A DECEPTIVE COMPOSITION by Anna Lee Huber is book 12 in the Lady Darby Victorian historical mystery series. Huber does a great job setting the scene, firmly anchoring the story in 1832 with the inclusion of many deft touches of historical accuracy. This series has a well-fleshed-out symphony of characters, but new readers will be able to jump into this series without too much difficulty, although they will surely want to go back and delight in the earlier books if this is a first exposure to Huber’s writing.
It occurred to me while reading A DECEPTIVE COMPOSITION by Anna Lee Huber that the author is the historical mystery equivalent of Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. Similarly, Huber’s gentle Lady Darby books are always steeped in the deep and abiding familial love that our female sleuth Lady Kiera Darby has for her child and her family. Huber also delivers plenty of intrigue and tension, but the constant unpinning is the sweet love between family members and the tenderness that they show one another. It has been delightful to watch Kiera mature from the browbeaten widowed artist she was at the beginning of the series to the fierce advocate for justice that she is becoming.
Kiera investigates murders alongside her redoubtable husband Sebastian and her father-in-law Lord Gage, who have been running an Inquiry business for years. Kiera brings both her medical knowledge as well as her unique female perspective to the investigations. Some of the most enjoyable parts of these mysteries to me are the interpersonal interactions between Kiera and her family. Kiera and Sebastian seem like well-grounded people who put family first, despite the pressing needs of the crimes they are called in to solve.
A DECEPTIVE COMPOSITION takes place in Cornwall, and the countryside and history are beautifully depicted. Lord Gage is called to the estate of his estranged family to find the murderer of his uncle Branok. Kiera and Sebastien are brought along, and all three encounter grave danger as they stumble through the tangled family lies and schemes. Things are much more complicated than they first appear, and the story is wonderfully tricksy. Lord Gage has been an absolute ass up until the last book, A FATAL ILLUSION (https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=82699). Huber has slowly been redeeming this malicious character though, which is something I always adore in a series.
A lively cast of compelling characters, a wonderful historical setting, and a complex mystery combine to create a captivating read. Huber’s A DECEPTIVE COMPOSITION is sure to satisfy.
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.
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