lizarodz
Written on Apr 24, 2019
Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage investigate a macabre murderer in this historical mystery from the author of Mortal Arts.
Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her dear friend, Lady Kiera Darby is in need of a safe haven. Returning to her childhood home, Kiera hopes her beloved brother Trevor and the merriment of the Hogmanay Ball will distract her. But when a caretaker is murdered and a grave is disturbed at nearby Dryburgh Abbey, Kiera is once more thrust into the cold grasp of death.
While Kiera knows that aiding in another inquiry will only further tarnish her reputation, her knowledge of anatomy could make the difference in solving the case. But agreeing to investigate means Kiera must deal with the complicated emotions aroused in her by inquiry agent Sebastian Gage.
When Gage arrives, he reveals that the incident at the Abbey was not the first—some fiend is digging up old bones and holding them for ransom. Now Kiera and Gage must catch the grave robber and put the case to rest…before another victim winds up six feet under.
- ISBN10 0425253694
- ISBN13 9780425253694
- Publish Date 1 July 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 432
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425253694
Reviews
MurderByDeath
Written on Jul 12, 2014
Well rats.
It's over. I wasn't ready for it to be over.
A Grave Matteris a mystery first, but almost equally it's a romance as things come to a head between Lady Darby and Sebastian Gage. Ms. Huber will always hold a special place in my heart for not dragging this out past the point of painful into inanity. There's plenty of conflict between these two but it avoids most of the overused tropes and these two are actually *gasp* honest and communicative!
I thought the setting fabulously descriptive, although ironically, Edinburgh was the hardest of the locations for me to picture. The border villages and the Abbey were crystal clear and I could hear the frost crackling under their feet as they transversed the graveyards looking for evidence. I found myself reading aloud to MT about the first-footers and I was thrilled at the end of the story to read the author's note about the authenticity of this tradition. I'm wondering if I can get away with introducing it at our NYE festivities this year.
The plot is delightfully macabre; not scary or graphic and completely fitting with Lady Darby's background and baggage. I'll admit I nabbed the bad guy early on, but I can't say what gave itaway. Nevertheless, I was never absolutely certain. I wouldn't have been surprised had I been wrong.
There might have been some anachronistic narrative; I can't say for certain, and I think it was almost all in the internal dialogue. While women for millennia have probably wished at one time or another to throw things at men, it feels too modernwhen Lady Darby 'contemplated throwing a shoe at his head.' I don't care about this, but others might find it jarring.
But the scene at the end between Lady Darby and Gage made even this pragmatic non-romantic feel a bit mushy. Considering the chasteness of the period, Ms. Huber is very good at conveying romantic tension. (To be fair, there's a LOT of kissing going on; I'm betting more than considered acceptable for the time period. Go Lady Darbry!)
There are a lot of things I could blather on about that I enjoyed; a friend is just now starting The Anatomist's Wife and I'm more than a little jealous - I wish I had 2 and a bit of these books still ahead of me. As it is, I'll be waiting a very long year to catch up with Lady Darby and Gage.