A Fatal Illusion (Lady Darby Mystery, #11)

by Anna Lee Huber

New parents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage look forward to introducing Sebastian’s father to his granddaughter, but instead find themselves investigating an attempt on his life...

Yorkshire, England. August 1832. Relations between Sebastian Gage and his father have never been easy, especially since the discovery that Lord Gage has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate son. But when Lord Gage is nearly fatally attacked on a journey to Scotland, Sebastian and Kiera race to his side. Given the tumult over the recent passage of the Reform Bill and the Anatomy Act, in which Lord Gage played a part, Sebastian wonders if the attack could be politically motivated.

But something suspicious is afoot in the sleepy village where Lord Gage is being cared for. The townspeople treat Sebastian and Kiera with hostility when it becomes clear they intend to investigate, and rumors of mysterious disappearances and highway robberies plague the area. Lord Gage’s survival is far from assured, and Sebastian and Kiera must scramble to make the pieces fit before a second attempt at murder is more successful than the first.

• ISBN10: 0593198484
• ISBN13: 9780593198483
• Publish Date: 20 June 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593198483

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Fatal Illusion is the 11th Lady Darby historical mystery by Anna Lee Huber. Released 20th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 368 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Set in the 1830s in Scotland, this is a long running series with distinct and well rendered characters who are believably three dimensional. It's the 11th book in the series, but works well enough as a standalone. The author is quite adept (and prolific) and provides all necessary backstory in the narrative itself. Since it follows on from earlier books in the series, readers should be prepared to encounter spoilers if read out of order. The mystery and resolution are self contained in this volume however. The author is also familiar for her interwar British series, featuring Verity Kent. Both series are well written and enjoyable and surprisingly dissimilar from one another. 

Lady Darby is more refined, more earnest, and more cerebral than Verity. Both are very well written and readable, but entirely different setting, time period, and atmosphere. This volume sees Lady Darby and her husband/partner Sebastian, as new parents, investigating an attempt on Sebastian's father's life. If the attempt wasn't robbery, was it politically motivated or are there secrets even Sebastian doesn't know about his father's relationships and dealings?

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 30 minutes and is capably narrated by series narrator Heather Wilds. She reads the characters distinctly and does a good job of differentiating the accents. Except for the dialogue (which she does competently), I found her voice unobtrusive and neutral, in a good way. 

Four and a half stars. More than competently written, engaging, and cleverly constructed. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition or substantial binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.