Treacherous is the Night: A Verity Kent Mystery

Felicitations!  Murder Wears a Little Black Dress by Debra Sennefelder is out today along with The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigmar.  Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly comes out on January 29.  Diane Kelly is the author of A Paw Enforcement series (they are delightful).  

Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber takes us back to July of 1919 in London.  Verity Kent is still adjusting to having her husband, Sidney back from the dead.  They have yet to have an in depth discussion about their time apart and the tension is so thick you would need a hacksaw to cut through it.  The Spiritualist movement is spreading across England and Verity’s friend, Daphne wants to attend a séance to contact her deceased brother.  Verity reluctantly attends and is surprised to see Max Westfield in attendance.  During the séance, Madame Zozza claims to have connected with Emilie who wants Verity to unearth her secrets and warns her to beware of the man in the mask.  Verity is shocked because she met Emilie during the war when she worked for the Secret Service and was undercover in Europe.  Verity does not believe Emilie is dead and she is determined to get answers.  Unable to speak with the medium that evening, Verity returns the next morning to find the woman’s home in flames with her trapped inside.  Verity’s attempts at getting information from the Secret Service are unsuccessful, so she departs for Belgium to search for Emilie.   On the journey, Verity is hoping that she and Sidney will get a chance to reconnect and salvage their marriage.  Someone, though, is determined to thwart their inquiries.  Will Verity find her old contact?  Join Verity on her latest quest in Treacherous is the Night.

Treacherous is the Night is the second tale in A Verity Kent Mystery series.  If you have not read This Side of Murder, you will not be lost.  Everything a reader needs to know is included.  Verity Kent is a strong and intelligent woman who served her country during the World War I.  She believed her husband, Sidney was dead until he recently returned to the living (it is a long story).  Sidney has not been forthcoming with Verity and she still resents what he put her through.  Verity and Sidney have been changed by the war.   Their marriage is suffering, and they need to communicate.  Of course, they married in haste and have spent little time together since they said I do.  Then there is the dashing Max Westfield who is attracted to Verity (if only Sidney had really been dead).  I admit to not liking Sidney.  He is a bully with a quick temper, and there is a lot of Sidney in this book.  Anna Lee Huber is a detailed oriented writer which makes for a slow paced story.  I found it challenging to wade through this historical mystery.  I thought Treacherous is the Night lacked an ease to it.  It seemed formal and stilted.  The mystery is overly complex and the plot farfetched.  There are a number of officers introduced and it is impossible to keep them all straight (they just blend together).  I liked the clever clues left for Verity to find which she amazingly solves quickly.   I enjoyed the Kent’s trip through Belgium with the descriptions of how the country looked after the war.  I also liked how the author incorporated historical information into the story.    I am giving Treacherous is the Night 3 out of 5 stars.  While there are some interesting sections, I felt the book was a miss.  I will let Verity continue on with her adventures without me.

Thank you for joining me today.  I plan on highlighting Hooks Can Be Deceiving by Betty Hechtman tomorrow.  It is the latest installment in A Crochet Mystery series.  I hope you have a fascinating day.  Stay warm and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

This Side of Murder: A Verity Kent Mystery

I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing Saturday. Slay Bells Ring by Karen Rose Smith will be published on October 31.  It is the seventh book in A Caprice Deluca Mystery series.  Anna Lee Huber is the author of A Lady Darby Mystery series and now A Verity Kent Mystery series.  

This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber is the first book in A Verity Kent Mystery series.  Verity is a widow who has been invited to the engagement party of Walter Ponsonby and Helen Crawford.  Verity's husband, Sidney was comrades with Walter.  Verity was not going to attend the weekend event, but then she received a suspicious note regarding Sidney.  Along the way Verity meets Max Westfield, Earl of Ryde who also served with Sidney.  Right away Verity can tell there is tension among the men at the party.  The group finds themselves stranded on Umbersea Island with the men getting picked off one by one.  Why is someone targeting these ex-soldiers?  Verity with Max's assistance sets out to get answers, but she is in for a big surprise.

This Side of Murder has a slow pace (glacial) that makes the story seem twice as long (the author tends to be elaborate on tiny details).  The same details are rehashed throughout the book.  Too much time is devoted to Verity contemplating the case (analyzing, thinking) and talking about it with others.  There is little actual investigation.  The pace picks up in the last 12% of the book.  Verity was lackluster.   She misses her husband (understandably), but she is flirting with Max at the party.  I did tire of the many mentions of Sidney.  She had potential to be dynamic (charismatic), but it was not realized (had potential to be similar to Miss Phryne Fisher).  The mystery was slightly complicated, but the culprits were not hard to discern.  The “twist” was expected.  I am giving This Side of Murder 3 out of 5 stars.   Ms. Huber did a great job at capturing the time period as well as what people were thinking and feeling after the war.  People had a hard time after World War I, dealing with the loss of life (loneliness) and women were finding themselves at a loss after all the action (work).  Women were allowed to take on new roles during the war and men expected them to go back to them (home, cooking, cleaning, having children) after the war.  The descriptions about ciphers (prevalent throughout the book), though, will have some readers screaming with frustration and boredom (it was interesting, but tedious at the same time).  I hope Ms. Huber will up her game in the next A Verity Kent Mystery.

I appreciate you stopping by today.  I will be featuring A Plain Leaving by Leslie Gould on Sunday.  It is the first book in The Sisters of Lancaster County series.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader