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Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry (A Kate Hamilton mystery)

Right now in our country there is no official lockdown. Schools are open, some universities are open, public service employees have all gone back to work (no roster now) (no working from home), restaurants and hotels are open with social distancing, masks on at all times, sanitising constantly but the spectre of omnicron and Delta persists. There are figures every day of the number of infections and the number of deaths and that does not seem to go down. Whether we just adapt and live and go on in this state or continue to isolate is a personal choice. Not an easy decision especially if you have the elderly or the sick in your homes. On the reading side actually things are looking pretty good. I am reading, putting up reviews regularly and generally am up to date. But in my personal life, everything seems to be on hold. I think this is true for a lot of my generation. Getting back to books! Kate Hamilton is helping run an antiques business - it was meant to be temporary but meeting Tom and deciding on getting married to him has put them both in a quandary. She has a home and a business back in America and Tom is well established in England. Their wedding date is fluid but she knows that this has to be decided. Tom's mother is the proverbial difficult mother in law and that problem has also got to be solved. The fact that Kate gets drawn into mystery and murders is part of the charm. Called with her boss Ivor to assess a painting which the owners believe is worth millions, despite everyone else's thoughts on the subject, Kate holds back sensing something is wrong. This literally sets the cat amongst the pigeons. A decades old story and several bodies turning up makes sure that Kate who is not the kind to let go of an investigation, doggedly pursues the case despite high ranking people influencing others to let it lie. Set in a small town atmosphere, the cozy is a good one. Good as a stand alone too. Sent by Crooked Lane Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

5 comments:

  1. What you describe is what many of us are feeling in regard to the pandemic. Our lives seem to be on hold. Thank goodness we have books to escape into!

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  2. Mystica, many of us feel what you are feeling. Retirement years should be a time to enjoy, explore and have fun but, we choose to be cautious and spend most of our time at home.
    Congratulations on being caught up on books and reviews. I wish I could say the same thing. I am reading a good deal though.

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  3. It is a frustrating time and I'm never sure just how careful to be or what is actually reasonable.

    I have really been enjoying this series and am excited to get to this one!

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  4. The Shadow of Memory is such a great title. I would read it just for that. :-) It helps that the book itself sounds good too.

    It's so hard to find balance these days. If it was just my husband and I, I think we would easily settle into hibernation and shut out as much of the world as we could, work being the only exception. We'd probably enjoy that, to be honest, both of us being the introverts we are. I can't do that to my daughter again though. And so we find ways so she can safely take part in her dance and school and we pray it's enough. We pay close attention to the numbers in our area, shop during less crowded hours, we always wear masks in public, we social distance, and take other precautions. Everyone's situation is different. We are all just trying to do the best we can in our own ways.

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  5. Thank you for reading and reviewing The Shadow of Memory. Believe me, writing was also an escape from the pandemic. I loved spending time with Kate and Tom in Suffolk. And it makes me very happy to know that others feel the same.

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