I had never heard of this book nor the author who was a prolific writer. Essex Library had several of Connolly's books on its shelves. I picked this one as an homage to the iconic Nancy Drew story. (Iconic is chronically over used; but The Hidden Staircase is iconic at least to me.)
Kate Hamilton has returned to her home town of Asheboro, Maryland, to restore it to its Victorian heyday. Kate starts with the Barton mansion at the edge of town. She plans to modernize the kitchen, but a secret staircase complete with a body from the 1800's is found in the kitchen.
But, that's not all. Soon another body is found--a man who was part of Kate's renovation team.
I enjoyed reading this book--it kept me interested. I may have enjoyed it more if I had read the series in order--this was the third in the Victorian Village series and the last based on Connolly's death in 2020.
One thing I noticed is Connolly's use of visual cues for the reader. I remember using characters that smoked often to break up dialogue. One thing that didn't work was a character talking through a mouthful of French fries. That was distracting.
Still I may read more of Connolly's books.
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