ARC Review: A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

A Perilous Perspective
Author: Anna Lee Huber
Series: Lady Darby Mystery (Book 10)
Publication: Berkley (April 19, 2022)

Description: An all-new historical mystery in this USA Today bestselling series featuring beloved inquiry agents Lady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage.

Argyll, Scotland. July 1832. After a trying few months in Edinburgh, Kiera and her husband and investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, are eager to escape to the Highlands with their three-month-old child. Kiera is overjoyed for her cousin Rye and her detractor-turned-friend Charlotte who are being wed in a private ceremony at the estate of Rye’s great-uncle, the Marquess of Barbreck, in what seems to be the perfect wedding party.

But when Kiera is invited to peruse Barbreck’s extensive art collection, she is disturbed to discover that one of his most priceless paintings seems to be a forgery. The marquess’s furious reaction when she dares to mention it leaves her shaken and the entire house shocked. For it turns out that this is not the first time the word forgery has been uttered in connection with the Barbreck household.

Matters turn more ominous when a maid from a neighboring estate is found murdered where the forged painting hangs. Is her death connected to the forgeries, perhaps a grisly warning of what awaits those who dare to probe deeper? With unknown entities aligned against them, Kiera and Gage are forced to confront the fact that they may have underestimated their opponent. For they are swiftly made to realize that Charlotte’s and Rye’s future happiness is not the only issue at stake, and this stealthy game of cat and mouse could prove to have deadly consequences.

My Thoughts: Keira Gage, her husband Sebastian, her three-month-old daughter Emma and their staff are at the estate of the Marquess of Barbreck for the wedding her Keira's cousin Rye and her friend Charlotte. The Marquess has a notable art collection and Keira is eager to explore it. 

When Keira discovers that a few of the works of art are forgeries, she is eager to discover what happened. Unfortunately, Barbreck is not eager to help her. He is convinced that the forgeries are the work of his near neighbors the Campbells. There has been bad blood between them since his engagement to Miss Campbell was broken more than fifty years earlier over allegations that they were trying to foist forgeries on the Campbells. 

Keira and Gage do look into the history of the paintings allegedly purchase by Barbreck's younger brother for his collection. They aren't having much luck and feel they won't find out much since the forgeries could have happened anytime in the last fifty years. But when a maid from the Campbell's home is found dead in front of one of the paintings in question, Keira and Gage know that someone still wants to cover up the crime. The maid was poisoned using a substance unknown to Keira. When the maid's father also dies from the same cause, and when Keira's maid Bree is also poisoned but survives, the pressure is on to find the murderer.

Keira also learns more about the mother who died when she was eight. Someone is trying to upset her emotional balance by leaving a miniature of her mother on her pillow and stealing the Amythest pendant that was her mother's last gift to her. She is surprised to learn that her mother was once unhappily married to a nephew of the Campbell women.

This was another excellent entry into the Lady Darby series. It has interesting characters and a fast-paced plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. 

Favorite Quote:

My hands fisted in my lap as I began to grow frustrated with the marquess's lack of information. I couldn't tell whether he was being deliberately obstructive--determined to have the finger of blame point at Miss Campbell--or he truly didn't know. "But surely you must have at least asked your brother where he acquired that purported Titian? After Sir James's allegations, you must have discussed it."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.