A Dream of Death

GIVEAWAY

BERRY, CONNIE
A DREAM OF DEATH

On a remote Scottish Island, American antiquities dealer Kate Hamilton sleuths a killing that eerily replicates a murder still unsolved after 200 years.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland's Isle of Rothsay, and the locals gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Among the invited guests is American antique dealer Kate Hamilton. Returning to the island where her husband died is brutal,  but Kate is determined to repair her relationship with her sister-in-law, Elenor Spurgeon, the proprietor of Rothsay's deluxe country house hotel.

Kate has hardly unpacked when a body turns up, murdered in an eerie recreation of an infamous unsolved murder two hundred years before. And the only clue to the killer's identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. When Bo Duff, the gentle handyman who had tried to save Kate's husband's life, is taken into custody, she teams up with vacationing Detective Inspector Tom Mallory to clear Bo's name. To accomplish that, they'll have to unmask a killer who seems bizarrely fixated on the past...because two hundred years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge in A Dream of Death, the tantalizing series debut by Connie Berry.

My Review:

Eeeeep!!!! New cozy series debut!
Double Eeeeepppp!!!! by a debut author!

I'm slaphappy giddy over this new series....set in Scotland!! In a remote island location! Carrie over at Reading is My Superpower blog highly recommended this series and when she talks books, I listen! So glad I did because I am over-the-moon enraptured with everything about the Kate Hamilton Mysteries after reading this first book. And I have the second one (Christmas themed)  precariously balancing atop my TBR pile right now. I think I'll have to put it out of it's misery and read it next. Wouldn't want all the books tumbling down because of one over-enthusiastic cozy trying to get my attention. :-)

So -- why am I in such an enraptured delirium over A Dream of Death? Um...did I mention Scotland?! (It's worth mentioning again, don't you think?) And I enjoyed the 'seasoned' heroine -- a widow with two university bound children. Kate is a mashup of everything I like in a good friend. Empathetic, tenacious, loyal and stoically snappish when the occasion calls for it. The perfect crime-solving temperament. And a certain Detective Inspector created some interesting dynamics amidst all the murder and mayhem.

Then there's an island full of quirky characters -- pretty much all of them with motives to do harm. And I love the way Berry paces out the plot. Exacting details bring vivid images to mind without bogging down the story. You know how sometimes a cozy mystery can have so many detailed descriptions that it starts to distract from the story? Well, this author has found the perfect balance between creating the right ambiance while keeping the plot moving along with her excellent word choice and snappy dialogue.

Yikes -- I haven't even mentioned the alluring historical mystery that shadows the present day one. Along with an ancestor's diary that raises even more questions. What a delectable thrill of a read. Looking forward to many more happy hours spent with Kate and company. This author can't write fast enough to suit me!

Sidenote: While not a Christian Fiction selection, A Dream of Death is absolutely, positively a clean read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Alas, currently this book is available only in library edition hardcover or ebook, so this giveaway is for a kindle copy. I have my library to thank for my luscious hardcover copy -- all glossy and shiny and new!

If you would like a chance to win an ecopy of  A Dream of Death, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 16 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!