion and Henry Barton.

      I have enjoyed everything thing I have by Sheila Connolly and the first book of the Victoria Village Mysteries was another winner. The characters are likeable and the setting fits the plot nicely. I can feel the desperation in the small town and the council members. The mystery was nicely paced and there were plenty of suspects and small town gossipy clues to keep me interested. I like the fact that the old house had some mystery thrown into the mix as well. I definitely like Katherine as the protagonist. She is an intelligent and driven woman, yet not afraid to ask for help when needed. Josh, the caretaker of the mansion as well as college professor on sabatical, is perfect as Katherine's partner in crime and romantic interest, although the romance came at the end, setting up a relationship for the next book in the series. Kate and Lisbeth re-started their friendship without any problems. Lisbeth would be an awesome friend to have, she is sweet, knows how to keep a secret and can be a great sidekick when called upon. I didn't guess the culprit involved in the side mystery and I didn't figure out who the killer was until the author started sprinkling clues closer to the end of the story. When the killer was taken in and Kate's museum friend was brought in to authenticate any pieces from the house, the book sets up the story line for the next mystery. Kate will be back in Asheboro to carry out her plans with the help of the Museum and their donors. I will definitely be reading more of this series. I am anxious to read what happens next. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. All the opinons/ideas shared are my own.




    • 4/5
      Kate Hamilton left her hometown of Asheboro, MD for the big wide world and didn't look back. She kept in touch with one friend from high school, but got her degree in hospitality management and secured a great job at a big luxury hotel in Baltimore. However at the same time as her friend needs help in their hometown, a chain buys the hotel and Kate is laid off. Figuring what has she got to lose, Kate heeds "home" to find that the little town is nearly bankrupt and needing a plan to revitalize. While working on a plan, Kate discovers her high school nemesis murdered and becomes an outside consultant to the police in the investigation.Loved the beginning of this series! The setting and issues of a small town (near my hometown) really grabbed me.I loved the characters too!
    • 4/5
      A great debut from a long time favorite author. Returning to Asheford, her old hometown, wasn't really on Kate's radar until she gets a call from an old high school friend named Lisbeth. The town is struggling, and she is looking for a fresh set of eyes for the town could possibly do with the Barton mansion. Town member Cordelia has grand plans, the scheme seems to big for most of the council. Fate intervenes and Kate suddenly has plenty of time to check out Asheford. Tentative plans for a Victorian style redo of the main downtown area, coupled with an in at the mansion begins to seem like a realistic plan, until Cordelia is found dead. Amateur sleuth wasn't in her plans, but Kate does a solid job at feeding leads to the cops and working with an on site historian to find out what really happened.
    • 3/5
      Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly is the beginning of A Victorian Village Mystery series. Katherine “Kate” Hamilton left her home of Asheboro, Maryland after high school. Katie currently works at Oriole Suites Hotel in Baltimore and is surprised when she gets a call from Lisbeth Scott, her best friend in high school. A storm went through Asheboro a few weeks ago causing severe damage and many of the residents do not have insurance to cover repairs. The town is on the verge of going under and they want Kate’s assistance. The town council had been convinced to buy the Old Barton home (a beautiful Victorian mansion) by Cordelia Walker. It turns out she had personal motivations for the venture and her plan would not benefit Asheboro. They are hoping Kate can use her skills to come up with a viable and inexpensive plan for to resurrect the town. Kate tours the Barton mansion and meets the caretaker, Josh Wainwright. She is surprised to see it in such beautiful condition. It is like stepping back in time to the Victorian era, and Kate begins to formulate a plan. As Kate exits the mansion with Josh, she finds her high school nemesis, Cordelia Walker dead on the front steps. Detective Reynolds of the Maryland State Police Criminal Division is in charge of the case, but he could use someone local to be his eyes and ears. Since the Oriole was bought out, Kate has the time to aid the town and Detective Reynolds. While in Asheboro working on her plan for the town and researching the Barton family, Kate delves into Cordelia’s life looking for clues. What had Cordelia uncovered that got her killed? Join Kate on her inaugural mystery in Murder at the Mansion.Murder at the Mansion contains good writing and with varying pacing. The story starts out strong as we are introduced to Kate. I like the main character as she is smart, likeable, hardworking, and willing to help her hometown. Kate does need to work on her self-confidence (don’t we all). I like the books concept of a struggling small town with a beautiful Victorian home. If something is not done to draw in tourists, Asheboro will die quickly. The Barton mansion sounds gorgeous. I just loved the descriptions of the Victorian masterpiece (I would love to own this home). I like the vision Kate came up with for the town and I am looking forward to seeing it come to fruition in future books in this series. The mystery has layers to it which are revealed as Kate searches for clues and I like that the mystery ties into the Barton mansion. I wish, though, that it had been harder to pinpoint the guilty party. I found the pace to vary throughout the story and it was especially slow in the middle. There was too much repetition and speculation. I feel that the book needed further editing. If Murder at the Mansion had been tightened up, it would have been a much better cozy mystery. I was curious as to why Kate did not look up information online. She kept wanting details on the original owner of the Barton home, but she did not do the obvious. There is mild foul language in the book (and it is not needed). Overall, I thought Murder at the Mansion was an intriguing first novel in A Victorian Village Mystery series. I am giving Murder at the Mansion 3 out of 5 stars. I am curious to see what happens next as Kate works to save Asheboro.
    • 4/5
      I absolutely love when a successful author with a number of series to his or her name creates a promising new series, such as this one. Sheila Connolly authors a number of excellent cozy series, including the Orchard Mysteries, the Museum Mysteries, and the County Cork Mysteries. Now, Connolly has authored an interesting installment in a new Victorian Village series.Not that the town, Asheford, Maryland, already is a Victorian Village. However, the sleuth, Kate, who grew up in this small town and has worked in the hospitality business, is asked to come back to town to try to help the town overcome its financial difficulties by developing a concept based on a huge Victorian mansion outside of town, which the town has purchased using virtually the last of its money.The historical aspects of this cozy were quite interesting but the mystery less so. Nonetheless, this book offers a nice start to a promising new series. I'm eager to see where the storyline goes.I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
    • 4/5
      This promising start to a new "Victorian Village" series by Sheila Connolly features Kate who returns to Asheboro after the hotel for which she works sells to new ownership who release Kate and her boss from their positions with nice severance packages. Kate's mission to see how the town can make a turnaround may be impossible, but the key lies in an old mansion now owned by the town. Its previous owner Henry Barton left a generous trust fund to maintain the property. Kate's nemesis, a councilwoman, was murdered. Kate finds herself assisting in the investigation as she examines some important letters she becomes certain the woman found. I loved the mystery but guessed the murderer's identity fairly early. A lot of questions remain unanswered for the readers, indicating the author intends to reveal more solutions to those questions in future installments. While genealogical research was done, the author included few details. Hopefully more will unfold as the series progresses. The series shows promise and should provide mystery-loving genealogists with a few hours pleasure as each book is published. I received an advance electronic copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.