Recent Reads - Mortal Arts

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Mortal Arts by Anna Lee Huber - In this second book in the Lady Darby series, Kiera is traveling to Edinburgh with her sister's family. On the way, her brother-in-law Philip receives a message requesting them to stop for a night or two with Michael Dalmay, an old family friend to Kiera's family. A problem has arisen regarding Michael's upcoming marriage to Philip's cousin. Michael refuses to take the title of Lord Dalmay, which belongs to his older brother William. Kiera believes that William, who had once been her drawing master, has been missing and presumed dead for almost ten years. 

The evening's dinner party turns awkward when it is revealed that William is not dead but has been in an insane asylum. Even worse is the fact that his own father consigned him there, and all indications are that he was terribly mistreated. Several months previous, Michael had finally located William and brought him home, but has kept this quiet because of his unpredictable moods and despair.

Sebastian Gage is in attendance at Dalmay House as well, which initially puzzles Kiera. But she is grateful for his help when William Dalmay is suspected of the murder of a missing girl from the village. Gage and Kiera join forces to find the girl and what happened to her. Intertwined with that mystery are the questions about what happened to William and others at the insane asylum, and whether William is involved with the girl's disappearance. Kiera desperately wants to believe her beloved art tutor and friend is not capable of violence, but she is also plagued by doubts, and things continue to be complicated by her relationship with Gage.

Kiera wants the truth about William but a part of her fears it as well. She is also torn about what she wants from Gage, and how much she can trust him. 

This was heart wrenching in places because of the mental and emotional suffering of William Dalmay. Seen through Kiera's eyes, he is a tragic hero, because she idealized him when she was a young girl, and trusted him. He was a beloved mentor and friend, and she is touched deeply by his brokenness, and she understands some of his pain because of her own experiences. Her sympathy and loyalty to Will causes Gage to wonder whether there was a romantic attachment between them, and the reader is left to wonder if Kiera truly understands how deeply Gage cares for her.

(Check out the Lady Darby Read-Along group on Facebook if you're interested.)

By the same author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts (my first reading in 2014); 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

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