A murder at an isolated house party is my type of catnip, so I was very excited to read this book, especially because it's set directly after WW1. There were some great twists and turns that kept me guessing, and the author left enough questions unanswered that I am eagerly awaiting the next book!

Verity Kent has been adrift in a sea of alcohol-fueled frivolity since her husband, Sidney, was killed in the trenches fifteen months earlier. Sidney left her a very well off widow, but life seems meaningless. Especially since she has also lost her wartime work with the Secret Service, something of which even Sidney knew nothing. When she receives an invitation to a house party on an island, celebrating the engagement of an old friend of Sidney's she initially refuses. The other party guests are men who served in the trenches with Sidney, most of whom she did not know. Then a letter arrives with a cryptic message: ..." I know the secrets you hide. Why shouldn't I also know your husband's?" Verity knows then that she must join the house party, as the clear implication is that Sidney was involved in treasonous activity. The party guests range from slightly offensive to obnoxious, with intense hostile undercurrents. There is no one that Verity can trust, with the possible exception of Max, Earl of Ryde, and her childhood friend, Tom. But everyone has secrets and some are poisonous.

I waffled quite a bit on assigning a rating to This Side of Murder. The period of time during and just after WWI has always been fascinating to me. The war set up huge changes in the established order, with the wholesale slaughter of nearly an entire generation. The treaties at the war's end and the reparations required from the German people sent ripples leading to the horrors of the 20th century and into the present day. Huber has certainly done her research into the period, but I found it a little overpowering at times. Long explanations of cryptography and ciphers tend to make my eyes cross and seemed to bog down the narrative. I also thought that the supporting characters were not as well defined as I would like. It took me quite awhile to get names associated with characters. On the other hand, I kept reading way past my bedtime and was completely knocked back by the identity of the "mastermind." I also enjoyed the homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with all the suspense and ambiguity holding until the end. This Side of Murder promises a series to watch for in the future.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING- 4 Stars

Verity Kent is on her way to an engagement party on the island of Umbersea. Her late husband’s good friend Walter stood up for him when Verity and Sidney Kent were married. Even though Sidney had died more than a year ago, one of the far too many casualties of World War I, Verity feels an obligation to attend.

But that is not the only reason she’s going. She received a message alleging Sidney was a traitor and she is determined to discover the sender and the truth.

It’s a strange party. Rather than inviting family and a wide variety of guests, the men are all from Sidney’s fellow officers. As storms cut the party off from the mainland and the telephone wires are cut, guests are being picked off one by one. There’s very much an “And Then There Were None” feeling about the story.

Luckily Verity is not your usual British wealthy socialite. She worked for the Secret Service during the war, a closely guarded secret she never even shared with her husband. Yet the mystery letter-writer knows her secret, too, adding urgency to her need to discover the truth.



I liked This Side of Murder quite a bit. It is fair. We get the clues as she does, though there are surprises for her and for us. Lots of surprises.

This is going to be a lovely cozy series. The murders are discovered after the fact and offscreen without much attention on gory details. Verity is a bit of a feminist, impatient with the men all wanting to leave the women in the dark by explaining the absence of the murdered me as sickness. She is smart and capable and holds her own. The characters are not terribly complex. Nasty spiteful people are nasty and spiteful. Where characters are nuanced, the nuance is deception. This is probably the result of the more than a dozen characters required to have a pool of suspects in a Ten Little Murder Victims situation.

I am looking forward to more in the series. The World War I and post-war lady detective is a favorite them and I love the Phryne Fisher, Bess Crawford, Maisie Dobbs, and Vera Bradley stories. This is a welcome addition to a favorite subgenre.

This Side of Murder is the first in a new historical mystery series by Anna Lee Huber, author of the successful Lady Darby regency mysteries.


This Side of Murder will be released September 26th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

With two series of historical mysteries already on the go – Lady Darby and Gothic Myths – Anna Lee Huber jumps into her new Verity Kent series with This Side of Murder, a smashing and engrossing tale of deceit, murder and betrayal set just after World War I. As with Ms. Huber’s other books, the story is told in the first person from the heroine’s PoV, and there is plenty of astute observation and historical flavour that puts the reader firmly into the world of post-war England some seven months after the Armistice. The isolated island setting and disparate group of individuals who comprise the secondary cast list are most definitely reminiscent of some of the works of Agatha Christie, but this is no copy-cat story, and it will certainly work for fans of historical mysteries whether they’re fans of Christie or not (for the record, I’m not, and it certainly worked for me!).

Mrs. Verity Kent is about to decline an invitation to a house party to celebrate the engagement of one of her late husband’s closest friends when she receives an anonymous note indicating that Sidney Kent may have been a traitor. The sender clearly knows that Verity worked for the Secret Service during the war – something she had never even told her husband – so intrigued, angry and wanting desperately to find out the truth, Verity changes her mind about the party and plans to attend, intending to see what she can find out from Sidney’s former comrades.

She is on her way to Poole Harbour at the wheel of her late husband’s prized possession, his Pierce-Arrow, when she almost collides with a Rolls Royce coming in the opposite direction. Having ascertained no damage has been done or injury sustained, the driver of the Rolls, a handsome gentleman a few years Verity’s senior, introduces himself as Max, Lord Ryde. During the course of their short conversation, Verity learns that not only is Max on the way to the Ponsonby house party, but that he had known Sidney and, for a short time, been his commanding officer.

Verity and Max jump back into their respective cars and head for the harbour, where the rest of the party is awaiting their arrival. It’s a fairly disparate group; a few single men and women, three couples… none of whom appear – at first – to have a great deal in common, although it emerges that all of the men had served together in the same battalion as Sidney Kent, the “unlucky” Thirtieth – so-called because it was all but wiped out at the Somme. Relations are strained and tensions run high as harsh words are exchanged and unpleasant accusations fly around; it’s clear this group of men doesn’t want to speak of or be reminded of their wartime experiences and actions – and just as clear that there are dangerous secrets being kept, secrets that someone is prepared to kill to protect.

Anna Lee Huber has crafted a truly captivating mystery here, one which has its roots in the trenches and on the mud-laden, bloody battlefields of northern France. She very skillfully builds the tension and atmosphere of paranoia among the characters and does a superb job of portraying the post-war mood in England where so many people were coping with so much pain and loss and attempting to move past the horrible things they saw and did during the conflict. There’s a real sense that the characters are barely able to contain their emotions beneath a thin veneer that could crack at any time, and while Verity is no exception, she’s a thoroughly likeable character; clever, resourceful and resilient. She married Sidney Kent shortly before he left for France and had been looking forward to beginning their lives together, but it was not to be. They only managed to spend a few short periods of time together during his army leaves, and the fact that she never really had the chance to get to know Sidney has made her grief even more difficult to cope with. Like many others in her situation, she tried to numb the pain by drinking too much and partying too hard, using forced high spirits and plenty of booze as a survival mechanism. But unlike many young women of her class, she was able to ‘do her bit’ during the war by working for the Secret Service, which did at least give her something to focus on besides her grief in the time immediately following Sidney’s death. Now the war is over, she is struggling not only to cope with his loss, but also with the loss of the sense of purpose she had gained as a result of her work.

She’s a very relatable heroine and I very much enjoyed following her as she and Max try to work out who is murdering house-guests while she is quietly pursuing her own investigations into the accusations levelled at Sidney. Verity is a little confused – and perhaps feels a bit guilty – about the fact that she is attracted to Max, but a sudden and very unexpected development gives her no time to contemplate it and instead causes her to question everything she knows about Sidney and her marriage and sends her investigation off in a different – and dangerous -direction.

The mystery is very well-constructed and kept me guessing throughout as I eagerly turned the pages, anxiously awaiting each new twist, turn and clue. It’s wrapped up most satisfactorily by the end of the book and the evil-doers are brought to justice – but Verity is left with a completely new set of challenges to face, and I am eager to find out just how she confronts them.

This Side of Murder is a terrific start to this new series of historical mysteries and is a book I have no qualms about recommending to all, whether you’re a fan of the genre, the author, or are new to her work.

Grade: B+ / 4.5 stars

Try this one if you like historical mysteries with a strong female protagonist! Verity Kent is dealing with her grief over the death of her husband when someone reaches out to her and claims he had committed treason. This leads her to a house party on Umbersea Island where she faces down his colleagues and, of course, there's murder! This is indeed reminiscent of Agatha Christie, with a closed environment and lots of secrets, and it's a good one. Verity is terrific- she uses the skills she gained in the Secret Service to ferret out the truth. There are enough twists in this to keep you guessing and it's just complex enough (but not too) to be really engaging. The key though is in the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm happy that Huber has started a new series and I'm excited to see where it goes. The post WWI period was an interesting one for women (not always in a good way) so there's lots of opportunities ahead to test Verity.

This Side of Murder is the first book in the Verity Kent Mystery series.

This is the second historical mystery series from Anna Lee Huber. It is as gripping as her Lady Darby series and provides the reader with a well-plotted story and a very interesting cast of characters that you will begin to understand the terrible mess of lives that war causes.

Verity Kent has been widowed just a few years when she receives in the post an invitation to the engagement party of Walter Ponsonby and his fincee, Nelly. What makes her decide to attend is a letter that she receives that claims the writer knows what Verity did during the war and knows the secrets that she has. On the way to the Ponsonby’s she narrowly misses running into another guest, Max Westfield, who also had served with her husbands unit and Verity will soon find out that all of the men in attendance had served in Sidney’s unit. Shortly after arriving on Poole Island being shown her room, she finds a book that she had given her husband Sidney. Hidden within the book is a note that questions Sidney’s loyalty and a cryptic message. As everyone is getting to know one another, she senses bitterness between quite a few of the men. Soon one of the men is found hung, apparently a suicide, but Verity and Max aren’t so sure. Then a second body is found and Verity knows it is time to really get to work deciphering the message she found in the book before any more deaths occur. But she soon begins to wonder just who she can trust when a storm knocks out electricity to the island

This was a very exciting beginning to a very enjoyable new series. It was one that kept me guessing to the end.

I will be looking forward to the next book to find out what Verity’s next adventure might be.

A thrilling mix of Agatha Christie with a touch of the testament of youth. I loved this look at post war society and murder mystery all in one. one of my best books of the year

Modeled after Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, Anna Lee Huber's This Side of Murder gives a pitch-perfect portrayal of life in England immediately following the First World War. Once I began reading and took note of the similarities between the two books, I thought to myself, "If [a certain something] happens, I'm out of here." It didn't because Huber's book is not a slavish copy of Christie's.

First off, let me just say that I want Verity Kent's Pierce-Arrow. I love those cars! Huber's main character is an interesting one. Like the women of Bletchley Park, Kent had to sign the Official Secrets Act. She cannot speak of what she did during the war. The death of her husband hit her quite hard, and she's felt at loose ends for well over a year. She's tried going to lots of parties, drinking to excess, casual flirtations (antidotes that thousands of others tried throughout the Roaring Twenties), but nothing seems to work. Trying to learn the truth about Sidney seems to be the catalyst that's going to pull her back from the brink.

I like the fact that Verity isn't the female version of Dudley Do-Right. She knows more than most women about the horrors of war, and she's suffered loss, too. But she hasn't exactly kept a stiff upper lip and become married to her widow's weeds. She wants to feel better. She wants to get on with her life. She's just not quite certain of how to go about it. This frailty bodes well for the series. Speaking of the series, the pace is slow for This Side of Murder, but that's mostly due to Huber's setting up her cast of characters and future books. The plot of this book has quite a few twists and turns-- as it should when one keeps in mind the book it's modeled after-- so it's best not to speak of it to avoid giving anything away.

All in all, if I can't have Verity's spiffing Pierce-Arrow, I can have the next best thing: the second book in the series, please!

This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber is the first in a new historical mystery series by this author. I've never read her books before but this one convinced me that I've been missing some good reading.

Her descriptive narrative had me feeling as if I was there with Verity Kent. The setting is post WWI England and Verity Kent is a widow as a result of the war. She worked for the Secret Service during the war and is aware of what many of the battle hardened soldiers saw during the war. She's a strong and independent woman for the times and determined to discover if her husband had been a traitor. The smoothly paced plot was filled with twists and red herrings as Verity is surrounded by questionable companions while isolated at a castle on an island. I was completely shocked by the reveal and loved the way that Verity fought for herself. Suspense, murder, and well developed characters that were intriguing and complex. I will definitely be watching for the next one in this series.

This is a very good and well written historical mystery novel. It was interesting and well written. I highly recommend both this author and novel.

This book is the quintessential mystery. It is interesting, exciting, gripping, and filled with interesting characters. The descriptions of the emotional turmoil of World War I and its aftermath on the soldiers and civilian are so strong that you feel every emotion – just as if you were there. This author’s descriptions of the heroine’s grief over the death of her husband make you feel as if it were your loss, your pain. I just can’t say enough good things about the quality of writing and the depth of the emotions in this story. I almost didn’t request it because it is for a later time period than I usually enjoy, but since I love Huber’s Lady Darby series, I thought I’d give this one a try. I am so very glad I did!

Be sure you have a clear schedule before you start reading because you won’t be able to put it down once you start reading!

Verity married at 18 just as her husband was to go off to war. They never had that time of living together that made the deep memories – the kind where you miss his toothbrush being beside yours or his razor on the sink. Their brief time together was during his short leaves when he came home from the front. They were hurried and intense – and not nearly long enough. Then, a German soldier’s bullet took his life. Verity’s grief was so intense, so painful that she tried to drown it in alcohol and frenetic, frenzied activities such as dancing.

Sidney had been dead for fifteen very long, very difficult months when she received an invitation to a house party to celebrate the engagement of one of Sidney’s life-long friends. She declines the invitation until she receives a letter that says the sender has information about Sidney being a traitor. While she knows that Sidney had been very troubled on his last few trips home, she couldn’t believe he would be a traitor – but she had to know for sure. So, she accepted the invitation and headed to the house party on a private island with about a dozen other people. Each person had ties to Sidney or his service regiment and she had to figure out who sent the letter and find out what they know.

On the way to the ferry to take her to the island, she runs into (almost literally) Max Westfield, the Earl of Ryde. She feels an attraction to him that she hasn’t felt in over fifteen months. But, can she trust him? Is he the one who sent the letter? As she comes to know him better, she really wants to trust him, but he and his family are in a position that he could have easily been the traitor. As the party continues, the attraction grows.

Something about the party and the assembled guests doesn’t feel right to Verity. Then, the first death occurs. Jimmy Tufton was a cynic who had lost an arm in the war – and it was said that he deliberately tried to get himself killed. When he was found hanging, many thought he had committed suicide, but Verity and Max were pretty sure that wasn’t the case. Then, later the second death occurs – and that one definitely isn’t a suicide because there is a very plainly visible bullet wound in his chest. Charlie Montague was a very young man who seemed shell-shocked – and riddled with guilt. Who would be next?

There is a massive storm raging and the telephone wires have been cut, so there is no way to contact the outside world nor to escape. They are trapped on an island with at least one murderer.

Then, after the storm abates a little, the host, Walter Ponsonby is stung by several bees and he’s very, very allergic to the stings. Yes, it was also deliberate. Since everyone knew of the allergy, the unusual method didn’t bring them any closer to discovering the guilty party.

There are many twists, turns, and surprises throughout the book – and the ending is a big surprise. I had half of it figured out, but not the rest! I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t want to spoil the read for you.

I highly recommend this book and this author!

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Oh, this is almost as good as Lady Darby series! Not just as good, but still good. I would say 4.5 stars rounded to 5! LOL

What I like in Ms. Huber's writing style is that, while reading, I can immerse myself in the period and feel like I'm wearing the dress or talking in a certian way or srinking champagne during a gathering! It's amazing!

I don't want to spoil the story (mystery) here since the book is not out yet, but I can tell you that there're a lot of unexcpected things happening and, even if I was suspitious since the beginning about the culpirt, it is not revealed until the very end! ;-)

I loved the heroine, Verity. I suppose that she's what I would like to be if I lived in that period: smart, bold, but not snotty, strong and resilient.

All the other characters are just supporting characters. Veruty is the main and only lead character here, even if there were some that were more important (and therefore more realistic and more life-likely built) than others that are just sketches.

All in all, I'm looking forward to the next one, because I'm curious to se how the things are going to devel in Verity's life! *wink*

Thanks Kensington Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Verity Kent might be my new favorite bon mot detective. You'll be up all night cuz it just gets better and the end is explove- you won't see it coming at all. I love Anna Lee Huber's style and cunning imagination.

3.75 stars if I could. I really enjoyed the set up of this new series, but there was just something off about it that kept me from devouring it more quickly. Perhaps the romance? I much preferred the first half of the book, and therefore enjoyed Verity meeting Max. I am curious to see where the series goes next, and hope to see more of Max, Sam and Mabel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have enjoyed all of the Anna Lee Huber novels I have read to date, and this one was just as enjoyable. The author has a great grasp on Historical Mysteries and keeps each mystery flowing smoothly.

The characters are well described, almost in too much detail at times, but it does help with the visualization. I find that the characters are believable and that I do become invested in them. Verity Kent, for example, is the epitome of upper class women, but isn't afraid to try and figure out what is happening with the other people on the island, the murders that are made to look like suicides and the blatant murders. She worked for the Ministry during the war and thanks to skills learned during that time she was able to "solve the case". I like to see characters like her in novels.

This was another cleverly written novel by the talented Anna Lee Huber. I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher for my ARC for a fair and honest review.

This Side of Murder is a cleverly written and highly entertaining tale. When I started reading, my initial thought was that the story reminded me a fair amount of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. People assemble at a remote house, and then they start dying. While the stories begin similarly, the plots significantly diverged as I continued reading This Side of Murder. The mystery was clever, the characters amusing and well-drawn, and the plot resolution quite believable and a pleasant surprise. My only complaint about the book was Verity’s occasional “bosom heaving” and wishy-washy behavior; it didn’t happen all the time but too much for my liking. Hopefully in the next installment, Verity’s character will gain a bit more strength and depth of character and join the ranks of Maggie Hope, Veronica Speedwell, Ruby Proulx and Maisie Dobbs. I look forward to reading Huber’s next book. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This newest in a series of post-WWI mysteries by Anna Lee Huber takes on a sort of "Agatha Christie" feel as a group of friends gather at a castle on an island for an engagement party. Young widow Verity Kent drives up, and it doesn't take long for her to realize that all the men have something in common: her husband Sidney, killed 15 months earlier. Two mysterious deaths, cryptic letters, a puzzling code, and a storm which cut the island off from civilization are just some of the ingredients here. Verity doesn't know who to trust... and maybe her deceased husband was a man she really didn't know.

The "chill factor" was high in particular scenes, and I enjoyed being "scared." However, there were a lot of characters, and it was easy for me to mix them up, as far as who was who, who was sweethearts with who. But, the beginning of the novel grabbed me right away, the moody atmosphere was skillfully built, and I loved all the secrets and codes. I wish the code Verity worked on was explained more, as well as her Secret Service job during the war. But maybe the author can go down those directions in future books. There was an intriguing character who I hope to see more of.

All in all, not a bad beginning. It is interesting to see the author branch out to work something else other than the Lady Kiera mysteries. I think Verity Kent is just as notable as Kiera -- a character to watch!

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc!

As a fan of Huber's Lady Darby historical mysteries, I was eager to read this first book in her new series. This also is historical, taking place just after WWI, and Verity, like Lady Darby, is a strong character somewhat constrained by traditional roles for women. Huber uses details and language to help establish the time period and weaves a story with a firm nod to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None."

Verity Kent, widowed in the war a bit more than a year earlier, receives an invitation to a house party on an island estate, an engagement party given by an old friend and army colleague of her late husband. At first thinking to decline the invitation, she receives a mysterious note implying her husband may have been a traitor and that she could discover more by attending. Unknown to friends and family, Verity had worked for British intelligence during the war, and this was news she could not ignore. Upon arrival, she discovers that the guest list is odd, consisting mostly of surviving officers of her husband's old unit. She forges a fragile connection with one of these officers, a man who like her seems troubled by the odd gathering. The first death confirms that she is dealing with some dangerous secrets someone--or some ones--wish to keep hidden.

Verity is an appealing protagonist, and the post-WWI England setting has elements of Downton Abbey that I also find fun. The story springs a few twists and surprises, especially one such surprise, that keep the story interesting, and the situation at the end leaves some intriguing and potentially difficult plot lines in play. I definitely will look for the next book in the series.

I have been in a 1920's mystery-esque reading binge recently. I had finished The Diviners by Libba Bray and Death by Misadventure by Kerry Greenwood, and decided to pick up This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber. This side of Murder is the first of the Verity Kent Series. Anna Lee Huber also has under her belt the Lady Darby Mystery Series and the Jacobite's Watch Anthology. This Side of Murder was the right story to continue my reading binge. It had 1920's spirit, with awesome descriptions of dresses and hairstyles, handsome men recovering from a war (The Great War), and it had a juicy mystery.

This Side of Murder starts with the heroine, Verity Kent, receiving a letter basically telling her that her dead husband was not who she though he was. Verity's husband had died in the war in the middle of an ambush. Verity herself, had worked as a secret agent decoding messages. The letter instructed her that if she wanted to find out more about what the sender knew about her and her dead husband she would have to attend an engagement  party for one of her husbands friends who also served in the war with him. Once Verity gets on the boat that will take her and the other guest to the party, which is on a private island, she discovers that her husband's whole battalion has been invited to this party. She also realizes that many of the men there might not get along, theres constant jabs, indirect comments, and tension, which makes Verity question why the group has been reunited. Things start to get even worst when guest start to disappear and are found dead. Verity realizes she might be in danger and must figure out who lured her to the island and why.

I enjoyed this book a lot, it had all the qualities of a fun read; intrigue, tension between characters, twist, and a savvy heroine. The cast of characters and combination of personalities stranded on this island made for interesting conflicts, and lots of secrets being kept. This story had two really good twist, which when you think about it where hinted at, but there is so much going on that you really don't expect it. I thought the twist were well done and kept me  on my toes.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any cozy mystery or historical mystery lover. If you are like me and a sucker for anything 1920's or enjoy a strong female problem solver character, you will enjoy this story.

Loved the time period this is set in. Great main character. I'll be looking forward to this series continuing.