I had enjoyed other books in this series and this book was no exception. it had a great whodunit and i enjoyed revisiting the characters.

This is a top notch cozy mystery.
I recommend you read the books in order to fully appreciate the characters and their story arc.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Mansion mysteries, especially those with hidden rooms/staircases, yank me right in. This one is set in Maryland where Kate finds herself between jobs with time and energy on her hands. Her passion is restoration and she is itching to tackle the Barton Mansion project. Workers are hired. But soon a body is found which manages to disrupt proceedings. Secrets and shenanigans ensue. What starts as a heritage restoration becomes an investigation.

Though the story is just fine, it lacks oomph, suspense and mystery. The characters are one dimensional. Those seeking a riveting read may be a bit disappointed but if your desire is to read a quick escapist novel, do seek it out.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

3.75 stars

Kate Hamilton has returned to her home town to help spearhead a project to revitalize the local economy and businesses. Her group hopes to refurbish a gorgeous old Victorian mansion as the showpiece, and then build on that by doing a historic plaza area and drawing in tourists.

Things are moving. Kate is at the stage where she is talking to contractors about making the old kitchen usable for fund-raising events without losing its period charm. Not to mention upgrading the old plumbing and wiring. She finds a local contractor who loves historic houses and is pleased to help make Kate's vision come true and he soon assembles a crew of workers to make it happen.

But the first thing they discover is a very very old skeleton that has been walled up for 50+ years. And it isn't long before another death occurs -- one of the rehab crew is found in the basement with a broken neck.

Kate and her researching helpers are trying to piece together the personal stories of the people who lived in the mansion to see if the past has reached out to cause problems in the present. The historical research methods and old documents and stories are particularly interesting. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The pressure is mounting for Kate as she needs to get things moving on the renovations if she is going to be able to help save the town from disappearing, but every step she takes forward seems to lead her to stumble upon a dead body that throws a wrench in the plans and this book is no exception. The intrigue spirals as Kate and crew now need to figure out if the person they are trying to plan their town's comeback around is the great guy that they have come to believe he was. A layered plot of various characters stories wrapped around a murder investigation makes this a delightfully entertaining read. I love the historical aspect of the books without being set in historical times. It makes the book seem all that much more realistic. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book in the series!

Kate Hamilton is back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland, ready to turn the town into the Victorian Village it used to be. This is the third book in the series, but can easily be read and understood without reading the first two books. The first step for Kate is to renovate the mansion which had belonged to the wealthy Henry Barton, beginning with the Victorian kitchen. She has several townsfolk on the board, a good start of funds from the Electric Company, a researcher Carroll, and her historian friend Josh to help. Her first job is to hire a contractor, and she meets with three. The third one, Morgan, appears to be the perfect hire who loves Victorian houses and appears to have the skills needed.

However, Morgan quickly finds that there is extra space behind one of the kitchen walls. When he drills a hole and puts in a miniature camera, there is a dead man on the stairs in the space. Kate calls Inspector Reynolds, who comes to the Barton House and the police take away the body which is over a 100 years old, although he was probably murdered! Morgan hires a plumber and electrician to work with him, but the plumber appears to have an attitude. Soon he is also dead, seemingly to have fallen or been pushed down the stairs. Kate and Carroll continue to try to seek out the history of the Barton family. When the electrician discovers a hole under Mary Barton's bed, they find just what they want! Digging up the past raises a lot of problems, but with the help of her friends, Kate appears to take it all in stride, in spite of several dangerous activities.

The Project

Kate is involved in restoring an old mansion called "The Barton Mansion" once owned by a factory owner. Her dream is to restore the whole town to a Victorian village, but the Barton house is the first on her list.

She engages a contractor, a plumber, and an electrician to restore the house. Unfortunately the work is halted not once but twice. The first time is when a hollow wall is found in the kitchen with a body behind it that fell down a secret staircase. Work begins again but another body shows up as the plumber is found dead from falling down a staircase.

Kate does her best with her friends and the workers to renovate the house, but is it too big of a task for her? Can her friends help her find out the historical information she needs to sell the house as a Victorian tourist attraction?

Will the mystery of the body in the wall and the unfortunate plumber be solved? Who was to blame, will we ever find out?

This was a very engaging mystery, a lot of history of Victorian times and a lot of who done it questions to be answered. I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Sheila Connolly, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy to review.

An easy read. It was pretty good. This was the first book I have read by Sheila Connolly. I am not sure if I will try another.

This is the third and I'm assuming final book in this series. Kate Hamilton has returned to her hometown ofr Asheboro, MD to attempt to revitalize the area by taking the abandoned home of Victorian era Henry Barton and create a Williamsburg-like Victorian village. Constant issues arise - a hidden staircase with a dead body, and later on another death on a staircase - Kate is beginning to question if the Barton project will ever have clear sailing, but the discovery of the diaries of the former mistress of the house yields fascinating details previously unknown.

I truly enjoyed this series and it saddens me that the author is no longer with us and cannot continue to recreate the Victoria town that is Asheboro. It is a great loss to those who enjoyed Ms. Connolly's writings.

The Secret Staircase" the third instalment in the “A Victorian Village Mystery” by Sheila Connolly. Sadly this will be the last book in the series as the author has passed away.

This is a story of past and present generations, and family that Kate and Carroll unravel, much comes to light when they find Mary’s diaries.

The setting of Asheboro, Maryland and the Barton mansion is detailed and I could picture it in my mind. I love the history in Ms. Connolly’s books.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, with enough twists to keep you interested. I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves mysteries.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Minotaur Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Book #3 in the Victorian Village Mystery series.
I have to say, the characters are likeable, the story is well written & descriptive, but it is killing me that Kate is so disorganized & hardly making a dent in the village makeover. An old death filled with mystery, as well as a new, keep the story moving. Once again, a surprise "who did it".
I wonder when, if ever, Kate will actually speak to the store owners & start the town makeover?
Interesting & entertaining. Thanks to NetGalley & St Martin's Press for the preread in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable read, great characters, well plotted, and a good afternoon's read. Would gladly read the next in the series.

This is the third in the Victorian Village series, but I wonder if there will be other as the author has died. Kate Hamilton has the funds to start renovating the Barton Mansion but before long her plans are derailed when she finds a hidden staircase complete with a dead body. Although the body is from the 1880s, her interest in curiosity until a second body from the present is found. She needs to keeping asking questions to solve the mysteries and discover the connection before her project is canceled. I'm not sure I will read any of the others in the series if there are any.

This was the greatest book I've read lately!! I love Sheila Connolly's work and sad there won't be any more to this series. This one had me on edge the entire time starting with the skeleton in the wall. Full of mystery ,an old love affair and even a newer death that ties things all together. Thank you Sheila for this great book.

This well-written drama had a solid plot and intriguing storyline that kept me engaged throughout. I like how the mystery unraveled from the start with a few twists and turns that set the stage for a dynamic whodunit that grabbed my attention, and I couldn’t put down until all was said and done. The pacing was on par with how well this story was being told with engaging dialogue and the history of the house taking center stage gave relevance to the mystery it holds. The author did a great job in detailing the mystery with bits and pieces here and there, enough to keep me enthralled in what was intended. When I thought I had a handle on the person responsible, the author changed direction all to the betterment which enhanced this story. I love the characters and the small-town atmosphere which added to the coziness of this tale. This was an enjoyable read by an author who is sorely missed.

Well this was an interesting read and again another in a series that I haven’t actually read any of the other books in. You just really need to know is that Kate Hamilton seems to always be the ones finding the dead bodies in Asheboro, Maryland where she was born and came back to after losing her big hotel job in Boston after her best friend asked her for help. Kate is trying to renovate the Barton Mansion which is at the end of town and belonged to the wealthy Henry Barton whose factory was the livelihood in the town until it was shut down. While interviewing contractors to start renovating the kitchen they find a boarded up staircase that had a mummified body inside. While doing research about the couple who owned the mansion they come across the wife’s diaries which give a better picture of the life she lived with Henry and who the unidentified body is. They do have another dead body who was one of the plumbers she hired for the job who seemed to have just fallen down the basement while intoxicated but of course that is not actually what is going on. So a good and fast read.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Kate Hamilton has the money in place to begin restoring the Barton House. She decides to begin with the kitchen. After bringing three contractors out to look over the project only one of them seems at all interested in taking on the job. Morgan even brings an endoscope along to check out what's in the walls. Sadly, his first look into the kitchen walls he discovers a hidden staircase and a dead body. A hundred-year-old body, but still another dead body. After the police remove the dried bones, Kate gets to meet the crew that will be working on the house. Bethany an electrician and Steve and his brother Lars the plumbers. One evening she overhears an argument between Morgan and Steve. That night someone finds Steve's body on the basement stairs, he'd fallen or been pushed down them.
I felt this book was slow to start. This is the third book and they hadn't done any renovation on the house or the town. But as the heroine and her trusty sidekick Carroll find the lady of the house's diaries and more information comes to light it picks up pace.
The characters aren't as developed as well as they could be, but they aren't unlikeable. The descriptions of the house are fantastic I can just picture the beauty of the old mansion. The mystery is well done and keeps the reader guessing.
#TheSecretStaircase #NetGalley

The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly brings together a dead body, historic preservation, and several mysteries about the former inhabitants of a home built in the 1800’s. Kate Hamilton’s renovation experience is with modern institutions in the hospitality industry, but her childhood friend Lisbeth Scott asks her to help revitalize her home town, which has lost its industry and is fading fast. As part of the effort to convert the fictional town of Asheboro, Maryland to its Victorian village roots, the first goal is to renovate the Barton Mansion. A hidden staircase is found behind a wall, and at its foot is a body. Did the individual fall or was it murder?

Kate is a likeable character who wants to do what is right for her hometown. She makes a lot of mental lists, and occasionally, she writes them down. The reader gets to see into her thoughts with the first person point of view. However, to me, she seemed disorganized and unsystematic; inconsistent with her professional experience. Most of the other characters are pleasant, but there isn’t a lot of depth except for Carroll, Morgan, and Bethany Wallace.

The author does a good job of world-building. I was able to easily visualize the setting. The small town atmosphere came through. The plot is straightforward and somewhat predictable, but the story is interesting and kept me engaged. Unraveling the mysteries of the house and its inhabitants was twisty and enjoyable. The ending wrapped things up nicely and set the stage for book four.

Overall, this book was an entertaining and steadily paced cozy mystery. What will Kate and Carroll uncover about the home’s original owners, Henry and Mary Barton? Did they marry for convenience or love? Did they have children? What happened to Mary? While there is information on Henry in the local newspaper of their era, there is scant information on Mary. Who is the dead man behind the wall and how did he die? When and why did he die? Will the preservation and renovation work on the house even be allowed to continue?

This is the third book in the Victorian Village Mysteries series and worked fine as a standalone novel, but reading the books in order would likely provide additional character depth. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Readers that enjoy cozy mysteries and history will likely enjoy this series.

St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Sheila Connolly provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for August 24, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Now I'm on Amazon looking for the rest of this series!
The Secret Staircase is the third in the Victorian Village Mysteries series
This was such a good book! The mystery here was very riveting and strong! I really liked the characters here!
The writing was my favorite thing about the the book though! Amazing!

This cozy featured two mysteries: one from the past and one in the present. Even though the plot was very well-written, and the setting of the mansion and the grounds was beautifully described, I didn't really like any of the characters, including the main character, Kate. Maybe if I read some of the other books in this series, it would give me an insight into her character. The ending was a little sad and poignant. I received an advanced reader's copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.