Borrowed Book By: I have been an appreciator of Ms Huber’s novels ever since I first read “The Antaomist’s Wife” being the first Lady Darby Mystery – which set the course for my heart to fall in love with the relationship building between Lady Darby and Mr Gage! As you can follow my readerly musings and ruminations throughout the length of the series, save the fifth book which I am in the process of reading right now. I was delayed initially from consuming the fifth Lady Darby (which I shall explain when I post my review), however, I’ve been proactively requesting Ms Huber’s novels via my local library!

As I knew I couldn’t purchase copies for myself per each release, I decided to ‘introduce’ the novels to other patrons whilst selecting them for my own reading benefit. Blessedly, my library has been continuously adding the novels of Ms Huber to our card catalogue and I must say, they are regularly finding new ‘readers’ who appreciate her collective works! When it came time for her new series ‘The Verity Kent Mysteries’ and the ‘Gothic Myths’, I knew I wanted to submit these for purchase requests as well. I was overjoyed when they initially arrived, however, I had to ‘let them go’ to re-request lateron. This October, whilst planning my #SpooktasticReads readathon of lovelies, I put the books back into ‘queue’ to be savoured now. Ergo, I was not obliged to post this review – I am sharing it for my own edification and to help those who follow my literary adventures seek out a new author they might not have stumbled across themselves. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I asked my library to purchase more Huber novels:

When you find a writer who can transport you so wholly true into the historic past with convicting narrative clarity such as Ms Huber has established, you simply want to follow their writerly careers. If I had been in the position to purchase the novels as they released, I would have – however, I did something to help others in my area learn of her novels: I submitted purchase requests for her stories! I’ve been doing this since the beginning – encouraging my library to continue to seek out and purchase her next releases as new stories emerge to be read.

As October christianed a new Season, I decided to have a bit of ‘fun’ this year, by spending the weeks leading up to Halloween reading Mysteries, Suspense & Thriller stories in anticipation of a holiday I truly have loved since I was a child! Halloween is a beloved tradition – the stories which leave you thirsty for more which give you a bit of a girth of excitement to read make it even more enjoyable! I couldn’t pick out as many Cosy Horror titles as I would have preferred – I’ll save those for next year’s follies, but this year, the callings of my heart led me back into Ms Huber’ s novels!

Whilst planning to finish my readings of the latest #LadyDarby – I happily re-requested to read her latest: ‘This Side of Murder’ being the first #VerityKent Mystery and ‘Secrets of the Mist’ being a decidedly Gothic tale which was sure to haunt me a wee bit! I hadn’t realised she was publishing through different publishers – as I was focusing more on the ‘stories’ rather than their route to publication. I thought it was quite lovely each of her stories have found wings and a home to fly – as I know this is sometimes a tricky part of a writer’s life – finding how to publish the stories which step outside one of your main veins of interest – in this case, the Lady Darby series.

Equally to why I love Lady Darby, I am finding Verity Kent has a refreshing new ‘interest’ for me to latch onto as she’s set this delightful series between the World Wars – an era I readily explore through war dramas and the odd Cosy Historical Mystery (the category of genre I rightly place her Lady Darby Mysteries) – a definitive term I use for those writers who are so hugged centre into the ‘history’ of their timescapes – they are creating a lovely hybrid new genre which merges & blends everything I love between the ‘Historical Fiction novel’ and the ‘Cosy Mystery’; it’s an elevated sophistication in literature which I wholeheartedly am giddy about exploring!

Notation on the : Poole harbour – where Lord Ryde & Verity Kent were arriving gives out a certain layer of insight into where this ‘story’ is both set and placed into our view. It also allows the reader to see Mrs Kent from a different perspective than straight-on whilst gaining a bit about how ‘put together’ she is and how she strives to make do with what she has left to give. She’s a curious woman – by all counts – as she is both conflicted and eludes great confidence in not only who she is but where she is in her life. The confliction of course is due to the nature of how she lost her husband and the ‘after effects’ of the war which affected them all.

This Side of Murder
Subtitle: A Verity Kent Mystery
by Anna Lee Huber
Source: Borrowed from local library

England, 1919. Verity Kent's grief over the loss of her husband pierces anew when she receives a cryptic letter, suggesting her beloved Sidney may have committed treason before his untimely death. Determined to dull her pain with revelry, Verity's first impulse is to dismiss the derogatory claim. But the mystery sender knows too much—including the fact that during the war, Verity worked for the Secret Service, something not even Sidney knew.

Lured to Umbersea Island to attend the engagement party of one of Sidney's fellow officers, Verity mingles among the men her husband once fought beside, and discovers dark secrets—along with a murder clearly meant to conceal them. Relying on little more than a coded letter, the help of a dashing stranger, and her own sharp instincts, Verity is forced down a path she never imagined—and comes face to face with the shattering possibility that her husband may not have been the man she thought he was. It's a truth that could set her free—or draw her ever deeper into his deception. . .

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ISBN: 9781496713155

Also by this author: The Anatomist's Wife, Mortal Arts, A Grave Matter, A Study in Death, As Death Draws Near Book Blast (Series Notes)

Genres: Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Suspense

Published by Kensington Books

on 26th September, 2017

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 304

The Verity Kent Mysteries:

This Side of Murder | No.1 | Read the 1st Chapter via annaleehuber.com

Treacherous is the Night | No.2 | (Pub Date: October, 2018)

Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. (@KensingtonBooks)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Audiobook & Ebook

About Anna Lee Huber

Anna Lee Huber is the Award-Winning and National Bestselling Author of the Lady Darby Mystery Series. She was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. From a young age, her imagination was boundless. She spent her summers with her brothers and sister playing Star Wars, wearing snow boots and her mother's old nightgowns while swinging plastic bats as light-sabers, and The A-Team hanging off the riding lawn mower (what else were they supposed to use for the van?). In the fourth grade, she penned her first story, and she’s been writing ever since.

Anna attended college in Music City USA-Nashville, Tennessee, where she met her husband while acting in a school production of Our Town. They married just before she graduated summa cum laude from Lipscomb University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a minor in Psychology. She now pens the award-winning Lady Darby historical mystery series for Berkley Publishing. Her debut novel, The Anatomist’s Wife, has won and been nominated for numerous awards, including a Daphne du Maurier Award and two 2013 RITA® Awards.

Anna is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Historical Novel Society, International Thriller Writers, and Romance Writers of America. She currently lives in Indiana with her family, and when not hard at work on her next novel, she enjoys reading, singing, travel, and spending time with her family.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge