Pamela C. (pj-s-bookcorner) reviewed A Dream of Death (Kate Hamilton, Bk 1) on + 885 more book reviews
Kate is summoned to Scotland by her former sister-in-law. Having lost her husband three years ago, returning to his childhood home is difficult especially given her sister-in-law doesn't like her. When a string of murders take place, Kate is determined to find out who is responsible. She also finds more than she bargained for with an English detective who is on holiday. Interesting characters and intrigue!
A Dream of Death has an interesting premise and setting. Kate travels from Ohio to the Isle of Glenroth. If she had not promised her deceased husband, Bill that she would take care of Elenor if anything ever happened to him (I bet she is regretting it now) she would never set foot on remote island again since it is where her husband died in a sailing accident. Kate owns an antique shop in Jackson Falls, Ohio that her mother is currently watching while she is away. DI Tom Mallory is the only other guest at Elenor's Glenroth House Hotel and Kate finds herself attracted to him. Elenor's murder gives the pair the opportunity to spend more time together since Kate is determined to investigate despite being told several times to leave the case to the professionals. I admit to having a hard time liking our main character, but I am hopeful for improvement. Her behavior was off-putting at times as she jumped to conclusions and make sudden decisions based on little evidence or facts. Kate's behavior reminds me of a younger woman instead of someone in their 40s (now, I am assuming she is in her 40s since she has two children in college. We are never really told her age). There are some lovely secondary characters that I liked, and I felt bad for Bo (such a sweet man). The Isle of Glenroth is a unique and beautiful setting. I loved the descriptions of this Scottish island. I found this sentence compelling âIsle of Glenroth rose before me like Brigadoon materializing in the Highland mistâ. The mystery was clever and thought out with misdirection that will send readers down the rabbit hole. There is a lack of clues to help readers in solving the crime. I like how the two hundred year old unsolved murders were worked into the story. It added depth to A Dream of Death. I appreciated that all threads of the whodunit were wrapped up at the end of the book. The paranormal element was miniscule. I wanted more of it and I did not like how Kate wrote it off (disappointing). The âromanceâ between Kate and Tom was lacking. It needed more development or build up earlier in the book so what happened at the end would make more sense. The author was overly descriptive of food, clothing and mundane details (like washing hair, drying it with towel, combing it behind ears, putting on lotion, etc.). My favorite phrase from A Dream of Death is âdon't let your yesterdays define youâ. A Dream of Death is a good beginning to A Kate Hamilton Mystery series. A Dream of Death has an intriguing mystery, quaint Scottish isle, disappearing antiques, a dashing inspector and a determined antiques dealer.
