Borrowed Book By: My local library has always been quite keenly astute on forthcoming releases by authors whose books wink at me from the card catalogue, whenever I am seeking a new read within a genre I happen to have a penchant attachment. Cosy mysteries have always been knitted into my heart, and although I honestly cannot remember exactly if the library purchased the Lady Darby book series off a request of mine OR if they were requested by another patron, all I can simply say is that I felt immeasurably blessed that the first two novels of the Lady Darby mysteries were at my library! I did make enquiries on behalf of this series to be continued to be added to the library as forthcoming titles release henceforth forward!
As this series is a part of a personal quest to read Serial Fiction Library Finds, I was not compensated for this review nor was I obliged to share my thoughts on behalf of this novel or the Lady Darby Mysteries.
On Cosy Historical Mysteries:
My blog has afforded me the wicked sweet pleasure of being enlightened and entranced by a new branch of literature my heart draws a breath of joy out of discovering: Cosy Historical Mysteries! I was always attracted to Cosy Mysteries, since I was quite young, as I grew up on Agatha Christie (as aforementioned on my review of The Monogram Murders), whose charm and grace in the telling of a story captured me for a lifetime. I readily read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys quite equally and wished I had found another sleuth who could have created a special niche of reading joy.
Cosies for me, have always been where my heart and mind are in sync to find solace in the pursuit of a mystery. There are times I attempt to read a bit of hard-boiled entrants to the Crime Fiction family, only to do an about-face and retreat back to the warmth and comfort of a Cosy.
Where I yield on this one note, is where my televised serials have led me to travel: Hart to Hart, Cagney & Lacey, Remington Steele, Banacek, Quincy, M.E., Crossing Jordan, McMillan & Wife, Mrs. Columbo, Columbo, Ironside, Perry Mason & the Movies; Due South, JAG, NCIS, NCIS:LA, NCIS: NOLA, Jesse Stone (starring Tom Selleck), Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, Rizzoli & Isles, Ghost Whisperer, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Rosemary & Thyme, Sherlock (Series 1-2), Castle (Minus Series Finale), the Mentalist, Jane Doe, Diagnosis Murder, McBride, Mystery Woman, Dragnet, the Division, Nash Bridges, Walker, Texas Ranger, the Peacemakers, In the Heat of the Night, Murder, She Wrote, Numb3rs, Matlock, 1-800-the-Missing, For the People, the Nick & Nora movies, Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, and many more yet to disclose! As well as wanting to focus on watching: Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis & Endeavour; LA Law & Hawaii Five-O (original).
As you can well see, I am attracted to a hodgepodge of selections, but at the heart of all the series I mentioned is a solid story, a compelling lead character, and stories which touch your heart evermore. The added benefit by half is that most of these lovelies have quirky families stitched into the lead & supporting characters, of whom could not nearly function half as well without each other!
What draws me into the Cosy Historical section is the ability to take my love of murder mysteries and/or psychological suspense and wrap it inside of a historical setting! Until I blogged, I did not even realise how oft I duck inside a historical novel — across the multi-dimensional spectrum of offerings! Imagine my plumb surprise to realise then, that there is a whole curiously new section of Cosies out there waiting for me to discover them?
*For a listing of my favourite discoveries in Cosy Mysteries, see my review of See Also Murder
As I’ve been hoping to bring the #LadyDarby Mysteries to Jorie Loves A Story for two years, you could say I have found a way to bring them into the conscious of my readers by how I’ve etched in a working conversation about them on various posts or reviews. I had originally planned to begin reviewing these lovely novels in 2014, including during #HorrorOctober (a book blogosphere event that charmed me to join) except to say, most of my love for this series has lived through my Twitter feeds! I decided as a cross-celebration of the fifth Lady Darby novel to finally read through the entire series & share my thoughts with my readers who have been only been treated to a cursory glimpse of what gives me so much joy about this series prior to now!
You will happily find my thoughts about Lady Darby peppered throughout the following posts:
- Death Sits Down to Dinner | in reference to my joy in what awaits me (see Review)
- Claws of the Cat | in reference to grisly crime scenes (see Review)
- The Masque of a Murderer | in reference of why I love Cosy Historical Mysteries (see Review)
- Inspector of the Dead | in reference to a particular style of Cosy Historical Mysteries (see Review)
- A Dangerous Place (Maisie Dobbs) | in reference to finding Cosy Historical Mysteries (see Review)
- Mist of Midnight | in reference to elements a similar style (see Review)
- Keeping Kate | in reference of how Kate & Tyler reminded me of Lady Darby & Gage (see Review)
- The Spoils of Avalon | on reflection of why I love Cosy Historical Mysteries (see Review)
- #WWWeds No.7 | in reference of my excitement to get back into the series (see post)
- Interview with Mary F. Burns | when I first started to compile a CHM List (see Interview)
- Interview with R.J. Sullivan | in reference to smaller editions (see Interview)
The Anatomist's Wife
Subtitle: A Lady Darby Mystery
Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister's estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when her hosts throw a house party for the cream of London society, Kiera is unable to hide from the ire of those who believe her to be as unnatural as her husband, an anatomist who used her artistic talents to suit his own macabre purposes.
Kiera wants to put her past aside, but when one of the house guests is murdered, her brother-in-law asks her to utilize her knowledge of human anatomy to aid the insufferable Sebastian Gage-a fellow guest with some experience as an inquiry agent. While Gage is clearly more competent than she first assumed, Kiera isn't about to let her guard down as accusations and rumors swirl.
When Kiera and Gage's search leads them to even more gruesome discoveries, a series of disturbing notes urges Lady Darby to give up the inquiry. But Kiera is determined to both protect her family and prove her innocence, even as she risks becoming the next victim...
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780425253281
Series: Lady Darby Mysteries
Also in this series: Mortal Arts, A Grave Matter, A Study in Death
on 6th November, 2012
Pages: 368
The Lady Darby Mysteries:
The Anatomist’s Wife | No.1
Mortal Arts | No.2 | Synopsis
A Grave Matter | No.3 | Synopsis
A Study in Death | No.4 | Synopsis
A Pressing Engagement | No.4.5 (e-novella) | Synopsis
As Death Draws Near | No.5 | Synopsis | Happy #PubDay 5th of July, 2016
Published By: Berkley Prime Crime (@BerkleyMystery)
imprint of Berkley Publishing (@BerkleyPub)
via Penguin Random House (@penguinrandom)
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.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Serial Fiction Library Finds (Personal)
See Also Deception
See Also Murder
Should Have Played Poker
Inspector Dewey
