Number four in the Verity Kent historical mystery series by Anna Lee Huber, A PRETTY DECEIT is another solid entry in this engrossing post World War I series. Verity Kent is a spy who operated behind enemy lines on the continent during the war, erroneously believing her husband Sydney to have been killed in the fighting. Verity and Sydney are still struggling with the consequences of their decisions during and after the war, and their marital troubles add verisimilitude to this lovingly laid-out chronicle that Huber has built.

Huber has two series with strong female protagonists, the Verity Kent historical mysteries set in England just after WWI, and the Lady Darby historical mystery series set in the 1830s. In each of these, clever spouses pair up to solve murder mysteries together. I adore that Verity takes the lead and her husband Sydney is her backstop, rather than he being the main investigator. In the Verity Kent series, there is a standalone mystery solved in each book, but there is an overarching plot mystery with an archnemesis as well, so these are books that are meant to be savored in order rather than piecemeal.

Well-rounded secondary individuals provide a robust cast of characters, and I appreciate the camaraderie enjoyed by Verity and her compatriots. Lush historical details bring 1919 England to bold life, and the romantic heat between our newly reunited couple adds to the fullness of the tale.  Espionage and murder investigation are deftly interwoven for a compelling story that leaves me, once again, clamoring for more.  In Huber’s A PRETTY DECEIT, spy-turned-investigator Verity Kent adeptly juggles a murder mystery while battling against an English traitor’s machinations.