Kate is an American expat and antiquities expert married to Tom, a British police officer. She and her business partner Ivor are called on to identify some items at a local archeological dig. The team is mostly friendly, but the team leader, Simon, is an abrasive narcissist. When he is found dead at the site, everyone associated with the dig is a suspect. Another body is discovered, but this one is not medieval--could it be the missing wife of a local man? And is one of the archeologists altering the list of items found to sell things on the side? A well written British police procedural with likable characters and intriguing historical tidbits about Roman Britain. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Yet another excellent story in the Kate Hamilton series. England, antiques, twists and turns, what more could a girl ask for! Excellent writing as usual. This series has become one of my favourite mystery series. Looking forward to the next adventure and I hope there will be many more to come.

Antiques expert Kate Hamilton dives into the past to investigate a 14th-century mystery with disturbing similarities to a modern-day murder.

This took me longer to read than I was hoping for, not because I didn’t enjoy but because I kept being called away. It had all the usual elements that make Kate Hamilton mysteries so wonderful! Something about a mystery being solved across the pond is always intriguing. There are a choke full of characters with a twisty but binge-worthy plot to follow, but it’s never too much, and I was able to keep track of everyone. The Kate Hamilton series has become one of my favourite mystery series. I don’t know how Connie Berry does it, but she weaves a tale that is hard to figure out who has done it all, while keeping this reader busy being led around Barston Long, trying to figure out who did it.

Looking forward to the next installment, I only hope it won’t be a long wait.

My gratitude to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions expressed are honest and mine.

The main character was incredibly compelling — flawed, determined, and constantly navigating the gray areas between truth and deception. Their journey felt real and urgent, and I found myself rooting for them even as the stakes kept rising.

Yet another excellent story in the Kate Hamilton series. This edition takes us to Devon where there is a murderer on the lam who Tom is hoping to catch. It also takes us to an archeological dig where Kate and Ivor have been asked to authenticate and date a rather monumental find of jewelry and other items that were found with a highly well preserved corpse from medieval times. As if that isn't enough to make for a great story, there's also an old unsolved murder, and then a new murder to try to solve. And, before you think that's all, there's also another very old murder to solve as well. Connie Berry somehow manages to make all this flow together seamlessly with twists, turns, several viable would be murderers both new and old, and even more intriguing storylines to enjoy and keep you on the edge of your seat. Read this book and find yourself immersed in several different times, several personal stories, and several murders ... all at the same time. Brilliantly written with an ending that I hadn't expected.

With its familiar cast of characters and idyllic setting in an English village, the latest Kate Hamilton book will be a win for fans of mysteries, antiques, and archeology.

Cozy but not cloying, it finds Kate settling into married life in Long Barton with her new husband, DI Tom Mallory. When an exciting opportunity arises to appraise the grave goods of a 14th century woman, Kate and her colleague Ivor Tweedy readily agree. (I just adore Ivor) As a bit of a side hustle, Kate is hired to investigate who this mystery medieval woman was. Quickly thereafter, a death at the dig site has Tom and Kate joining forces once again to unravel what’s going on, both in the present and in the past.

I enjoy this series, but this one had a bit of a slower pace than others for me. And if I had to voice a pet peeve, it would be that Tom allows Kate to sit in on or observe police interviews despite her not being on the force. Surely that wouldn’t be copacetic?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you like archeology; British history; a good who done it; new babies on the way, four-legged or two, some romance or intrigue, this book has it! Kate Hamilton is rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters. She is an antiques and antiquities dealer who works with Ivor Tweedy, an acknowledged expert. They co-own an antiques shop and consult as needed with both the police and private clients. They are asked to evaluate the findings at a dig nearby and when they view one of the major finds, a large pearl, Kate has one of her "incidents". She often has visions when she is presented with items having intense pasts.
She and Ivor ask to watch some of the activity going on at the dig, but when they go on-site with the team, they find the team leader, Dr. Simon Sinclair dead in one of the trenches. As the investigation gets underway with Kate's husband, DCI Tom Mallory in charge, he asks Kate to continue working with the team because he knows people are more likely to tell her things they will not share with the police and he values her insights. As the story continues more and more comes to light about not only the people currently involved with the dig, but someone involved in a past dig. The story moves along at a fast clip and there are multiple red herrings and turns along the way as Kate, Tom and the rest of the team solve not just one murder, but two and they solve another couple of mysteries as well.
Each book in this series just continues to get better and better. If that continues, all of the review sites are going to need to add additional stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the chance to read an early copy of this in exchange for my honest review. Please know I just wish the 7th book in the series was ready for reader consumption, because this reader is not ready to be without Kate, Tom, Ivor, et al for too long!

A Grave Deception is the 6th novel in the Kate Hamilton mystery series. I have read them all and loved them all. Connie Berry has become a favorite author, and I hope this series will continue for at least several more novels. So now that I have made clear to readers how much I enjoy these cannot-put-down novels, I guess I should explain why I feel that way.

Opening A Grave Deception is an enjoyable catch up with Kate, husband Tom. antique shop partner Ivor, and all the rest of this series friends. In this 6th novel of the series, there are multiple mysteries interwoven. An archeological dig sets up one mystery--who is the woman found in a closed coffin unearthed in the dig? Why was her 14th century burial accompanied by such an expensive gem? Added to this mystery is a second cold case, a woman missing 9 years, and then there is a murder, and messages from the beyond. The historical research is well done. The components of the archeological dig are clearly explained. As always with Berry, the pacing works well The characters are well-defined and complex, and the plot is engaging. There is sadness and tragedy, as well as happiness and betrayal. A Grave Deception is a thoughtful, complex mystery.

A Dream of Death was the first novel, where Kate met Tom. This was the novel that sold me on this series. I do recommend that readers begin with this first novel, but A Grave Deception does function as a stand alone mystery for those who are new to this author. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for proving me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I do recommend A Grave Deception and all of the novels that preceded it. Buy the novels and read the series, which is what I have done. Readers will not be disappointed.

5 stars.

A Grave Deception, the sixth mystery starring Kate Hamilton is another great read in the series. This novel has Kate well settled into life with her detective husband Tom and antique store owner boss Ivor. As the series has progressed the plots get more complicated and I did find the plot in this book to be hard to follow at times. There is a large cast of characters and three murders spaced years apart. Ms. Berry does a good, believable job of solving the murders and tying everything up. This book can be read as a stand alone but I highly recommend starting from book one and reading them all.

A Grave Deception by Connie Berry is the sixth Kate Hamilton mystery. This series just keeps getting better. The author does a lot of historical research and it shows in the book. The story was intricate, complicated and not easy to solve and full of interesting archaeological and historical details. The personal stories in the book were also a key part of the book and it was heartbreaking to read how one horrible person could destroy so many lives. The main characters were all back in this book and it’s always a pleasure to hear about Ivor, Vivian and all of Kate and Tom’s friends. The end of the book left a little bit of the story dangling and I can’t wait to see what will happen next. I have an idea of what I would like to happen, but we will see where Ms. Berry takes this series next. I hope there will be many more stories in this series. Connie Berry is a wonderful storyteller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

The latest in the Kate Hamilton series finds Kate, her mentor in the antiquities trade Ivor Tweedy, and her husband/senior police detective Tom solving a recent murder and two cold cases (one of which is hundreds of years old). The author's empathetic character-building is a strength of the series, and Kate and Tom work well to bring their official and unofficial talents to the investigation. I do feel a lot of sympathy for Detective Inspector Amy Cartwright, who is criticized for being "overly ambitious" and not likeable enough. Still, the myriad plot threads are detailed and brought to suitable conclusions. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

The Kate Hamilton series is just a fantastic set of thoughtful, compelling, and compassionate mysteries that always have an element of history to them. This latest book is no exception, and is particularly good at capturing all the human emotion that drives so many actions for good or ill. Kate gets involved in another of detective husband Tom’s cases when she and her partner in the antique shop are asked to consult on an archaeological dig. The murder of one of the archaeological team soon starts to overlap with two other cases, one more recent and one much older. All is of course resolved in the case, but not without some developments in the regular characters’ lives and some moving emotional moments all around. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

I've enjoyed every one of the Kate Hamilton cozy mysteries and this newest effort did not disappoint. Kate and her elderly mentor, Ivor, work together in an antiquities business in a small village in Suffolk. They are called in to evaluate items that are being excavated in an archeological dig happening nearby. But shortly after their arrival on the scene, and their first viewing of the items, the dig itself becomes the scene of a murder. And the plot thickens from there. Kate's husband is the head police detective in their area, and a decent one, but it is Kate who possesses a rather unique gift that assists in solving not only the murder in the present day, but the mysteries and crimes of the past. A bit of a murder mystery but with an intriguing historical twist.