About A Pretty Deceit (A Verity Kent Mystery) by #Anna Lee Huber
In the aftermath of the Great War,
the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable
former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee
Huber’s thrilling mystery series.
Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity
Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her
father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous
aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But
there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible
heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a
dead body on the grounds.
While Verity and her husband, Sidney,
investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old
adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected
traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend
Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s
effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are
really the hunters—or the hunted . . .(from Amazon).
My thoughts about the book
When ex
British intelligence agent Verity Kent is summoned by her aunt to figure out
what’s going on at the family estate, she finds artwork forged and valuable
heirlooms stolen among a number of strange happenings with links to a bigger,
much more sinister, problem. As Verity gets closer to the truth, she finds
herself in a life threatening situation.
A Pretty Deceit is the final installment in the 4 book historical cozy mystery series Verity Kent Mysteries by Anna Lee Huber, published by Kensington Books. The story is set in Wiltshire, England 1919. We follow ex British Secret Service agent Verity Kent as she is summoned by her aunt to figure out a number of strange happenings after the estate has been used by the RAF during the war. Investigating, Verity finds connections to a neighboring airfield as well as links to some very powerful and dangerous people trying to cover up their criminal acts, lead by dangerous Lord Ardmore. As Verity gets close to the truth, she barely survives an attempt on her life.
Main character ex British Secret Service agent Verity Kent understandably seems a bit sensitive about her gender in the 1900s man’s world. I can really relate to her character as she compassionately reflects on hardships in her own life to understand struggles of others. This makes her my favorite character of this story.
Supporting character ex Secret Service agent Sidney Kent is Verity’s husband who seems slightly jealous and over protective as I would envision a man of post WW1 England. I still find him a very sympathetic and kind man of his time who keeps Verity sane in all the danger she gets herself into.
This is
the first I have read by this author. The writing was excellent and I found it very
enjoyable how the plot flowed slightly differently from others I have read. I thoroughly
enjoyed reading about British intelligence activity during and after WW1, and
will certainly follow up with more of Anna Lee Huber’s books or similar reads
in future.
The plot worked
well as a standalone. Plenty of hints to previous books, but if possible I would
probably suggest reading the series in order to pick up on any details.
Fans of Anna
Lee Huber would love this story and readers of murder mysteries would enjoy it too. Similar authors to explore might be Andrea Penrose or
Dianne Freeman
Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this
eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review: All opinions in
this review are completely my own.
Conclusion: If you enjoy a thrilling historical murder-mystery including
post WW1 spies and traitors to The Crown, bodies turning up on a Downton Abbey
inspired estate and an element of newlywed romance, this would be the one to
read.
Rating: 4 stars / 5
Main reasons: plot was well crafted and surprising, relatable characters.
Where to get a copy:
Book Details:
About The Author
Anna
Lee Huber is the Daphne award-winning
author of the national bestselling Lady Darby Mysteries, the Verity Kent
Mysteries, and the Gothic Myths series, as well as the forthcoming
anthology The Deadly Hours. She is a summa cum laude graduate of
Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in music and
minored in psychology. She currently resides in Indiana with her family and is
hard at work on her next novel. Visit her online at http://annaleehuber.com/
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