A Pretty Deceit (Verity Kent Mystery #4)

by Anna Lee Huber

Overview

“A historical mystery to delight fans of Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.”
—Bookpage

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 . . .
 
Praise for Anna Lee Huber’s Penny for Your Secrets
 
“Stellar mystery . . . a great read for fans of the series and all who enjoy
Downton Abbey-era fiction.”
—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496728470
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Series:	Verity Kent Series , #4
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	189,024
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Anna Lee Huber is the Daphne award-winning author of the national bestselling Lady Darby Mysteries and the Verity Kent Mysteries. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in music and minored in psychology. She currently resides in Indiana with her family and is hard at work on her next novel. Visit her online at www.annaleehuber.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for A Pretty Deceit

“While visiting a titled auntie who has fallen on postwar hard times, Verity finds herself on hand for the immediate aftermath of what may be a homicide on the estate grounds. Combine that with priceless heirlooms gone missing, a disappeared staff and a ghost sighting or two, and you have the makings of a historical mystery to delight fans of Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.”
—Bookpage

Praise for the Verity Kent Mysteries
 
“Readers looking for atmospheric mystery set in the period following the Great War will savor the intricate plotting and captivating details of the era.”
—Library Journal (Starred Review)
 
“A thrilling mystery that supplies its gutsy heroine with plenty of angst-ridden romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Engrossing . . . Evocative historical details complement the well-drawn characters. The intricate plot builds to a surprising conclusion.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“A richly detailed period mystery, This Side of Murder is sure to turn you into a true Verity Kent fan (if you aren't one already.)”
—Bustle.com
 
“Suspenseful, atmospheric, and beautifully written.”
—Ashley Weaver, author of the Amory Ames Mysteries
 
“A compelling mystery of post WW1 England. . . . The blend of intrigue and human vulnerabilities is captivating.”
—Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Me No Questions, A Lady Dunbridge Mystery

From the Publisher

09/01/2020

In 1919, her father asks Verity Kent and her husband, Sidney, to check on his sister, who is complaining about the condition of the family estate, Littlemote House. She claims it's in a shambles and that valuable artworks have been appraised as forgeries. She blames the airmen who were billeted there during the war. The crumbling house is not the Kents' priority, however. A maid is missing, the man who tends the gardens is found dead, and his wife is accused of his murder. Verity and Sidney are supposed to be investigating the family issues, but they're more concerned about Lord Ardmore, whom they suspect is a traitor. Verity and Sidney gather allies to work on clues the deceased Lord Ryde left about Ardmore's treachery, But they're followed and threatened. They don't know whom to trust in a complex mystery that circles back to Littlemote and to Verity's actions at the front a year earlier. VERDICT Verity Kent plays a dangerous game of espionage in a story set just several weeks after Penny for Your Secrets. The ongoing story line involving Ardmore will intrigue series readers. Fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd will appreciate the psychological and social issues affecting the British after World War I—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Library Journal

2020-07-14
A sleuthing couple still recovering from the horrors of World War I investigate murder and treason.

Verity Kent and her husband, Sidney, are visiting Wiltshire to help Verity’s Aunt Ernestine, who’s bitterly unhappy over the state of her house, which was occupied by the RAF, and the fate of her only remaining son, who returned home blind. There are missing valuables and money problems, so a vanished maid is low on the priority list until her body is found in a shallow grave. Unbeknownst even to Sidney, Verity was a spy during the war, and for 15 months, she thought Sidney dead while he was also doing secret work. Both still suffer from wartime stress, and they’ve recently been involved in several cases of murder and possible treason involving the highly placed Lord Ardmore, who’s having them watched. When the body of Ernestine’s gardener is found, the police arrest his wife, who, broken by the strain of war, took to drink and constantly fought with him. Verity and Sidney must also chase down clues in coded messages from their friend Max Westfield’s murdered father that involve one of Lord Ardmore’s plots. Verity, suddenly plagued by nightmares of a wartime experience, finds herself marked for death by a fanatical officer who misunderstood her part in it.

A thrilling and touching amalgam of wartime suffering, high crimes, and deadly secrets.

Kirkus Reviews

In 1919, Verity Kent is plunged into two cases that reach back to the Great War and her days as an intelligence agent. One case will also reach into the future, causing murders unless Verity and her husband, Sydney, can stop them. Narrator Heather Wilds keeps listeners engaged with the exciting story. She excels at giving reality to the horrors of the war. In particular, she draws vivid images of the front lines during shelling, making Verity's flashbacks all the more realistic. To get the best experience, listeners should listen to the previous title in the series before reaching for this one. V.M.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile