At first, Widow Verity Kent refuses an invitation to an engagement party on the island of Umbersea. The party is for one of her late husband's fellow officers, and she is afraid it will be too painful. But then she gets a letter suggesting her husband, Sydney, might have convicted treason before his death, she knows she needs to go and see if she can figure out the truth.

The other party attendees all have a connection to Sydney, and Verity, who worked for the Secret Service during the war, mingles with them to try and find out the truth of things. But when people start dying, Verity knows she has to get to the bottom of things before she's added to the list of people not leaving the island alive.

Filled with twists and turns, This Side of Murder features a carefully plotted mystery. But the first part of the book was slow for me. After the first murder it picked up, and the last part was one of those turn the page endings where I couldn't wait to see what was happening.

The ending of this story was realistic and satisfying, and it left me wanting to read more from this series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

When I discovered that Anna Lee Huber, author of the Lady Darby Mysteries, was set to release a new series, I immediately added This Side of Murder to my highly anticipated reads list.
In This Side of Murder, readers are introduced to Verity Kent, a widow whose soldier husband never returned from the war. It’s England, 1919. The Great War is over, but the effects of the war will never end for those who either experienced it or lost a loved one.
Invited to an engagement party on Umbersea Island, Verity mingles with her husband’s fellow officers. At the party, she begins to hear rumors of her husband’s guilt in the loss of several soldiers. She discovers a coded letter, a suicide that might be a murder, and experiences the beginnings of a possible new romance.
Agatha Christie fans will enjoy this one. A storm traps everyone on the island. Dark secrets are revealed and people begin to die. Verity is forced to join forces with a few trusted companions. Then she begins to doubt, not only her late husband, but everyone around her.
Will she be able to clear her late husband’s name? Should she try to decode the letter? Will she escape the island with her life? Is there someone else on the island? Who can she trust?
I enjoyed this title, but feel that there is so much more of the story to come. By the end of it, there is the possibility of a love triangle in the future. I am anxious to see where the author will take these characters. Will be looking forward to book 2 in the series.

Verity Kent, a war widow, receives an invitation from one of her husband's friends to attend an engagement party held on the island of Umbersea. She also receives a mysterious note suggesting that her husband may have committed treason so she heads off to find out the truth. As the house party moves along, friend after friend of her husband are murdered and Verity seems to be right in the middle.

A new romance may be in the offing as Verity tries to get to the bottom of the threats to her husband's memory, but a strange twist makes the ending a bit strange.

I wasn't really thrill with this story, the characters were too 2 dimensional, and the author went into too much descriptive detail at times. Hopefully, the next book will be better.

Anna Lee Huber brings together people involved in the battlefield in the First World War in an island house party. Verity Kent, widow of Sidney Kent, who died in the war has received threatening letters that suggest her husband had been a traitor. The guests at the party were fellow officers or acquaintances of Sidney. Victims start dying; there is a message in secret code. Who can Verity trust? Will she be targeted too?

This book reminded me of Masie Dobbs as an older women, thoroughly enjoyed the setting and mystery.

Fair warning: This Side of Murder's description would lead you to believe that it ticks a whole bunch of mystery fan boxes - a castle, a house party, British people, the 1920s, etc. But D**M this is a slog - Ms. Huber appears to trust her readers as far as she could throw the lot of us, as the recaps and summaries and reiterations abound. But, even with all the repetition, I felt the majority characters meld into one bland blob - I couldn't tell you the difference between a Felix and a Max. I was super bored; on the up side, however, I could definitely see this as a BBC period piece - one I'd watch with a G&T and enjoy but not remember.

I first noticed this author’s regency era mysteries and they seemed good. Then I noticed that she was starting a whole new series of historical mysteries and they were to be set post WWI with a clever former Secret Service heroine. Immediately, I chose to go with the shiny new series though after reading, This Side of Murder, I do very much need to go back for the older, Lady Darby series, too.

The book was an engaging blend of history and mystery with a whiff of romance. The heroine, Verity Kent, is a war widow who is living on the edge as a way to push back the shadows of grief. This island house party hosted by a friend of her dead husband is not one she would have attended save for the cryptic letter accusing Sidney of treason. Nothing feels right about the party from the atmosphere to the other guests to the hosts themselves and then someone dies…

I was bowled over by this author’s gift for time, setting, and atmosphere. I had no trouble believing this story was from the ’20s or that the characters had all been touched by the horror of war in their own ways. Verity was a character gem and I enjoyed exploring her world and watching her backstory and personality develop as things progressed. She wants to move on with her life after Sidney and the war, but she can’t seem to let go. And now there is Max who seems to awaken feelings in her even while he is also a suspect in the current situation and so cannot be trusted entirely.

The mystery was complex. It was a current murder mystery that was strongly connected to a secret past incident that ties all the house party guests together and makes them suspects. Just when I thought I had a grip on the answer there was this huge twist at the end that showed me I only had a partial answer.

All in all, I was thrilled with my first encounter with the author and her new lady sleuth. I will definitely be exploring further mysteries with Verity and also want to go back for the Lady Darby ones as well. Historical mystery fans should definitely give this a try.

It is 1919 and war widow Verity Kent declines an invitation to a weekend engagement party for her deceased husband’s friend. However, when she receives a letter claiming that Sidney was not the upstanding soldier and man everyone thought he was, she reconsiders the invitation in hopes of finding out about Sidney’s actions during the war. She is somewhat surprised to find that almost all of the other guests have some connection to Sidney. When guests start dying, she trusts no one fully and tries to get to the bottom of a mystery that goes well beyond the shore of the party island. Full of treason, betrayal, cover-ups, and murder, THIS SIDE OF MURDER is a solid, sparkling debut to the Verity Kent mystery series.

Anna Lee Huber is skilled at drawing well developed, complex characters, and her attention to detail is apparent in creating Verity, Sidney, Max, and all of the supporting players. She perfectly captures the essence of the years following the war to end all wars. World War I left no one unmarked, and I appreciate the struggles that the characters face in moving forward with their post war lives. Verity is a strong, relatable woman with secrets of her own. She perfectly embodies the “modern woman” birthed by battle. Sidney is flawed and scarred by his experiences, and he is the character I most wanted to get to know better. Max is deliciously suave, and I cannot wait to see how his and Verity’s relationship develops moving forward.

Overall, the story is paced well. There are times when it gets a little bogged down in details, especially with regards to Verity’s clothing and her efforts to solve the cipher. Once the bodies start piling up, the action picks up leading to a dangerous and exciting climax. Everyone on the island is a suspect, and Huber does a good job keeping readers guessing up until the very end.

THIS SIDE OF MURDER is one of my best books of the year. Highly recommended.

This is the first in the Verity Kent mystery series. This is a promising series that is a enjoyable read. Verity Kent is our protagonist and she is grieving widow who receives a mysterious letter about her husband. The mystery deepens and the story is multi dimensional. This is a strong mystery with a great promise for a long lasting mystery series. I enjoyed the characters , the setting and the well crafted mystery.

Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.

Awesome Mystery! Do you really know the person you married? In an early marriage, your blissfully happy, then War intervenes in your life. She decides to do what she can for the war effort, do that her husband comes home safe. Yet, after he is declared dead, or is it MIA, she finds out things that don't connect with the man she thought she knew! Now a letter arrives, which sends her on the hunt for the man she thought she married, but is he really that man, or someone who used her for his own nefarious purposes?
I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

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.

It is 1919 and The Great War is over, but for those who have survived and those who have lost loved ones it will never really be over.

Verity Kent lost her husband, Sidney. She doesn't feel like she has made a particularly good job of moving forward. When she receives an invitation to attend the engagement party of a Walter and Helen she initially makes an excuse but a letter suggesting that Sidney may not have been the honourable man everyone took him for; indicating that she could find out more by attending the event changes her mind.

The party is to be held on Umbersea Island- a luxurious house off the South coast of England. The location may be lovely but it is soon obvious that there are a lot of friction between various guests- and then people start dying! Who can Verity trust?

At first I thought this was going to be a re-run of Agatha Christie's 'Then There Were None' but although there were some similarities in the isolated location there was a lot more to this tale and it kept me guessing as to the villain/s of the piece..

The author does a great job of capturing the era and ramping up the suspense. I did find the clothing descriptions a bit excessive but could forgive that taking the whole book into account.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for introducing me to Verity Kent- I look forward to reading more about her.

I'm a huge fan of Huber's Lady Darby mysteries so this title caught my eye immediately. I liked the idea of her writing about a more recent period. Her usual talent with character development was evident, and I was drawn to the two primary protagonists. Writing a mystery set at a house party in a remote location is probably one of the biggest challenges of the genre. It makes it almost impossible to provide the kind of exciting adventures that make the Darby series so appealing. That is the main reason I've given this title only four stares. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what Verity can accomplish under more normal circumstances. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for offering access prior to publication!

I've just finished This Side Of Murder by Anna Lee Hubert and it was great! This isn't my normal type of read but I still enjoyed it.

NetGalley allowed me access to This Side Of Murder so thanks to them for letting me read and review it.

This Side Of Murder tells the story of widower, Verity. She's going to a house party on an island near England. This story is really about Verity trying to figure out a code as she was a secret code breaker in the war. Verity lost her husband in the War, or so she thinks...

4 Stars

The book is set just after World War 1 so there are some customs that are different to now, smoking being seen as a good or relaxing thing, for example.

Verity meets another attendee of the party, Max on the way there. They strike up a friendship. The other attendees are rather hostile to Verity. The other women treat her terribly and the other men just seem to ignore her.

This is a mystery novel where we're trying to work out lots of things. I don't really want to write more because I think it's a lot more shocking if you go into this book blind.

I'm using this for 2 squares of the Boo!kish Bingo on the Life And Lit group on Facebook. The book with a murder and book with a stalker squares. The murder is pretty obvious with as the title has the word Murder in it, and there's what I'd call a stalker in it too, various stalkers, actually.

What did I like about This Side Of Murder?

I liked how I was always guessing with this book. Nothing seemed simple.

I liked how the narrative is written in first person. I think this made the story seem more realistic.

I liked how I was never quite sure what was going on and the surprises that seemed to pop out of nowhere!

I liked how Verity, the main character was always questioning everything. She never just said "that's that". There was thought behind all of her movements.

What didn't I like about This Side Of Murder?

Some bits of this novel are slow but then some bits are fast, too fast I'd say, so the pacing is a little off in my opinion.

I didn't like how the romance between 2 characters didn't seem to happen. It might happen in future books! I can only hope!

I read this book for 2 spots on the Boo!kish Bingo sheet that the group, Life And Lit have done on Facebook. I read it for the Murder square because the title states there is a murder and for the Stalker square too because there's a stalker involved as well, who's trying to figure out secrets, as well as the murderer who becomes a stalker like character.

I'm giving This Side Of Murder 4 Stars because it pleasantly surprised me. When I requested this on NetGalley, I was unsure of just what I would be reading. I wanted to try something different to my preferred genre of romance. It's the perfect time to read this as well, what with it being Halloween soon. I liked how the story was historical but not overdone in the details. I'm looking forward to the next Verity Kent novel.

Will you be reading this mystery read?

This is a cracking good cosy mystery set in 1919, just after the conclusion of World War One. Verity Kent is trying to move on with her life after the presumed death of her officer husband Sidney. She is sent a message that suggests that Sidney was guilty of treason before his death, which she finds disturbing to say the least and she would like to ignore the claim, but the message contains too many facts about Verity and her work in the war that were unknown even to her husband to be ignored.

Invited to an engagement party weekend, the sort that only the very rich of that time could have, Verity decides to go and do some sleuthing to see if any of Sidney’s old war chums have any knowledge of his possible misdeeds. All Verity has to go on is a coded letter and a book that was a gift to her husband as the only solid clues she has to uncover the truth, and the truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction.

Personally I really enjoyed this book. The setting, characters and the history of the period pulled me right in. The main character Verity isn’t as pure as the driven snow yet isn’t a creature to be despised either, making her very relatable. The fact that this is the first in a series makes this book even more good fun; just what will Verity get up to next?

Anna Lee Huber is a new to me author, though I’m fond of mysteries and historical romance, so it’s no surprise that many of my friends have recommended her books to me. Unfortunately, my TBR pile somehow precluded me from reading her books each time I’ve made the attempt, so I was happy to get this first book in her new Verity Kent series for review.

Widowed when her husband Sidney was shot in a skirmish at the end of the World War I, Verity has spent the past year and a half trying to dull the pain of her loss in parties and evenings out with friends. When she receives an invitation to an engagement party for one of Sidney’s fellow officers, an emotionally fragile Verity initially intends to decline. But shortly after she receives the invitation, a cryptic letter arrives referencing her work for the Secret Service (a secret she kept from everyone, including Sidney) and suggesting Sidney might have committed treason before his death. Shocked and unwilling to believe her husband guilty of treason, Verity decides to attend the weekend house party and do some investigating of her own.

As This Side of Murder opens, Verity – lost in thoughts of her husband, the letter, and the houseparty – nearly collides with another car. When the handsome driver emerges, they engage in a flirtatious exchange about her driving and the driver’s own car – a pale yellow Rolls-Royce – and soon realize they’re both on their way to Walter Ponsonby’s engagement party. After her companion introduces himself as Max Westfield, Earl of Ryde, Verity is startled when he asks if she’s Sidney Kent’s widow. He reveals that he knew her husband – they attended Eton at the same time and served together during the war. When they finally part and head to Poole Harbour, Verity finds herself wondering about Max and their meeting. Why is he attending the party? How well did he know her husband? Could he be the letter writer?

Boarding the yacht that will take them to Umbersea Island for the party, Verity makes yet another discovery. Though she expected the guest list to include some of Sidney’s fellow officers, it appears to be made up almost entirely of them. It’s an odd group to invite for an engagement party, and, suspicious and overwhelmed by fresh grief for her husband, Verity climbs aboard determined to get to know the men who once fought alongside him – and to determine, once and for all, if he committed treason.

When she arrives on the island, Verity is greeted by her hosts and handed another letter. Exhausted by the journey and the prospect of the weekend ahead, she retreats to her room to read it – only to discover someone was there before her. A battered copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress, which bears an inscription from her to Sidney, lies on the counterpane with yet another note tucked inside. Verity is convinced the author is one of her fellow guests, but a separate discovery – intentionally hidden in the binding of the book? – seems to suggest Sidney might have been passing coded messages. Verity isn’t sure whether her secret correspondent is working with – or against – her as she searches for the truth.

The initial trip to Umbersea Island casts a pervasive sense of foreboding and disquiet that runs throughout the book. Verity is suspicious of the other guests, and it’s obvious they are tense and ill at ease with each other. Something seems off, and it seems like the only person she can trust is Max – but even then, she’s unclear as to whether he can be trusted or not. Most of the guests have history, and it soon becomes apparent that the men of the former Thirtieth Company have dark secrets they’ve kept hidden until this weekend. As the engagement party continues apace, Verity simultaneously tries to crack the code contained in The Pilgrim’s Progress, get to the bottom of the tension between the guests, and determine if there’s a traitor in their midst. No one is above suspicion, and when guests begin dying, Verity becomes desperate to discover what really happened to Sidney in his last days.

Ms. Huber paints Verity as an intelligent and independent woman who passionately loved her husband and hoped for a happily ever after with him following the war. She alludes to Verity’s secret life working for the British Secret Service – but for some reason, she keeps the specifics of her work deliberately vague. I never felt like I got to know Verity, aside from her feelings for Sidney (and maybe Max), and rather than leading an investigation, Verity seems more often to be in the right place at the right time to move the narrative forward. When she cracks the code hidden in Sidney’s book, I sighed. With only vague references to a history with the Secret Service, it’s a bit of a stretch to believe she knows so much about code breaking – and frankly, the skill just read like a convenient plot device. We get to know the other guests at the party through the lens of Verity’s thoughts, but frankly, it was hard to keep track of all of them. The guests each briefly star in the narrative, and then Ms. Huber focuses our attention on someone else. I never felt like I knew any of them well enough to suspect them as they were all – with the exception of Max – awful in their own way! I liked Max despite Ms. Huber’s obvious efforts to make him a suspect, but without him, I’m not sure Verity would have ever ‘solved’ this case. He’s definitely the more aggressive investigator – even though Verity kept information from him – and he rather conveniently ensures Verity is in the right place at the right time to discover new clues. I had high hopes for him and Verity in future books… but, well, let’s just say I don’t believe Ms. Huber does.

I’m reluctant to spill any details of the house party only because I don’t want to reveal any secrets that might spoil the story. That said, I’m not sure how my telling you – in detail – everything leading up to the denouement would really ‘spoil’ it for you. Ms. Huber slowly but surely reveals the secrets that bind the guests together (there is an intrigue that links them to each other – and to Sidney) and ratchets up the tension…but when she introduces a ridiculous, convoluted plot twist ending, it just made me mad. In hindsight, I see some of the clues she spread in the text… but really, if someone saw this coming, bravo. I didn’t, I don’t see how you could, and I hated it.

Hmm… so would I recommend This Side of Murder? Oh reader! I’m torn. I liked it, but I was easily and often distracted from it. I wanted to like Verity, but I never really connected with her or the mystery and found it difficult to keep up with the secondary characters – about whom we know very little aside from their relationship to Verity’s dead husband. It seems like Verity’s (very interesting) past will be more fully explored in future novels, and I’m curious about it. But if those books feature her passively watching and waiting for events to unfold, I’ll pass.

I have enjoyed Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby series and was eager to read this new series. I wasn't disappointed. The setting, the voice - pitch perfect. Set in England post WWI, Verity Kent is a very young war widow coming to terms with her future without her husband and without her war job with the secret service. She needs distractions and one comes along in the form of an engagement party for one of her late husband's friends, to take place on an island. Here we have a 'locked room' setting and an unfolding mystery. She has to face the possibility that her late husband was guilty of treason. Dark secrets abound and she meets an intriguing stranger. Add a satisfying mystery to unravel and you have a great read.

This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber
This Side of Murder (Verity Kent, #1)
by Anna Lee Huber (Goodreads Author)
30817744
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones's review Sep 29, 2017 · edit
really liked it
bookshelves: 2017, crime, historical-fiction, netgalley-arc, new-to-me-author, 4-star, murder-mystery, spy-thriller, sandy-s-ng-nirvana, sandy-s-reading-retreat

AN EXCERPT: 'You might question whether this is all a ruse, whether I truly have anything to reveal. But I know what kind of work you really did during the war. I know the secrets you hide. Why shouldn't I also know your husband's?'

THE BLURB: The Great War is over, but in this captivating new series from award-winning author Anna Lee Huber, one young widow discovers the real intrigue has only just begun . . .

An Unpardonable Sin?

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 . . .

MY THOUGHTS: 'Who of us really knows what's coming? Or what secrets will come back to haunt us in the end? The war might be over, but it still echoed through our lives like an endless roll of thunder. '
This Side of Murder is an excellent beginning to a new series, Verity Kent, by Daphne Award winning author Anna Lee Huber. I must rather shamefully admit that I had never heard of her prior to reading this book. I intend to remedy that, and sooner rather than later. She has two other series available, The Lady Darby Mysteries and Gothic Myths. Both sound equally appealing.

Huber had me hooked from the beginning. Set in post WWI England, Huber has written an absorbing and thrilling tale of spies, murder, treason and a little romance with a strong young female lead. The plot is complex, but not confusing, and the characters are magnificently portrayed. Like Verity, I never even came close to suspecting who was pulling the strings until all was finally revealed.

Full of action and suspense, This Side of Murder, is an excellent read on many levels. It is both humorous and poignantly sad in places. It reveals the toll of the war from both sides; those left at home - '..how I had dreaded those letters. Each one seemed to relay news of another death, another tragedy. '; and those away fighting for their country - 'they'd had no clue how dreadful the conditionswere at the front, or the horrorstheir men had facedalmost daily. The press never told the truth; propaganda at itsfinest. And the men didn't want their loved ones back home to know it anyway, even though it causedcountless divides and misunderstandings. They didn't want the terrors they'd confronted to touch those they'd loved and gone to war to protect and preserve. '

This Side of Murder is both a touching and thrilling read.

Thank you to Kensington Books via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

Fun, “Clue” style mystery where characters are housed up together and slowly start to die off. You try to figure who’s responsible from the hints revealed, but they can be misleading!

Verity is a Great War widow who is still grieving and trying to move past her losses as the country is beginning to recover. She has secrets, and she’s finding out her husband apparently did too. She tries to find out truth, and it becomes quite dangerous and deceptive. Look for a big twist that will keep you on the edge of your seat! I think this will make an interesting series and look forward to where it goes next. I took to Verity quickly and found the writing clever and atmospheric!


—Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for an ARC to read & honestly review. I was so excited to be approved!—

1919 and war widow Verity Kent is invited to an engagement party of Walter Ponsonby on Umbersea Island in Poole Harbour. Walter was the wartime friend of her husband Sidney, and she finally is convinced to accept, only to discover that most of the invitees are from the same regiment. But information comes to her notice that her husband may have committed treason, and so she sets out to try and prove him innocent.
A well-written entertaining mystery though sometimes there was too much description of Verity's clothing. But now that the characters have been established it will be interesting to see how they develop throughout the series.