Now that I loved Connie Berry’s third mystery, The Art of Betrayal, I can make an admission. While my sister and I were both impressed with her debut mystery, A Dream of Death, we both felt the second one, A Legacy of Murder, did not live up to expectations. Maybe it was Kate Hamilton’s spoiled, immature daughter who appeared in the second book. However, there were some promising characters in that one, and a new setting, Suffolk, England. Those characters reappear in this book (the daughter is absent, thank heavens), and I’ve already told my sister The Art of Betrayal may be my favorite in the series.

American Kate Hamilton is handling Ivor Tweedy’s antiquities shop, The Cabinet of Curiosities, while he’s recovering from major surgery. Kate does have a secret, though. Since she was a child, she feels internal sensations in the presence of an object of great age and beauty. So, when a reclusive widow, Evelyn Villiers, shows up in the shop with a stoneware jar she wants to sell, Kate’s feelings indicate the hunping is the real thing, from the Han dynasty of early China, 200 BCE to 200 CE. Kate’s just a little uneasy though because the woman is so secretive.

Kate’s eager to share the news of the treasure with Ivor when she visits him. She’s not so eager to share the news that follows. The night of the village May Fair, during the play about the Green Maiden, Evelyn Villiers staggers up to the actress, and falls on stage. She’s been stabbed. When Kate and Detective Inspector Tom Mallory follow Evelyn’s footsteps, they find The Cabinet of Curiosities has been broken into and the hunping is gone. Ivor doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the loss of the invaluable antique.

Once again, Connie Berry successfully blends a current crime with a local legend and antiquities. Kate is convinced the story behind the murder ties in with the local legend of the Green Maiden. Tom’s most important case involves drug smuggling right now, so Kate finds herself doing inventory on antiques at the dead woman’s house while asking questions about the legend and checking on a new auction house for a friend who is desperate to raise money to preserve her family estate.

Berry masterfully juggles all the storylines, as well as Kate and Tom’s personal lives, and ties them all together in this excellent traditional mystery. The characters, the atmospheric setting, and the antiquities all provide wonderful material for The Art of Betrayal, a mystery with a few logical surprises at the end. (And, I hope that wayward daughter moves to Japan or someplace distant and never returns in this series. Just my own opinion.)

Connie Berry’s website is www.connieberry.com

The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry. Crooked Lane Books, 2021. ISBN 9781643855943 (hardcover), 336p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received an ARC from the publisher, with no promise of review.