Connie Berry's intriguing sixth Kate Hamilton mystery plunges the antiques expert and her police officer husband into a tricky case centered on a 14th-century Suffolk grave site--and a few 21st-century murders.
Kate is thrilled to be asked to appraise some valuable goods, including a stunning pearl, found with a well-preserved female body on the grounds of a local estate. But when the lead archeologist, charismatic, arrogant Simon Sinclair, is found murdered at the dig site, Kate's husband, Tom, asks her to assist in unearthing his killer. Meanwhile, Tom and his team hunt for a killer in a different case, and aspects of Sinclair's death display some startling parallels to yet another unsolved murder from nine years earlier. Kate must draw on her appraisal experience and diplomatic skills to navigate the prickly mix of personalities on the archeology team, plus the strange warnings from an eccentric local woman who has led protests against the dig.
Berry (A Collection of Lies) delves into the Suffolk area's medieval history, sending Kate down several research rabbit holes that have bearing on the cases past and present. A subplot involving Kate's pregnant veterinarian friend, Angela, provides a bit of needed levity. Kate and Tom make a thoughtful investigative team as they sift through evidence and attempt to identify both the medieval body and the modern-day killer--before the latter gets to them first. Readers will appreciate the novel's fascinating local history, well-constructed plot, and meditations on death, legacy, and love. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams