Monument to the Dead

A Museum Mystery

By: Sheila Connolly

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

As president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia, Nell Pratt relies on the generosity of philanthropists. But when someone starts killing benefactors, it's Nell's turn to come to their aid....

When Nell reads the obituary of a former board member, Adeline Harrison, she makes a mental note to send flowers and doesn't think twice about it - until FBI agent James Morrison shares his suspicions about the nature of Adeline's death. It turns out that a number of other members of the local cultural community have died in the last few months under similar circumstances. Soon Nell uncovers what seems to be a plot to rid Philadelphia of harmless elderly philanthropists - but why? If she can figure out the killer's motive, she has a chance of stopping the misanthropic murderer before another do-gooder is done in....

©2013 Sheila Connolly (P)2014 Audible Inc.

not quite there

It was a good story overall, but it felt a little out in left field. I love Nell Pratt and James Morrison, and the supporting characters are always interesting. Please keep Robin Miles as the narrator. She does an excellent job.

Not Enough "Story"

I enjoyed the first three entries in this series. I especially like main character Nell Pratt. The first three books were not thrilling, action packed adventures, so I wasn't expecting that. The interesting characters I liked are in this book. The problem is they just don't have enough to do.

Narrator Robin Miles does an excellent job.

If there is another book in this series I will need to be convinced there is a better story to tell before I buy it.

A good, engaging cozy mystery

Nell Pratt is the president of the Philadelphia Antiquarian Society, an institution which has been having some interesting times lately--this being volume four in a mystery series. But surely thingss have quieted down now. Crises are resolved, Nell is dating FBI Special Agent James Morrison, and the Society has a large stash of possibly stolen documents it is sorting and cataloging for the FBI. And on her train ride in to work one morning, Nell reads the obituary of a former Society board member. It's not an expected death, but the woman was elderly, and there's no suggestion it was anything but natural.

Then as she's working at her desk that morning, James Morrison calls, and tells her he thinks the former board member's death wasn't natural. He thinks he's seeing a pattern of deaths in older members of Philadelphia's cultural world.

There's enough back story salted in to let readers new to the series pick up the essentials and follow what's going on among the continuing characters. This is a world where historians and reference librarians and catalogers matter, techies are valued for their skills, and the sticky mind that retains details others might find trivial is a valuable asset. Nell, her staff, and James have to work through lots of detail about Philadelphia's cultural world without, at first, really knowing what they're looking for. This isn't action-adventure and won't be to everyone's taste, but it moves along, and the characters and background are interesting, and for me, absorbing.

Alongside the mystery, the characters and their personal lives are also well-developed, likable, and interesting.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review.