Anna Lee Huber

I'm enjoying this series very much and look forward to seeing how things will work out in the future for Verity and Sidney and their friends and foes. I thought the mysteries were well-developed, and though it made sense who committed the murders, it still surprised me.

The period details are outstanding. I felt immersed in the time, and I feel I learned a good deal about it, too. What I'm most impressed with, though, is the portrayal of what it was like for those who came back from the war show more as well as for their loved ones. To see Verity struggle with whether it was better to press her husband to talk about his experiences or to leave him alone with his memories was so poignant.

It will not be long before I pick up the next installment. show less

I love Huber's other series, the Lady Darby mysteries, and I was eager to read this one, set later in time, immediately after WWI. It was slow to hook me, as I remember The Anatomist's Wife was, but it did. And then I got to page 165. Oh hell no.

Because for the first 164 pages, she sucked me in and I became invested in Verity. But not just Verity, but Verity and Max. Max is awesome. Max is the OED poster-man for hero. But nooo... we couldn't just enjoy that slow burn, she had to introduce a show more love triangle:

By brining Verity's DEAD HUSBAND BACK FROM THE DEAD. Is she kidding me with this? GAH!

So, while the story was amazing - old crimes never punished, ciphers, secrets, revenge, the whole lot wrapped up in an almost Christie-esque island setting (with the requisite storm, of course), and a VERY strong and capable heroine, Huber seriously knocked the wind out of my sails with page 165's revelations. My enthusiasm continued to dim as, frankly, my wish for the 'other' man's imminent demise remained unfulfilled. Some might find this story to be a truly HEA affair, but all things considered, that twist knocked a 5 star read down to a 3 star for me. Because of all the different love triangles an author can torture her readers with, this one is just the worst kind of crap.

The cover says "A Verity Kent Mystery", implying a series, but I don't know if I can read another one, no matter how damn good the story is. If another does come out, I'll be reading all the spoilers I can find before deciding. show less

1919. Umbersea Island, England.

Verity had declined the invitation to a weekend house party to celebrate an engagement. An enigmatic note suggesting Verity’s husband committed treason changed her decision, becoming determined to set her widow’s grief aside. She’ll be surrounded by her husband’s fellow officers as one is the groom-to-be, and this might be her only chance to learn who would make such an accusation. Not even Sidney knew she worked for the Secret Service during the war, show more so it adds complexity that the note writer alluded to her secret too.

Having recently watched Agatha Christie’s "And Then There Were None," television mini-series (released in 2015), I matched the author’s atmospheric writing to the images of the film’s island setting and the isolation from the mainland during a storm. I was entranced by the mystery and intrigued by the twists of red herrings. Suspense was heightened with more secrets than anticipated. Differences in experiences dependent on an individual’s role at home or abroad, on or off the battlefield, the impact of experiences, and how each person copes with the physical and/or mental aftereffects and memories are well portrayed.

Perhaps I was never meant to warm to the reveal of an unexpected character as I had grown fond of another party guest. I’ll continue to read the series as I’m anxious to know what path Verity chooses for her future. It was easy to picture this intelligent and independent woman working for the Secret Service, but I think she’ll choose more than romance as the intrigue in her life. show less

The main thrust of this episode of the Verity Kent mystery series concerns Verity's trip back to her home and family. She hasn't been back since her brother Rob died in World War I. She hasn't dealt with her grief for the loss yet. She buried it and the grief she feels for all of her other losses in her work as a secret agent and, when the war was over, in alcohol and parties.

Now she is forced to confront things head on. It isn't easy. Verity and her mother have never gotten along. Her show more mother is the sort of poisonous woman who couches harsh criticisms in what she considers to be loving concern. She keeps trying to make Verity conform to her own vision of what a proper lady does.

When Verity's great-aunt Ilse arrives from Germany with her new maid, Verity takes her back to Yorkshire with her. Ilse has a new maid who behaves rather suspiciously. And neither fares well because of the prejudice against Germans that seems to permeate the area. When her aunt tells Verity that she fears she has seen the "second deserter" in the village, Verity contacts her former bosses in intelligence to find out that they never sent another deserter. This whole deserter episode was part of her war work and covered by the Secrets Act she signed which means she can't explain what is going on to her family and needs to investigate with only the help of her husband Sydney.

When the maid is found murdered, Verity is determined to get the the bottom of the case which isn't being investigated as thoroughly as she would like because of the local prejudice against anyone German.

There is a lot of information about the times. Verity deals with her own trauma from the war as does her husband and her brothers who all served and who were all changed forever by the experience. She also sees the effects on the war on a young man who is courting her youngest sister and who invalided out of the war for an injury that might have been self-inflicted and the abuse he receives because of it. She also sees the effects on a neighbor and childhood acquaintance whose own health kept him out of the fight.

The story was an excellent exploration of the damage war does on those who fight and those who don't. The mystery was well-integrated and the villain something of a surprise. Fans of the series will enjoy this episode and be looking forward to more. show less