A Perilous Perspective (Lady Darby Mystery, #10)

A Perilous Perspective
by Anna Lee Huber
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9780593198469
Series: A Lady Darby Mystery #10
Publication Date: April 19, 2022
Pages: 389
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Publisher: Berkley

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.

Well, that was, frankly, disappointing.  Even taking out of account the babbling about the baby, this just wasn’t anywhere near as good as her first 8 books were.  The potential was there – I really enjoyed the art forgery backdrop; that was genuinely interesting and really well done.  But the character development just wasn’t.

Huber seems to be stuck on a need to constantly give Kiera (and Gage, to a lesser extent) some kind of melodrama anxiety.  For the first 8 books it was the fallout from her late husband’s scandalous behaviour – and that worked well while it lasted.  Book 9 was a fantastically over the top drama about Kiera’s impending motherhood and how it would mix with their inquiry business.  This book, it was all about her mom, who died when she was 8, and someone’s attempt to gaslight her about it.  It was completely unnecessary to the plot, it was silly and it detracted from the story.

The plot of the murder was so tissue-thin transparent I can’t believe it got through a beta read.  I never once, for a second, doubted who the murderer was.  And the climax … oh the problems I had with the climax.  Huber broke the first rule every American is taught about handguns – you don’t carry one unless you’re prepared to use it.  She also tried to belie the adage “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight”.  It was preposterous, and the whole thing was unbelievable.  Which is a shame; written better, it would have been diabolical, as I’m certain she intended it to be.

I went with three stars, because I’d say I enjoyed about 50% of the story; the other half would have been better had it not been so over-written.  I think I’m still going to want to read the next one, but I am definitely not feeling the excited I previously felt for the newest release.