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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in A Victorian Village Mystery series. It can be read alone for those who are new to this series. Kate Hamilton lost her job when a big conglomerate took over the hotel where she worked. Her friend, Lisbeth Scott asks her to return to Asheboro and come up with a plan to save the dying town. Kate’s idea is to turn the town into a Victorian village after seeing the Henry Barton mansion. However, it will take a massive amount of planning, money and help to pull it off. Money is something that is in short supply after the banker embezzled the town funds. Kate is hoping Henry Barton’s papers will be a help and gets assistance from Josh Wainwright and Carroll Peterson. I like that we are introduced to some of the townspeople like Mayor Skip Bentley, Frances who owns the newspaper, Ted the diner owner, and Mr. MacDonald with his hardware store. Killer in the Carriage House is a slow starter with a sluggish pace. I thought the mystery was light. The dead body is found after I was a quarter of the way through the book and is barely addressed after that point. Identifying the killer is a piece of cake and the resolution was lacking. Kate has great ideas for the town with no idea on how to execute them. She is also a procrastinator. Kate keeps putting off things she needs to accomplish (even going to the grocery store). She should be looking into funding, building codes, talking to towns people and doing research. Instead, Kate devotes her time to the Barton papers. Henry Barton does sound like a fascinating man and I am sure there is more to discover about him. I like the inclusion of Nell Pratt in the story from A Museum Mystery series. A Victorian Village Mystery series is a concept that I think is charming and I enjoyed Murder at the Mansion. Killer in the Carriage House, though, was lacking which is unusual for Sheila Connolly. I am curious to see what Kate and her friends uncover in the next A Victorian Village Mystery.
holly_keimig's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to this one. There were a few things about it that bothered me though. First, the mystery was not as intriguing. I spent more of the book wondering how Kate was going to convince the town that renovating it into a Victorian village was a great plan and less about solving the murder. Second, some parts of the book felt repetitive and dragged a bit for me. I was interested in some of the history they were discussing but it felt like a lot of that was held at arm's length too. I was a bit confused by her relationship with her love interest Joshua too. Finally, the title doesn't make sense with the book's content. I like the characters overall and the setting, but hoping the next in the series works a bit better or I may abandon this one.
pulchro24's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
thisandthatwithkaren's review against another edition
4.0
Sheila Connolly’s Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in the Victorian Village Mysteries. I had not read the first book but had no problems following along. I do plan on reading the first one.
After fifteen years away, Kate Hamilton never expected to end up back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland full time. And she definitely didn’t expect to be leading the charge of recreating the town as a Victorian village and tourist attraction. But as unexpected as the circumstances are, Kate is ready to tackle them.
The town, on the other hand, is going to take some convincing. Ever since Henry Barton’s shovel factory closed down, it’s started to seem like there are more tumbleweeds than tourists rolling down Main Street. Kate’s ideas are good, but ambitious—and her friends and neighbors are worried that finding the money for them would push the town even further into debt.
Luckily, Kate and the handsome historian Joshua Wainwright are two very determined people who may have come up with a solution. The Barton mansion, meant to be the centerpiece of the Victorian village, has proven to be a veritable goldmine of documents about the town’s nineteenth-century history, and Kate is convinced the papers hide something of value. When a dead body turns up in the town library—mere hours before the documents were meant to arrive there themselves—Kate begins to worry that the papers spell danger instead of dollars. It seems that someone doesn’t want these forgotten secrets coming to light, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kate quiet…
The characters are well developed, and the protagonist Kate and her friends are likeable. The setting of a small historic Victorian town is detailed and I could picture it in my mind.
As another reviewer stated you know the murder will be solved but the fascinating mystery in this series is one that continues to be open ended: will Asheboro be able to pull off transformation into an authentic Victorian Village. I love the history in Connolly's books and this is no different.
I had only read one other Sheila Connolly’s Mystery and it definitely made me a fan! I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves mysteries.
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
After fifteen years away, Kate Hamilton never expected to end up back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland full time. And she definitely didn’t expect to be leading the charge of recreating the town as a Victorian village and tourist attraction. But as unexpected as the circumstances are, Kate is ready to tackle them.
The town, on the other hand, is going to take some convincing. Ever since Henry Barton’s shovel factory closed down, it’s started to seem like there are more tumbleweeds than tourists rolling down Main Street. Kate’s ideas are good, but ambitious—and her friends and neighbors are worried that finding the money for them would push the town even further into debt.
Luckily, Kate and the handsome historian Joshua Wainwright are two very determined people who may have come up with a solution. The Barton mansion, meant to be the centerpiece of the Victorian village, has proven to be a veritable goldmine of documents about the town’s nineteenth-century history, and Kate is convinced the papers hide something of value. When a dead body turns up in the town library—mere hours before the documents were meant to arrive there themselves—Kate begins to worry that the papers spell danger instead of dollars. It seems that someone doesn’t want these forgotten secrets coming to light, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep Kate quiet…
The characters are well developed, and the protagonist Kate and her friends are likeable. The setting of a small historic Victorian town is detailed and I could picture it in my mind.
As another reviewer stated you know the murder will be solved but the fascinating mystery in this series is one that continues to be open ended: will Asheboro be able to pull off transformation into an authentic Victorian Village. I love the history in Connolly's books and this is no different.
I had only read one other Sheila Connolly’s Mystery and it definitely made me a fan! I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves mysteries.
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
nursenell's review against another edition
4.0
Second in a series about a woman who goes to a small Maryland town with a vision of turning the town into a Sturbridge Village type of place. She is caught up in figuring out what was the relationship between 19th century local developer and the new and exciting field of electrical power at that time. A murder happens at the library and the search is on for figuring out who this outsider was and what did hecwamt. As with all of Sheila Connolly's cozy mysteries the characters are well developed, and you come away feeling you know them.
asanford's review against another edition
3.0
Another fun mystery. After reading 4 of her series, I'm wondering if Sheila is a combination of Kate, Meg and Nell. And I love the interaction between Nell and Kate. It's always fun learning little tidbits of history and getting to know the workings of a cute small town. Looking forward to the next release.
xenaschakram's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this book 2.5 stars if I could. I prefer this author's Museum series better. I find the characters Kate and Josh to be too snarky to each other.
morticia32's review against another edition
2.0
Book 2 in the series.
I liked the first book a bit better but, I'm not liking this series as much as I usually like Ms. Connolly's other work. Kate isn't super likable, and in this book, the mystery seems more like filler in the story of the town's history.
However, it took me a few books to warm up to Mara in Ms. Connolly's County Cork series, so I am willing to give the next book a chance.
*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.*
I liked the first book a bit better but, I'm not liking this series as much as I usually like Ms. Connolly's other work. Kate isn't super likable, and in this book, the mystery seems more like filler in the story of the town's history.
However, it took me a few books to warm up to Mara in Ms. Connolly's County Cork series, so I am willing to give the next book a chance.
*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.*
jenn_o_3's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Gave the first book in this series 3 stars but the issues here are the same but worse so I went to 2. There simply aren’t enough viable suspects to keep you guessing nor any red herrings to set you down a false path. It really comes down to 2 possible killers.
There is also really poor editing in the book. Example - a chapter ends with the characters eating lunch. Next chapter begins with them still looking for where to eat. Or they drive somewhere and then say “we walked here, better go back and get the car.” Just basic continuity errors within the span of 3 pages.
Speaking of meals, the author relies on meals and descriptions of meals too much to mark the passage of time. Annoyingly so. And the timelines seem weird throughout. They’ll have 2 hours to kill, talk to someone for 3 lines and then worry they’ll be late. The convo could only have been 10 minutes tops.
All these are small, but so easily fixed with a basic edit.
In terms of the end:Why do they act like the energy company partially funding the renovation of ONE building is a win? Their business and profits for 100 years came from a patent you own and you’re getting a million maybe? Seriously? 100 YEARS of profits for a multi-state utility? Billions!! At the very least the town should have gotten stock in the company or a better ending.
There is also really poor editing in the book. Example - a chapter ends with the characters eating lunch. Next chapter begins with them still looking for where to eat. Or they drive somewhere and then say “we walked here, better go back and get the car.” Just basic continuity errors within the span of 3 pages.
Speaking of meals, the author relies on meals and descriptions of meals too much to mark the passage of time. Annoyingly so. And the timelines seem weird throughout. They’ll have 2 hours to kill, talk to someone for 3 lines and then worry they’ll be late. The convo could only have been 10 minutes tops.
All these are small, but so easily fixed with a basic edit.
In terms of the end:
pussreboots's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0