A Pretty Deceit (A Verity Kent Mystery, #4)

by Anna Lee Huber

In the aftermath of the Great War, the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee Huber’s thrilling mystery series. 
 
Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a dead body on the grounds.
 
While Verity and her husband, Sidney, investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are really the hunters—or the hunted . . .

• ISBN10: 1496728475
• ISBN13: 9781496728470
• Publish Date: 6 October 2020 (first published 29 September 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781496728470

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Aside from my subjective issues with the path Huber chose for these characters, I like this series; you could say I enjoy them in spite of myself.  But while this book was a 4 star read on the strength of its plot, it might have been a 4.5/5 star read if not for the weakness of the editing.

The narrative is much longer than it needed to be because Huber, with admirable motivation, spends a lot of time ruminating on the devastation wrought on both the soldiers who fought in WWI, and those left behind to cope in fear and anxiety.  She does bring light to many aspects of the horror that is war, especially the first world war, but she spends too much time doing it, and this is a murder mystery, after all.  I'm confident a lot of it could have been cut without losing the more important message, and the overall story would have been a lot better for it.

Still, the plot is a strong one, with aspects of scavenger and treasure hunting spicing up what would otherwise be an ordinary nemesis plot running parallel to a murder mystery.  I'm still kid enough to enjoy rhyming clues and secret codes, as well as the touch of cloak and dagger when used judiciously, and it is here.

As I opened the post with, I still don't like what Huber is doing with the characters; while there are no love triangles or quadrangles, she has two other men in love with Verity who are dedicated to uncovering the series' plot; there seems to be no plan for this to change and it's tiresome.  Luckily, the murder mysteries have so far made up for it.  Can't see that lasting much longer though.

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

A Pretty Deceit is the fourth Verity Kent mystery by Anna Lee Huber. Released 6th Oct 2020 by Kensington, it's 304 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. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a tightly written and entertaining British mystery series with a strong espionage element set in the early interwar period. Since the books have an overarching plotline, the individual books don't work very well as standalones in my opinion. It's worth reading them in order, which happily isn't an onerous job; the author is adept at her craft.

In this installment the multi-book espionage plot threads are counterbalanced by thefts and forgeries at the estate and manor house of Verity's Aunt Ernestine. The murder of a local handyman soon results in the arrest of his alcoholic wife, but Verity and Sidney are unconvinced of her guilt and set about investigating the crimes with the distinct disapproval of the local constabulary.

There's quite a lot of scenery changing and traveling in this book - they come and go at a breakneck pace charging around (in Sidney's Pierce Arrow) trying to solve a dizzying array of crimes and skullduggery. The characterizations are well done and I liked that the dialogue is urbane and witty (despite Aunt Ernestine being a rampaging pain in the backside - I spent most of the book wanting to throw a shoe at her).

Entertaining and well written with a satisfying denouement. I recommend it to readers of historical mystery, classic golden age British mystery, and period espionage. Four stars.

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