A BITTER CUT by Anna Lee Huber

Has it really been 14 years that historical mystery author Anna Lee Huber has been delighting us with the inquiry agent Sebastian Gage and his intrepid wife, Lady Kiera Darby, in the Lady Darby series? Goodness, how time flies when one is enjoying one’s reading material. This historical mystery series is set in Georgian England, and Huber does a great job in evoking the era, especially in her clothing and household descriptions that really set the scene.

Lady Kiera Darby is assisting her formidable and rather controlling father-in-law, Lord Gage, to host a house party in A BITTER CUT. Kiera and Sebastien have finally developed somewhat of a rapprochement with the curmudgeonly Lord Gage and are establishing their country house nearby, where Kiera intends to paint to her heart’s content in between assisting her husband with his investigations. Kiera invites the family of a young woman to whom her brother intends to propose marriage. The young lady’s abrasive and atrocious family introduces a murderer into the house party, however, and Kiera must fight to preserve her brother’s future marital happiness.

There are plenty of suspects, and it’s delicious to feel the tension as the murderer lurks somewhere in the shadows of Lord Gage’s enormous country house. Kiera and Sebastien doggedly pursue the truth, ably assisted by their resourceful valet and maid, as usual. Huber packs her stories full of well-rounded secondary characters who really enrich the story. Servants and family will be well known to Huber fans, and there are plenty of house party attendees to round out the case.

These books feels close to a “cozy mystery” series, because, despite the terrible crimes which are committed, the books always feel somewhat comforting and cozy and family-centered, like they would be enjoyed by a Mary Cassatt fan. Kiera and Sebastian always take time out from their investigations to cuddle with their young child or have tea with close family members. Fans of the gentle romantic mysteries of Grace Burrowes will enjoy the Lady Darby series. Huber’s historical A BITTER CUT manages to be comfortable, intriguing and suspenseful, sometimes all at once.

Lady Kiera Darby plans to spend the summer reconnecting with friends and family in anticipation of the betrothal of her beloved brother. But when a future in-law is implicated in a murder, the party takes a deadly turn. . . .

July 1833. Lady Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, are settling into their newly renovated home at Bevington Park in Warkwickshire with their young daughter. With the breach between them and Sebastian’s father recently healed, they've agreed to help host a country house party for friends and family to share in their joy. Kiera is also anxious to help promote a match between her brother, Trevor, and the woman he’s fallen in love with, inviting her family to join them. However, Kiera swiftly discovers that the would-be bride’s family is not without their detractions. Her brother is unpleasant. Her mother is abrasive. And her father—the prosperous industrialist Jeremiah Birnam—is brusque, discourteous, and, at times, downright rude.

So when Mr. Birnam’s secretary is found murdered with Birnam standing over her body, many are content to allow him to take the blame. But neither Kiera nor Sebastian believes he did it, and in spite of his bluster and boorish behavior, they can’t let an innocent man be hung for another’s crime. Unfortunately, Birnam had his fair share of enemies at the house party, and any one of them might have struck out at his secretary in order to get to him. It's up to Kiera and Sebastian to uncover the truth and salvage Birnam’s reputation. As the couple slowly inches their way closer to the truth and threats emerge against their loved ones, Kiera begins to fear that the price of solving the crime may mean sacrificing her brother’s future happiness.