Marilyn's Mystery Reads

One might be forgiven for thinking that being an antiques dealer is not a dangerous profession.  After all, the objects that the dealer handles are generally 100 years old or even older, and thus the original purchasers are long gone, along with their feelings of possession and ownership.  But all too often an aura surrounds the item that can last to the present day, bringing forth feelings of envy, desire, and covetousness among those who want it.

American Kate Hamilton and her British husband Tom Mallory are on their honeymoon in Devon.  Tom is a detective inspector in the Suffolk Constabulary, and their choice of a honeymoon location is serving a double purpose.  In addition to exploring the beautiful landscape of mountains, moors, and rivers with his bride, he is also mulling over a change in careers, leaving the police force and joining a firm of private investigators.  Kate is an antiques dealer, and now the interests of both coincide, as Tom has been hired to document the provenance of a nineteenth-century dress that may have a connection to a case that’s never been solved.

The dress will be on display shortly at the Museum of Devon Life as part of a fund-raising drive.  When Kate and Tom arrive at the museum, they are met by its director, Hugo Hawksworthy, who is more than happy to show them around.  Hawksworthy introduces the couple to Julia Kelly, the museum’s conservator, who is working on the dress that was worn by Nancy Thorne, a local woman whose sister was a well-regarded seamstress.  It’s obvious that the dress is beautifully made, but its front is marred by a huge bloodstain, which is part of the Thorne mystery.  Nancy and her sister lived together until the night Nancy went out and returned wearing this dress, claiming total amnesia of what had happened to her while she was away from their home.

Kate and Tom are invited to the museum’s gala, along with a crowd of Devon’s citizens, and they meet two of its most important ones.  First is Gideon Littlejohn, the man who donated the dress to the museum, an eccentric who dresses and lives as if he were in Victorian times.  The second is Teddy Pearce, a local member of Parliament and a former juvenile delinquent.  As all are listening to Hawksworthy impressing the audience with the importance of the museum’s place in the community, a shot is heard.  No one is injured, but Pearce says he was the target.  Was he?

The morning after the event, Kate and Tom go as planned to the Old Merchant’s House, home to Littlejohn, to learn more about the dress and other antiques he’s purchased.  As they knock, they hear a bloodcurdling scream, and entering the house they find Littlejohn’s housekeeper, Beryl Grey, with her hands covered in blood.  “It’s Mr. Littlejohn,” she tells them.  “He’s dead.”

A Collection of Lies is the fifth mystery in the Kate Hamilton series, and it’s an excellent one.  Kate and Tom are a delightful couple–smart, interesting, and enjoying the beginning of their new life together.  Plus the descriptions of Devon, its beautiful scenery and ancient historical sites, will have readers making plans to visit it on their next vacation.

You can read more about Connie Berry at this site.