Penny for Your Secrets (A Verity Kent Mystery, #3)

by Anna Lee Huber

England, 1919. In Anna Lee Huber’s latest mystery, former Secret Service agent Verity Kent is finding that life after wartime offers its own share of danger . . .
 
The Great War may be over, but for many, there are still obstacles on the home front. Reconciling with her estranged husband makes Verity sympathetic to her friend Ada’s marital difficulties. Bourgeois-bred Ada, recently married to the Marquess of Rockham, is overwhelmed trying to navigate the ways of the aristocracy. And when Lord Rockham is discovered shot through the heart with a bullet from Ada’s revolver, Verity fears her friend has made a fatal blunder.
 
While striving to prove Ada’s innocence, Verity is called upon for another favor. The sister of a former Secret Service colleague has been killed in what authorities believe was a home invasion gone wrong. The victim’s war work—censoring letters sent by soldiers from the front—exposed her to sensitive, disturbing material. Verity begins to suspect these two unlikely cases may be linked. But as the connections deepen, the consequences—not just for Verity, but for Britain—grow more menacing than she could have imagined.
 
Praise for Anna Lee Huber’s Treacherous Is the Night
 
“A thrilling mystery that supplies its gutsy heroine with plenty of angst-ridden romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“A splendid sequel. . . . Huber combines intricate puzzles with affecting human drama.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Masterful. . . . Just when you think the plot will zig, it zags. . . . Deeply enjoyable.”
—Criminal Element

• ISBN10: 1496713192
• ISBN13: 9781496713193
• Publish Date: 29 October 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 10 May 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781496713193

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Each time after reading the first two books, I told myself I wasn't going to read the next one, because I really dislike the way she setup the characters.  To explain more would be a plot spoiler for book 1, sorry.  But yet, I keep on picking up the next book and reading it.

Characters' lives aside, Anna Lee Huber writes a good mystery.  The plots are generally intricate and mostly avoid the trite or well-worn paths of the genre.  This one was no different, except that it's setting up a multi book arc with a nemesis, and I'm pretty wishy-washy about nemeses.  I also got a little bit tired of the constant references to Verity's spy career during the war.  I suspect this is a Kensington editorial thing as it's the type of over-reference I find a lot in their books, making me wonder if they underestimate their readers' abilities to reading comprehension.

Generally an enjoyable read, but once again, I find myself thinking I might not buy the next one, though of course, I probably will anyway.

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Penny for Your Secrets is the third Verity Kent mystery by Anna Lee Huber. Released 29th Oct 2019 by Kensington, it's 336 pages and available in a library edition, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a really enjoyable period (interwar England, 1919) cozy murder mystery series and this book in particular highlighted the difficulties of communication and trust building between main characters Verity and Sidney. The author is adept at character building and uses story to develop and deepen her returning characters' personalities and motivations. The secondary characters are also well developed and believable.

The story is skillfully built around real life occurrences and rivalries and the author weaves these background tidbits into the story seamlessly. These undoubtedly represent a large investment in research time on the author's part, but it pays off in verisimilitude in the narrative.

The plotting and pacing were variable. There were some parts of the book which dragged a bit for me. I did like it that the author intentionally leaves large plot elements unresolved and I'll be looking forward to the next books in the series. The denouement was exciting and it's nice that Verity is strong and intelligent and can take care of herself, more or less. The author does give Sidney some latitude for heroic swoon worthy rescues occasionally, which I admit that I like. For readers who insist that their fictional heroines never need rescuing, there might be some slight eye-rolling involved in this one.

This is a period cozy with solid storytelling, good plot, very strong characterizations and dialogue. The language is clean; there's a nice romance element between the main characters. There is some strongly implied sexual content, used in context, but nothing graphic at all.

Four stars.

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