Murder at the Mansion
A Victorian Village Mystery
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- 7,99 €
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- 7,99 €
Publisher Description
The first in a brand-new series from New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly!
Katherine Hamilton’s goal in high school was to escape from her dead-end hometown of Asheboro, Maryland. Fifteen years later she’s got a degree in hospitality management and a great job at a high-end boutique hotel in Baltimore. Until, that is, the hotel is acquired by a chain, and she’s laid off. When Kate’s high school best friend calls with a mysterious invitation to come talk with the town leaders of Asheboro, she agrees to make the trip, curious about where this new opportunity might lead.
Once Kate arrives, the town council members reveal that their town is on the verge of going bankrupt, and they’ve decided that Kate’s skills and knowledge make her the perfect person to cure all their ills. The town has used its last available funds to buy the huge Victorian mansion just outside of town, hoping to use it to attract some of the tourists who travel to visit the nearby Civil War battle sites. Kate has less-than-fond memories of the mansion, for personal reasons, but to make matters worse, the only person who has presented a possible alternate plan is Cordelia Walker—Kate’s high school nemesis.
But a few days later, while touring the mansion, Kate stumbles over a body—and it’s none other than Cordelia. Kate finds herself juggling the murder investigation and her growing fascination with the old house, which itself is full of long-hidden mysteries. Kate must clear her name and save her town—before she ends up in hot water.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this amiable if unsuspenseful series launch from Connolly (Many a Twist and five other County Cork mysteries), Baltimore hospitality manager Kate Hamilton loses her job at a boutique hotel being acquired by a Japanese conglomerate at the same time an old friend begs for help saving Asheboro, Md., where they grew up. Unremarkable Asheboro has been left nearly bankrupt after the town council purchased a long-empty local mansion in a deal gone sour. Kate has painful memories of both the mansion and Cordelia "Cordy" Walker, the onetime high-school bully who orchestrated the failed plan to turn the opulent Victorian house into a hotel, but the challenge inspires her. Exploring the home with hopes of finding out more about its original owner, Kate discovers Cordy's bloody corpse. As she sets out to solve Cordy's murder, Kate devises a plan to reinvent the town as a working Victorian village. The town council's cluelessness and other implausibilities won't bother cozy fans, who will enjoy Connolly's characteristically warm treatment of small-town life.