Tags
5 stars, Book Review, England, historical, historical mystery, Ireland, London, post-war, romance, The Great War, WWI
About A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber
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 . . .
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Review of A Pretty Deceit
A Pretty Deceit picks up where Penny for Your Secrets left off. Verity, Sidney and their friends continue to uncover proof of Lord Ardmore’s treacherous dealings.
However, a stop at her Aunt’s house to investigate some strange goings-on temporarily distracts Verity from the problem of Lord Ardmore. This unrelated venture serves several purposes: 1) adds to the further post-war setting, reminding us further of the aftermath of war, 2) allows Verity to flex her mystery solving skills, and 3) makes the reader wonder what this trip has to do with Lord Ardmore. The dual sets of seemingly unrelated events is becoming a staple of Ms. Huber’s mysteries.
In this exploit, Verity and Sidney find adventure, more mystery, friends, family, danger and romance. The end of the story will answer some questions, but not all. This is how the reader is assured the story continues.
As part of the series, in A Pretty Deceit, I enjoy learning more about the events and aftermath of WWI due to the author’s own interest and research into the era. I also appreciate the ongoing relationship between Verity and Sidney who have struggled since the war ended, but still love each other very much. And finally, the Kent’s travel around the British Isles is veritable travelogue of that region of the world.
You can read the books in this series as a standalones, but the experience is enhanced by starting at the beginning. If you are a fan of historical mysteries, I recommend all four books!
Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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