Will I love The Shadow of Memory?

I love The Shadow of Memory because the main character, Kate Hamilton, is an American who lives in Suffolk, England. As an American who lived in Suffolk, England, I got to relive my experience while enjoying the mystery and investigations into murders that are tied to the past.

A delightful bonus was learning about beautiful buildings that were once asylums for the very rich.

In the Edgar-nominated The Shadow of Memory, the fourth book in a series set in England, antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is tasked to determine if a painting discovered in a former posh Victorian asylum is an authentic Dutch masterpiece.

The painting may be fictional, but the depiction of art forgery is not, and it is fascinating to discover the new technologies for discovering a fake as described in this book. The mystery and murder comes in when the painting’s provenance is tied to the murder of an old flame of Kate’s friend Vivian, and Kate fears Vivian may have become… show more.

First of all, it’s a mystery set in England and I love anything set in England, and if I were going to start over anywhere, and leave New York, which I will not do, it would be to go to England. So immediately I’m intrigued, and the details about Long Barston, Suffolk are just wonderful. But mainly I love Kate Hamilton, the protagonist of Berry’s novel, who is a smart (the sort of person who tells Beowulf jokes if she drinks too much), good-hearted, antiques appraiser who is starting over with a new husband, new job, new mother-in-law and new… show more.