Recent Reads - A Tarnished Canvas

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - The late Lord Eldin's art collection is to be auctioned and Kiera and Gage attend, as she hopes to acquire one or two of the pieces she especially admires. Tragedy strikes during the auction, as a large part of the floor collapses and Kiera and Gage are among the injured. It isn't long before suspicions are raised about the circumstances, and whether the collapse was an unfortunate accident or caused by sabotage. 

Sergeant Maclean requests their assistance in investigating, and in keeping the suspicions quiet for the time being. Although they know the building was intentionally compromised, they are no closer to knowing what the saboteur hoped to accomplish. Was someone in the building a target? Was it an act of some kind of revenge? Was it meant as a distraction for a theft? It's proving frustrating and dangerous to solve a case without knowing the motive, or who can be trusted. Kiera and Gage must keep their wits about them and use all their powers of observation to find the culprit as the threats come ever closer to home.

From the publisher:

Lady Kiera Darby had planned to spend the winter practicing her painting, but instead, she must find the flaw in a killer's masterpiece when an art auction results in one participant's final bid . . .

March 1833. Kiera and her husband, Sebastian Gage, have decided to settle in Edinburgh for the winter with their infant daughter. This also allows Kiera to enjoy long hours painting in her studio, making progress on the portraits she soon hopes to unveil in her own exhibit. She's thrilled when she receives an invitation to the auction of the late Lord Eldin's coveted art collection, and she and Gage eagerly accept. When the floor collapses beneath the gathering, killing one of their fellow bidders, Kiera and Gage are lucky to escape with their lives.

Within days it becomes apparent that what at first seemed to be a terrible accident is actually something far more nefarious. Someone deliberately compromised the integrity of the structure, though the police are unsure of the culprit's aim. Sergeant Maclean requests Kiera and Gage's assistance in figuring out who would wish to harm the bidders. As they dig deeper, it becomes increasingly apparent that the victim was not the killer's intended target . . . and that Kiera was lured to the auction deliberately. Kiera and Gage must utilize all their resources to unveil a monster willing to risk the lives of dozens of bystanders to achieve their ends. But they're on the verge of making a dire miscalculation. For one of the cleverest tricks in a painter's repertoire is the art of misdirection, and their eyes have been drawn far from the gravest danger.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion, Sisters of Fortune, A Deceptive Composition, Murder Most Fair, A Certain Darkness

This is a book that includes a red herring (#25), and a book from a series at least eight books long (#28) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

For the ongoing Mystery Genre Challenge, I've filed this as Case #15 - A Crime Solving Duo

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - A Certain Darkness

A Certain Darkness by Anna Lee Huber - If Verity and Sidney thought they were going to get some downtime and a refreshing break from investigations and intrigue, they were mistaken. Verity has had a little time to recuperate after the injuries suffered in their last investigation, and agrees to go with Sidney when French authorities contact him saying that a prisoner has requested a meeting with him. A woman that had been an informant during the war had been imprisoned in France and specifically asked to speak to Sidney in an attempt to negotiate her sentence, and claimed she had information she would only pass on to him. Verity's experience in British intelligence comes into play as she recognizes Miss Baverel's ploys and suspects where she is speaking in "code" and where her weaknesses may lie. After their meeting with Miss Baverel, they consider what to do with the vaguely worded claims she made, but before they can see her again, she is assassinated and it's meant to look like a suicide and also casts suspicion on Verity.

Sidney and Verity decide to travel to Miss Baverel's home to follow up on a hunch, and find they are in danger - someone is following them and means them harm. About this time, Verity receives contact from her former British Intelligence superiors, asking her to investigate the murder of a Belgian lawyer who had also worked with British Intelligence. He had been carrying a report with shocking information and evidence of potential treason, and it is missing. British Intelligence wants Verity to find the portfolio and destroy it. Despite many qualms about the investigation, Sidney and Verity take on the challenge, and soon question whether the two situations are actually linked. Was the information Miss Baverel claimed to have related to the missing report, and is their nemesis Lord Ardmore involved in both?

This mystery involves more espionage and secret statecraft than the previous ones and I found it a challenge to follow the different threads and links in the chain as Sidney and Verity unravel it. The personal dangers and impossible choices they face, and the ramifications of the information in the missing report being made public are immense, and this adventure is fraught with suspense and intrigue.

From the publisher:

March 1920: Life has turned unsettlingly quiet for former British Intelligence agent Verity Kent and her husband, Sidney. But even that false calm is about to end. As threats remain, the French authorities soon request Sidney's help with a suspect who claims to have proof of treason―shortly before she is assassinated. And Verity, too, is called to investigate a mystery . . .

The murder of a Belgian lawyer aboard a train seems at first to be a simple case of revenge. But the victim was connected to British Intelligence, and possessed papers detailing the sinking of a gold-laden German ship during the war.

As Verity and Sidney dig deeper, they discover their cases are intertwined―and a lethal adversary persists. Officially, the Great War may be over, but this is a battle of nerves and wits they cannot afford to lose . . .

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion, Sisters of Fortune, A Deceptive Composition, Murder Most Fair

This is a book featuring a conspiracy (#5) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

This is related to "crime" for Prompt #2 of the February Mini-Challenge

This is #8 in the Connections Challenge. The cover shares an item from the cover of the previous book (the railing). (I'm continuing the connections from the 2025 challenge)

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

©2008-2026 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - Murder Most Fair

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber - After wrappng up their last investigation, Verity and Sidney are enjoying a bit of a holiday and time to relax. But when Verity's Great-Aunt Ilse shows up on their doorstep, they have to confront the possibility that wartime enemies may still pose a threat. During the war, Tante Ilse lived in Germany and one of Verity's missions involved her, but now Tante Ilse claims a 'second deserter' had come to her home and that there had been threats made against her and her maid. They've come to England to escape the threats, but it seems to Verity and Sidney that the threats may have followed.

They all go to Verity's family home in Yorkshire, but some of their longtime neighbors are antagonistic and mistrustful of Germans and even of Verity. To make matters worse, Verity and Tante Ilse both think they've seen a familiar face and Tante Ilse says it is that mysterious 'second deserter'. As Verity and Sidney reach out to some contacts for more information, they must also continue to keep Verity's wartime service a secret from her family, and Verity fears Tante Ilse's memory is going. Then Ilse's maid is murdered, and it is up to Verity and Sidney to find the murderer before the people of the town take matters into their own hands in a vindictive search for a stranger that they claim is German. 

In addition to the mystery and worries for Tante Ilse that are on Verity's mind, this is her first visit back to the family home in five years . . . since early in the war when her brother was killed in action. Verity has avoided the memories and grief and emotion, and her fraught relationship with her mother, and now she can't put off facing it all any longer.

From the publisher:

All is far from quiet on the home front in USA Today bestselling author Anna Lee Huber's captivating mystery series, in which former Secret Service agent Verity Kent receives a visitor - who is being trailed by a killer . . .

November 1919. A relaxing few weeks by the seaside with her husband, Sidney, could almost convince Verity Kent that life has returned to the pleasant rhythm of pre-war days. Then Verity's beloved Great-Aunt Ilse lands on their doorstep. After years in war-ravaged Germany, Ilse has returned to England to repair her fragile health―and to escape trouble. Someone has been sending her anonymous threats, and Verity's Secret Service contacts can only provide unsettling answers.

Even deep in the Yorkshire Dales, where she joins Verity's family for the holidays, Ilse encounters difficulties. Normally peaceful neighbors are hostile, seeking someone to blame for the losses they've endured. When Ilse's maid is found dead, Verity must uncover whether this is anti-German sentiment taken to murderous lengths, or whether there is a more personal motive at work. Could Verity's shadowy nemesis, Lord Ardmore, be involved? And if so, how much closer to home will the blow land when he inevitably strikes again?

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion, Sisters of Fortune, A Deceptive Composition

This is a book about  title with letter M (#) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2025

This is #5 in the Connections Challenge. It is within 30 pages in length, compared to the previous book.

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot, and at  the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2025 hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker.

#histficreadingchallenge

©2008-2025 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - A Deceptive Composition

A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage urge Lord Gage to accept an invitation to see his extended family in Cornwall, but soon wonder if the visit was wise for any of them. The family has been estranged for many years, following a smuggling affair gone wrong when Lord Gage was a boy and resulting in his commission to the Royal Navy being purchased. Now he and his son and daughter-in-law are in Cornwall to get reacquainted with the family, and the occasion to bring them together was the death of the patriarch, Branok Roscarrock. Some in the family suspect that his death was not accidental, and certainly the Gages find plenty to be suspicious when they start asking questions, but all is not as it seems.

Everyone in the extended family appears to be hiding something, lying, or has some ulterior motive, and the stories and circumstances are not adding up. Soon Kiera and Gage are worried about their own safety and that of Lord Gage, and even contemplate abandoning the entire investigation since they sense they are in danger and the family is not cooperating. In fact, a question is raised about whether Branok is truly dead or not! 

The investigation takes several unexpected turns, and Kiera and Gage are compelled to find answers about the murder, and about a rumored lost treasure before they become victims of foul play themselves.

This installment of the series has a lot of interesting tangles as it introduces the family from Lord Gage's mother's side. There are family members that are likeable and seem to be allies right from the start, and others that are cantankerous and unpredictable. Though they don't fight, Sebastian and Kiera aren't quite on the same page when it comes to their strategies for finding answers, and there are constant questions about who can be trusted and who might be lying and why. The mystery was complex and layered, and stretched their investigative abilities, and in my opinion, the reader's ability to keep track of the many possibilities. 

From the publisher:

Lady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, hope they've finally found peace after a tumultuous summer, but long-buried family secrets soon threaten to unravel their lives . . .

October 1832. Kiera is enjoying the slower pace of the English countryside. She, Sebastian, and their infant daughter have accompanied her father-in-law, Lord Gage, home so that he can recuperate from the injuries he sustained in a foiled attempt on his life. But as the chill of autumn sweeps across the land, they receive a summons from an unexpected quarter. Lord Gage's estranged uncle―a member of the notorious Roscarrock family―has been murdered, and his family is desperate for answers. Despite Lord Gage's protests, Kiera and Sebastian press on to Cornwall to assist.

It isn't long before they discover that almost nothing is as it seems among the Roscarrocks, and they've been lured to their isolated cove under false pretenses. There are whispers of a lost treasure and frightening allusions to a series of murders stretching back decades that touch the lives of the family personally. Kiera and Sebastian are left with no choice but to uncover the truth before the secrets of the past threaten to destroy them all.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion, Sisters of Fortune

This is a book with an epigraph (#39) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2025

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot, and at  the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2025 hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker.

#histficreadingchallenge

©2008-2025 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - Sisters of Fortune

Sisters of Fortune by Anna Lee Huber - As much as I enjoy historical fiction, I probably would not have picked up this book except that it's by one of my very favorite authors. Also, the cover is just stunning, so that helped! Reading stories about people who sailed on the Titanic and suffered such a great tragedy is just too uncomfortable for me, so it took me awhile to get started on this one, and as I neared the fatal moment for the ocean liner itself, I found it difficult because I knew that a good number of the characters I'd met in these pages would not survive. So . . . all that said . . . 

The story focuses on a family from Winnipeg who had just finished a grand tour that included Egypt and Europe, and were sailing back home on the Titanic. There are three sisters―Flora, Alice, and Mabel Fortune―and their parents and brother. Flora and Alice are both engaged, with plans to marry when they reach home. Mabel is uninterested in a relationship, but wants very badly to attend university, while her parents remain opposed to this course of action. Of course, they interact with many other passengers on the Titanic and strike up some friendships among them. There are descriptions of the ship, its accommodations, and many details of the voyage woven throughout. The younger brother Charlie's exuberant interest in engineering and science provides a seamless way to include the characters talking about what the ship and its voyage were like in a fairly natural way.

Flora and Alice provide a contrast in character, and their expectations of the marriages awaiting them are quite different. Flora is the dutiful and serious older daughter, agreeing to marry according to convention, but beginning to question if there is something more available to her. She knows that she and her fiance do not have any real affection for each other, not the way Alice and Holden do. When Flora meets the dashing and wealthy Chess Kinsey and begins to feel joy and passion, she realizes she will have a bold decision to make if she wishes to embrace this developing romance. Alice has been somewhat coddled because of health problems, and she loves her fiance Holden, but the adventures and new experiences of traveling have raised doubts in her mind about whether she wants to simply settle down to a stolid and respectable life. 

The third-person narrative makes use of each of the three sisters as viewpoint characters, and Chess is a fourth viewpoint character. This allows the experiences of the men and the women to be explored, and to my surprise, it was easy to follow and not distracting. When I started reading, I had assumed that the Fortune family was fictional and loosely based on real people that sailed on the Titanic, but at the end there is an author's note explaining that the family is very real, although relatively little is known about them. 

From the publisher:

April, 1912: It's the perfect finale to a Grand Tour of Europe―sailing home on the largest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built. For the Fortune sisters, the voyage offers a chance to reflect on the treasures of the past they've seen―magnificent castles and museums in Italy and France, the ruins of Greece and the Middle East―and contemplate the futures that await them.

For Alice, there's foreboding mixed with her excitement. A fortune teller in Egypt gave her a dire warning about traveling at sea. And the freedom she has enjoyed on her travels contrasts with her fiance's plans for her return―a cossetted existence she's no longer sure she wants.

Flora is also returning to a fiance, a well-to-do banker of whom her parents heartily approve, as befits their most dutiful daughter. Yet the closer the wedding looms, the less sure Flora feels. Another man―charming, exasperating, completely unsuitable―occupies her thoughts, daring her to follow her own desires rather than settling for the wishes of others.

Youngest sister Mabel knows her parents arranged this Grand Tour to separate her from a jazz musician. But the secret truth is that Mabel has little interest in marrying at all, preferring to explore ideas of suffrage and reform―even if it forces a rift with her family.

Each sister grapples with the choices before her as the grand vessel glides through the Atlantic waters. Until, on an infamous night, fate intervenes, forever altering their lives.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective, A Fatal Illusion

This is a book with at least four different points of view (#4) for The 52 Book Club's 2024 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2024

©2008-2024 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - A Fatal Illusion

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber - Every time it seems life is about to settle down for a bit, Kiera and Sebastian Gage find themselves involved in another investigation. They respond to a message that Lord Gage, Sebastian's father, was attacked while traveling to Scotland, and when they see how unusual the attack was, they decide to investigate. After all, Lord Gage's young footman was killed, and Lord Gage himself is seriously injured. Sebastian and Kiera follow up on reports that there is a band of robbers that styles themselves after Robin Hood, but no one in the village wants to give information.

Their suspicions continue to rise, even while their infant daughter provides a tenuous bridge to an improved relationship with the cantankerous Lord Gage. Lord Gage continues to withhold information, and is short-tempered and harsh with Sebastian. He refuses to acknowledge Henry as his son, and he is frosty towards Kiera, but even Lord Gage has a soft spot for his baby granddaughter, it seems. The attempts at relationship-mending provide an interesting background to the challenges faced by Sebastian and Kiera as they try to fit the pieces of information together, and decide what is related to the stagecoach attack and who may have been involved in a crime. Then there's the question of motive for the attack, and there are plenty of puzzles to work on in this story!

New parents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage look forward to introducing Sebastian's father to his granddaughter, but instead find themselves investigating an attempt on his life . . .

Yorkshire, England. August 1832. Relations between Sebastian Gage and his father have never been easy, especially since the discovery that Lord Gage has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate son. But when Lord Gage is nearly fatally attacked on a journey to Scotland, Sebastian and Kiera race to his side. Given the tumult over the recent passage of the Reform Bill and the Anatomy Act, in which Lord Gage played a part, Sebastian wonders if the attack could be politically motivated.

But something suspicious is afoot in the sleepy village where Lord Gage is being cared for. The townspeople treat Sebastian and Kiera with hostility when it becomes clear they intend to investiaget, and rumors of mysterious disappearances and highway robberies plague the area. Lord Gage's survival is far from assure, and Sebastian and Kiera must scramble to make the pieces fit before a second attempt at murder is more succesful than the first.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit, A Perilous Perspective

This is a book awith a palindrome on the cover (#37) for The 52 Book Club's 2024 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2024

©2008-2024 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for March 1, 2024

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

I'm about halfway through this Lady Darby mystery and I'm still stumped!

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AUGUST 1832

YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND

"Wait, Kiera," my husband, Sebastian Gage, called as he guided his horse to the edge of the road. "It's best to let the coach go first down this hill."

~From the beginning of A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

New parents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage look forward to introducing Sebastian's father to his granddaughter, but instead find themselves investigating an attempt on his life . . .

Yorkshire, England. August 1832. Relations between Sebastian Gage and his father have never been easy, especially since the discovery that Lord Gage has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate son. But when Lord Gage is nearly fatally attacked on a journey to Scotland, Sebastian and Kiera race to his side. Given the tumult over the recent passage of the Reform Bill and the Anatomy Act, in which Lord Gage played a part, Sebastian wonders if the attack could be politically motivated.

But something suspicious is afoot in the sleepy village where Lord Gage is being cared for. The townspeople treat Sebastian and Kiera with hostility when it becomes clear they intend to investiaget, and rumors of mysterious disappearances and highway robberies plague the area. Lord Gage's survival is far from assure, and Sebastian and Kiera must scramble to make the pieces fit before a second attempt at murder is more succesful than the first.

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First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower

*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.

*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.

*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.

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Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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Ultimately, I chose to break the heavy silence. "I wasn't asking you to tell me who he is, simply whether Eleanor knows."

He swallowed. "Yes. We all know."

~from page 56 of A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

The Friday 56 was started and hosted at Freda's Voice. She is taking a break from hosting, but Anne at My Head Full of Books has volunteered to host for now, so I'll be linking up there.

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

*Post it, and share in the Linky.

©2008-2024 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - A Perilous Perspective

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber - This installment in the series opens with Kiera and Gage relaxing with friends and family at a great-uncle's estate as they all prepare for a wedding. Kiera's friend Charlotte and her cousin Rye are soon to be wed in a private ceremony, and all seems to be going perfectly, despite some minor tensions between guests and servants. Then Kiera takes the opportunity to view their host's extensive art collection and is dismayed to realize that one of his most priceless paintings is actually a forgery. When she and Gage bring this to the attention of the Marquess of Barbreck, he reacts with rage and inexplicably blames the lady of a neighboring estate.

Kiera is asked to examine the rest of the collection and try to trace what happened to the originals and when the switches were made. Several other paintings turn out to be forgeries as well, and tensions run high with the accusations Barbreck has made against the Campbell ladies.Then things take an even more sinister turn when a maid from the Campbell estate is found dead―apparently poisoned―in Barbreck's gallery. Now Kiera and Gage are charged with solving a murder as well, and catching a very clever and ruthless killer before he or she strikes again.

This story has it all―interpersonal tensions between friends and family, an intriguing art mystery, new details about Kiera's family, a suspenseful murder mystery with an unknown villain, and bits of romance at all ages and stages of life. The danger Kiera and the others face, not having any real clues to the killer's identity, is complicated when they can't initially identify what kind of poison was used. It's hard to read clues when one has little idea what to start looking for! The revelation of the killer's identity is an unexpected twist to the plot, but this time I suspected that character quite early. And this is one time when the killer's motive wasn't as convincing as I would have liked. 

From the publisher:

Argyll, Scotland. July 1832. After a trying few months in Edinburgh, Kiera and her husband and investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, are eager to escape to the Highlands with their three-month-old child. Kiera is overjoyed for her cousin Rye and her detractor-turned-friend Charlotte who are being wed in a private ceremony at the estate of Rye's great-uncle, the Marquess of Barbreck, in what seems to be the perfect wedding party.

But when Kiera is invited to peruse Barbreck's extensive art collection, she is disturbed to discover that one of his most priceless paintings seems to be a forgery. The marquess's furious reaction when she dares to mention it leaves her shaken and the entire house shocked. For it turns out that this is not the first time the word forgery has been uttered in connection with the Barbreck household.

Matters turn more ominous when a maid from a neighboring estate is found murdered where the forged painting hangs. Is her death conneccted to the forgeries, perhaps a grisly warning of what awaits those who dare to probe deeper? With unknown entities aligned against them, Kiera and Gage are forced to confront the fact that they may have underestimated their opponent. For they are swifly made to realize that Charlotte's and Rye's fututre happiness is not the only issue at stake, and this stealthy game of cat and mouse could prove to have deadly consequences.

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, A Pressing Engagement, This Side of Murder, As Death Draws Near, A Brush With Shadows, Treacherous Is The Night, An Artless Demise, Secrets in the Mist, Penny for Your Secrets, A Stroke of Malice, A Pretty Deceit, A Wicked Conceit

This is a book featuring the whole family for the Summer Reading Challenge.

This is a book with an alliterative title (#23) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

©2008-2023 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for March 10, 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

I've had this book on my TBR pile for ever so long, and had to keep setting it aside because I had review books or library books with a due date that took precedence. I finally started it this week!

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Whatever had happened to end his engagement to Miss Campbell had obviously been no small matter. Not if neither of them had ever married. Not if all these years later he couldn't even say her name but still referred to her venomously as a pronoun.

~from page 56 of A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

An all-new historical mystery in this USA Today bestselling series featuring beloved inquiry agents Lady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage.

Argyll, Scotland. July 1832. After a trying few months in Edinburgh, Kiera and her husband and investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, are eager to escape to the Highlands with their three-month-old child. Kiera is overjoyed for her cousin Rye and her detractor-turned-friend Charlotte who are being wed in a private ceremony at the estate of Rye's great-uncle, the Marquess of Barbreck, in what seems to be the perfect wedding party.

But when Kiera is invited to peruse Barbreck's extensive art collection, she is disturbed to discover that one of his most priceless paintings seems to be a forgery. The marquess's furious reaction when she dares to mention it leaves her shaken and the entire house shocked. For it turns out that this is not the first time the word forgery has been uttered in connection with the Barbreck household.

Matters turn more ominous when a maid from a neighboring estate is found murdered where the forged painting hangs. Is her death connected to the forgeries, perhaps a grisly warning of what awaits those who dare to probe deeper? With unknown entities aligned against them, Kiera and Gage are forced to confront the fact that they may have underestimated their opponent. For they are swiftly made to realize that Charlotte's and Rye's future happiness is not the only issue at stake, and this stealthy game of cat and mouse could prove to have deadly consequences.

The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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JULY 1832

ARGYLL, SCOTLAND

There was nothing quite like the sight of proper, normally reserved ladies and gentlemen flailing and dashing about a moor. Their natural habitats of stately homes and the theaters and clubs of Edinburgh and London offered little opportunity for them to behave in such a carefree manner, and even less for me to enjoy observing it.

~From the beginning of A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower

*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.

*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.

*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.

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And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

This Week's Question: Do you listen to audiobooks with earbuds or headphones?

My Answer: I don't listen to audiobooks at all! Seriously, I think it's been three or four years since I listened to an audiobook, and I didn't use earbuds OR headphones. Just played it on my Kindle.

Book Blogger Hop

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