While USA Bestselling author Connie Berry’s A Collection of Lies is the fifth of her Kate Hamilton Mystery series, the story, the characters, the case to be solved works so perfectly as a standalone but with enough tease to the back-story that you’ll want to read the entire series. So much so that I have already ordered two of the earlier four installments.

In A Collection of Lies, we find American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton and her new husband, DI Tom Mallory, on their honeymoon in Devon, in southwest England. As a favor to a colleague of Tom’s, Kate agrees to put her antique textile expertise to the test exploring whether an old, bloodstained, lace dress could possibly be linked to a long-cold-case murder.

With the discovery of long-held secrets, a shooting at a local history museum gala and a very warm murder of a Victorian You-Tuber, to which Tom assists the local constabulary to solve, and the newlyweds are soon hot on the trail of a mystery with plot turns that keep you guessing.

My new favorite crime-solving duo, I love Kate and Tom’s rapport not to mention their abilities to follow clues and their senses to solve a satisfying caper. I can’t wait to go back and read their origin story in A Dream of Death.

I highly recommend A Collection of Lies to fans of traditional cozy mysteries, British mysteries, and partners in crime-solving duos.

I received this advanced reader copy of A Collection of Lies from Crooked Lane Books, courtesy of NetGalley. Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.