1919 After an evening spent at the home of Ada, a friend of Verity, she and her husband Sidney are awoken by a telephone call saying that Ada's husband, the Marquess of Rockham had been killed. Not trusting DCI Thoreau not to arrest her as the obvious suspect, she asks Verity to investigate. But Verity has also been approached by old friend Irene Shaw, to determine who killed her half-sister Esther was not an opportune burglar. While coping with her husband's guilt over the war.
This is the third in the series, though it can be read as a standalone, the story can be better understood after reading the first two. For me this is so far the best of the series.
An interesting well-written mystery with the introduction of an intriguing character (being portrayed as a a villain) opposed to Verity.

Anna Lee Huber does it again in her third of her amazing post-World War I mystery / suspense / intrigue / murder / historical fiction series. There are so many levels to this book, and the author really makes you think and realize, even though this is fiction, what it was like to try to live in the post-World War I world. And phew, I feel like I was on a roller-coaster for hours with the twists and turns. This makes me want to go back and reread the first two books again. Ms. Huber is a Master at her craft.

Post-WWI, flappers, gin rickeys, jazz clubs, and a party atmosphere covers over dark deeds and silent suffering in the quiet hours. None more than Verity and Sydney Kent understand as they pick up the pieces to their lives and try to make their way far from the trenches for him and espionage work for her in a marriage teetering on the brink. Just when Verity wonders what they can do with themselves now, they are confronted by two separate friends’ pleas for help with murder. I love diving right back into Verity Kent’s world.
Review

Penny for Your Secrets is the third of the Verity Kent historical romantic suspense series set just after the WWI Armistice. The romance and character threads make it necessary to read in order though I suppose in a pinch one might grab one out of order.

Verity and Sydney have been through a lot when she thought him dead and he allowed it so he could pursue traitors in his army unit and then she rushed into reckless behavior and also secret service work. They are discovering that they want to keep their marriage, but also that they didn’t know each other as well as they thought and have to get used to the different people they really are. Verity is not society wife and keeper of the home fires and Sydney isn’t the carefree charmer. Solving murders and lingering secret intrigues post-war suits them better.

In this latest story, Verity’s loyalty to friendship is pitted against the stark facts of a spouse being murdered and infidelity running ramped meanwhile a secret service pal calls on her to investigate the suspicious death of her sister who used to be a mail sensor during the war and might have seen something in a letter she shouldn’t have. Verity is frustrated by both cases as they prove to not be straightforward and someone doesn’t want either mystery to be solved. Meanwhile, she watches Sydney struggle more and more with the pain of survivor’s guilt and something more carried over from his time at war. He’s shutting her out and she doesn’t know what to do about. So they soldier on and do what they’re good at together.

I love how the author can blend historical setting, meticulous attention to the era even down to how people would have acted and thought with a strong twisting suspense, and a romance relationship that is not simple or easy after being scarred by war and circumstances. Sydney and Verity both grew up old school, but in the war Verity came into her own as something different just like Sydney was battered and changed by the war. One can really see how it would be like being married to a stranger and deciding if you like let alone respect and love that stranger.

The mysteries were good. There are always layers with this author’s mysteries and this story was no exception. I enjoyed following along on the path of intrigue and danger. This book ended in a way that tells me there will be more to come from a certain quarter even though Verity and Sydney figured out the truth and who killed and why. I’m looking forward to seeing them clash with this villain again.

Those who enjoy a tough-fought romance mingled with a strong mystery and authentic historical setting should give this series a go.

1919 Intrigue with a capital 'I'!

Attending a dinner party and having the host murdered is shocking! For Verity Kent and Sidney we might be forgiven in thinking it's naught but small change for them after all they've encountered other the past years. It's not! Ada, Lady Rockman is an old friend of Verity's and due to a totally dramatic moment between the hosts at the dinner table, it seems Ada is about to be charged with murder.
Ada appeals to Verity for help. To find out who really killed her husband. The trail is convoluted and snakes back in upon itself. Add to this the unrelated death of a woman who'd worked for the Royal Mail,” in the censorship department. Verity and Sidney are forced to cast the net wide. Along the way they encounter Ada's lover Lord Ardmore, who "holds some unknown position within Naval Intelligence", and as things become more complex, Captain Alec Xavier, a man Verity became close to after Sidney had supposedly died, and Max Westfield, the Earl of Ryde, Sidney's commanding officer. Verity and Max had been drawn to each other during the time of Sidney's supposed death.
With the close of the novel I find I'm conflicted. The immediate problem may have been solved but we're left teetering on the precipice of some thing so much bigger. I felt somewhat cheated.
The complexity of the plot left me gasping with exhaustion as I mentally ran to keep up, and then the door was slammed shut, presumably to be thrown open at some time in the future. Who knows where that future will take Verity and Sidney? Judging by all that's gone before I can confidently predict it will be dangerous. I feel with a couple of things hinted at Verity may be possible accused of wrongdoing during her wartime exploits. It seems C's second in command Major Davis has had Verity's name added to the list of women "suspected of having intimate relations with the enemy.” Verity is shocked, I smell treachery in the future!
On the personal front, Verity and Sidney are leading a racy post war life style, moving from one distraction to another. Both are hiding things, immersing themselves in feverish activity. As Verity acknowledges it's "better to dance and be merry than to remember and regret." The mending of their relationship is tied in with their mental health and the cracks are very much starting to show, especially with Sidney.
I must applaud Huber for the depth and breadth of her background research. How she takes events and includes them in her storyline to give the 'wow' factor is indeed a credit to her talent.
I can't finish this review without saying how much I admire the cover art for all of the Verity books thus far. The retro 1920's block type Art Deco look that recalls Agatha Christie is stylish and intriguing, always with Verity's face turned away, enhancing her mysteriousness even as her clothes portray the stylish figure she cuts. Verity still remains somewhat of an enigma and the fabulous covers reflect that.

A Kensington ARC via NetGalley

I found Penny For Your Secrets engaging and fun to read. I loved the look into what life is like after a war.  Not just for individuals but also society as all have changed and people must decide if things will go back to the way they were before or if the changes are good changes that should continue. 

I continue to enjoy Verity and Sidney and their relationship. Because of the war they have both changed and were not together as those changes happened. I enjoy watching them as they navigate who they each have become while also adjusting to who their spouse has become. 

The mysteries were engaging and had me guessing and I really loved the historical looks into 1919 and learning about a British cargo ship whose crew vanished during the war.

PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS is marvelous!

As the third book in the Verity Kent Mystery Series, it picks up right where the second book, TREACHEROUS IS THE NIGHT, leaves off in 1919. Back home in London, Verity and her husband Sidney find themselves caught up in another murder investigation when Verity’s friend Ada is suspected of killing her husband. One of Verity’s former Secret Service coworkers also reaches out to Verity to look into her half-sister Esther’s death. The more Verity and Sidney uncover, the more they think the two murders are connected, and their investigating leads to a twisty tale of wartime secrets and a powerful new enemy for Verity.

Anna Lee Huber is one of my favorite authors, and both of her series are firmly among my most favorite historical mystery reads. But, PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS is so much more than mere genre fiction with a grownup Nancy Drew of sorts. It takes a hard and serious look at the ramifications of World War I, both on the characters themselves and on a changing society. Verity and Sidney both struggle with reconciling their marriage and their post-war lives. Sidney finally starts to make some progress dealing with survivor’s guilt and PTSD, and he and Verity both seem to be doing relatively well considering neither of them is the same person they were before the war nor that they have spent little time together as a married couple. But, I think they will always need some adventure in their lives to stave off the boredom and tedium of “normal” life.

Though the mystery of Lord Rockham’s death is interesting, I enjoyed the puzzle of Esther’s demise more. I think this had to do with my dislike of Ada. She is terribly unlikable, and I struggled with Verity’s loyalty to her. I understand their war connection but do not see how Verity puts up with her pompous attitude and flippant actions. That said the weaving of the murder plots makes for a thrilling, satisfying read.

Well researched with vivid, sometimes gut wrenching, writing, I felt like I was there with Verity. These characters stay with you long after the last sentence is read. I cannot wait for the next installment. Highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this title from the author and Kensington Publishers through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.

Penny for your Secrets is the third book in Anna Lee Huber's Verity Kent Mystery series. If you haven't read the first two, which I haven't yet (I definitely plan to amend that!) you will not be lost, as it stand alone just fine. Ms. Huber is a new author to me. Once I finished this book, I immediately went through my library to see what other books I have of hers. I am a fairly new fan of historical mysteries, and I've had a wonderful introduction to truly talented authors whose work I wasn't familiar with. Ms. Huber is definitely a must-read author for me now!

Verity Kent was formerly a Secret Service agent during the Great War, during a time she thought her husband Sidney was deceased. He wasn't. Apparently she had a gift for the work, as she is still doing some investigating on her own. The latest she is working on is for her friend Ada, whose husband was shot and killed after a contentious dinner party. Ada begs Verity to prove that she didn't murder her husband, though she seems the most likely suspect. While working on this mystery, Verity is contacted by a former Secret Service colleague, who requests Verity look into the murder of her sister. Could these two cases possibly be connected?

The mystery in this book was a lot of fun, keeping me guessing throughout the entire book. However, it was the relationship between Verity and Sidney that kept me glued to the pages. Sidney let Verity believe he was dead for years, as he worked to take down some traitors. Verity is finding it hard to let go of her resentment of Sidney for allowing her to suffer over her loss of him for years. Sidney, on the other hand, is having a lot of trouble dealing with acute survivor's guilt over those lost during the war. It was heartbreaking watching them try to reconnect and Verity attempting to break through to him and his guilt. I think it was handled beautifully and honestly. I am eager to continue following the adventures of Verity and Sidney. Thank goodness I have the first two books in this series to tide me over until the next installment, plus the Lady Darby Mystery series to check out!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Another fun addition to this series! The Verity Kent series is exactly how I like my historical mystery series to be. It’s fun and at times light, but has substance and addresses serious issues such as PTSD and substance abuse very believably. Verity is such a delightful sleuth and I can’t wait to see where this series goes. However, I hope the next book focuses much more on Nimble and Sadie. They were my favorite minor characters in this book and didn’t get nearly enough page space in my opinion! I would love to see more of them and less of Daphne and the others. This series continues to be one I will impatiently wait for the next installment in!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free advanced copy!

This series continues to be enjoyable; in fact, I felt like book 3 was a little more engaging than the first two. The mystery was good, and I also like the way the author is handling the ongoing relationship fallout from Sidney having let Verity assume he had died in the war. I do feel like the author has a tendency toward over-explaining characters' thoughts and conclusions and could allow the action and dialogue speak for themselves and trust that the reader will come to the conclusions on their own.

After World War I, former Secret Service agent Verity Kent finds herself investigating the death of her friend's husband - her friend being the main suspect. Of course, things are more complicated than they seem, and Verity eventually gets caught in a web of much darker secrets.⁠
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I didn't know Penny for Your Secrets was actually the third book in a series when I asked for this ARC, but it didn't matter; I was able to read it as a standalone, and even though I was left wanting to know more about what had happened in the past, it didn't interfere with the experience of reading this third book first.⁠
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Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Verity is a badass detective, and while her charming husband was annoying at times, all was eventually explained in the end. The story was nicely paced, and the murder case turned out to be more complex than it looked at first, which I appreciated. ⁠
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I called the plotwist, but I don't think this is one of those books that is only as good as the plotwist - there was so much more to the story, that in the end I was just happy that Verity had finally uncovered the truth. I didn't love the ending, but I understand that it needed to be done that way so there can be a fourth book.

3.5 stars. I'm not sure if Huber is stretched too thin writing two books (or more) a year, but her last few books have lost the spark that I enjoyed earlier in both the Verity Kent and Lady Darby series. The first 60% of Penny for Your Secrets was a chore to get through. It felt like Verity was going through the motions of investigating the dual murders of her friend's/former informant's husband and her former co-worker's sister as she conducted a never-ending series of interviews to gather information.

The last 40% really picked up steam and felt more like her usual writing style, though the ending was a bit odd. Verity really shines when she's let loose in the field to conduct missions, as opposed to trying to assimilate back into her pre-war position in society. Huber also does an amazing job with making the settings and characters leap off the page, including the sights, scents and weather of London and northern France and the small gestures and movements that make Verity and Sidney feel fully realized.

My other major complaint is the same as book 2: we need either more of Max or to cut him entirely. These brief glimpses of him are just a cruel reminder of how much of a better match he would be. Verity's choice to try to salvage her marriage is completely understandable, but I expected her to ultimately gravitate back towards Max.

Notwithstanding any critiques above, I still am looking forward to reading more of Verity's adventures!

Thank you to Kensington and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

Two deaths, a missing ship, British intelligence work, and possible rebellion close to home have Verity and Sidney Kent digging up clues, history and connections in order to find the truth. The constant flow of facts can be overwhelming, but the constant conjecture by Verity and Sidney have the reader following along with bated breath.

While mysteries are being investigated, Penny for Your Secrets shows us the developing relationship between the Verity and her husband Sidney, the returned war hero. They are, at times, very close and in sync and at other times, emotionally separated due to their own war experiences. This intriguing couple will continue to grow and make the series more than just a mystery series.

I dare you to read Penny for Your Secrets and not come away with a renewed understanding of that time in history. Like any of Ms. Huber’s historical mysteries, the details are meticulously researched and beautifully drawn in her depiction of post-World War I England. The post-war atmosphere is both carefree and tense. As a reader, it is easy to see how the Great War changed society forever.

You can read the books in this series as a standalones, but the experience is enhanced by starting at the beginning. The Verity Kent Mystery series includes This Side of Murder, Treacherous is the Night and Penny for your Secrets. If you are a fan of historical mysteries, I recommend all three books!

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book three in the Verity Kent Mystery series, Penny For Your Secrets could be read as a stand-alone, I guess, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Each book of the series builds upon its predecessor, and it would be a mistake to not have that context here. It’s an utterly engrossing mystery that left me wondering more “why” instead of “who”, and introduced a rather Moriarty-esque character I expect to hear from again in future books.

This story also continues to provide the gut punching examination of survivors guilt, returning home as something different than when you left, and forgiving yourself for choices made under extreme circumstances. Both Verity and Sidney, her husband, struggle with these issues to varying degrees. It makes the series more difficult to read - experiencing our lead characters struggles - but also makes it all the more rewarding when we reach the end.

I was unsure of this series when it first began, but with each book the author has earned my trust in the direction of the series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm a huge fan of another series by this author that is set in a completely different time period with a completely different setup. I was curious about just how this book would work? Would the two very very different series feel the same? What works for 1830 is hardly going to play for 1919. However, as it turned out there was no need to worry. The tone and basic feel of this book was completely different from the Lady Darby series. While that series is darkly atmospheric this one was brighter with a bit more flash. This is champagne while Lady Darby is a good Scotch. Both delightful but totally different.



That isn't to say this is silly or fluffy. There's a lot of darkness and a lot of pain lurking among the bright lights and fancy parties. Verity and her husband are just coming back together after a long separation during the war. There's hurt and anger and just plain adapting to the different people they've become. The mystery reflects the complicated immediate post-war reality of 1919 London without ever feeling melodramatic or angst ridden. This isn't a world without hope but it's a world that is just beginning to heal.



The mystery is interesting pulling possible motives and connections from everyday life as well as shadowy WWI secrets. My only complaint is that it did feel like it took some time for the actual mysteries to really gain traction. I enjoyed getting to know Verity and her husband but the first third or so of the book felt far more character driven with a dash of mystery instead of having the murders front and center. That said the pacing never felt bogged down and time spent with the Kents' made up for the lack of progress in the murder investigation. This is the 3rd book in the Verity Kent series but I had absolutely no problem jumping into the series right here.

This is a classic crime novel, setting shortly after world war 2 ended.
It is the third book in the series.

The author has a good flow and you instantly fall back in time.She describes the surroundings in vivid color and the characters are very well written.
I've read some novels that fall in that time period and I like the flair and the lifestyle.
If you a re a fa of the series Bletchley Circle, or the Enigma Movie you are really going to like this books.

The crime is a classic one, with a litte Agatha Christie Feeling, I likes that a lot.

And I am very thankful that I got the chance to read this book.

As always thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC of Penny for your Secrets in exchange for an honest review.

Set in London after the Great War Sydeny (Verity's husband) just returned home after being presumed dead. Verity and Sydney receive a phone call and learn that Lord Marcham was murdered, presumably by Ada. This is where the story really begins. However, for me, it moved really slowly. I found myself having to go back to try and remember who was who and what their role was throughout the story. My own fault for not realizing this sooner, but this is actually the third book in a series, and if had read the others, I might not have been so confused on the characters. Regardless, I found the story to be a good one overall and it held my attention throughout despite my feelings of it moving a bit slow.

Penny for Your Secrets (Verity Kent #3) by Anna Lee Huber 5 stars

This is a series set in the time between WWI and WWII. We meet the main character Verity Kent in the first book - This Side of Murder. In that book, Verity is investigating a rumor that her husband, who was reported dead in the war, is still alive. Verity was not idle during the war, After hearing that she was widowed, she became an agent for the British Secret Service. She worked behind enemy lines and provided intelligence to the British. The book was excellent and if you haven't read it you should.

This book takes place in 1919 and at the start Verity and her husband are attending a party at the home of the Marquis of Rockham. Ada, Lady Rockham is someone Verity knew while she was working. There is a scene at the party that shows Lord and Lady Rockham are not experiencing marital bliss. Ada phones in the middle of night to say Lord Rockham has been killed and begs Verity to help. When Scotland Yard shows up, Ada is an obvious suspect because of the quarrel; even Verity isn't sure that she is innocent. A few days later, a former colleague shows up and asks Verity for help. Her sister has been murdered and she thinks that it was something more than an interrupted robbery. Two deaths - unrelated or connected, you have to read the book to find out.

The book also introduces Lord Ardmore, Ada's lover and the Director of Naval Intelligence. He makes Verity and several of her friends very uneasy. He is very manipulative and in this book, his motivations are unknown.

I found this book to be engrossing and enjoyable. While I wasn't surprised at who killed Lord Rockham, the other threads in the mystery kept my attention. The plot line in this book may run through the next few books and that will be exciting. I really liked the interaction between Verity and her husband, Sidney. He has problems assimilating to civilian life and the war has marked him. How they deal with each shows that the are willing to work for their marriage.. I hope that Ms. Huber will not end this series anytime soon.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

I was excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books of Penny for your Secrets in exchange for an honest review. This is my first book by Anna Lee Huber. The setting is London, after the Great War and Verity’s husband, Sydney, has just returned home recently after being presumed dead. Both had worked in the Secret Service during the war.

The couple receive a telephone call in the middle of the night after having been at a dinner party at Verity’s friend Ada and Lord Marcham’s. home. Lord Marcham was murdered, and it appeared he was shot with a revolver that Ada took from under her seat at the dinner table. Thus begins the story.

I found this mystery to move at a snail’s pace and I found myself having to reread as It did not maintain an interest for me. I also realized that it was the third book in a series. Maybe if I had read the first two books I would have been more engaged.

Fans of historical mysteries will find this series- or even just this latest installment- deeply rewarding as while it might be set in the aftermath of WWI, it touches on issues which continue til today, notably PTSD, survivor guilt, and learning to live your different life. Verity and her husband Sydney both served and he, in order to find a traitor, faked his death. They've (mostly Verity) been able to reconcile their feelings about that but they are trying to find a new normal. She's not cut out to be a society wife and he's not sure what he's cut out for. When Verity's friend Ada is accused of killing her husband, she's on the job to solve it because she knows that Ada didn't do it. AND then to add to the excitement, she looks into what was allegedly the death during a random robbery of Irene, a woman who held a lot of war time secrets. The mysteries are good but the characters are better. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I'm curious where this will go next!

Note: This title is part of an ongoing series featuring the same characters, so there will be spoilers for the previous books in this review.

This third book in Anna Lee Huber’s series of mysteries featuring the intrepid Verity Kent sees our eponymous heroine and her recently returned husband Sidney investigating not one but two murders.  Penny for Your Secrets takes place just a few months following the events of book two, Treacherous is the Night, and although Verity and Sidney are on more of an even keel now than they were in that book, it’s clear that things between them are still delicately balanced . Neither of them is the same person who got married in 1914 after a whirlwind courtship, and the murder mystery storyline is underscored by the continuing exploration of Verity and Sidney’s marriage as they relearn each other and get to know they people they have become.  But their progress is impeded somewhat by the fact that both of them are still struggling to adapt to the world post-war as individuals;  Sidney with survivor’s guilt and PTSD while he tries to find his place in the world he’s come back to; Verity because she’s without a sense of purpose for the first time in years and because she’s still keeping secrets about the missions she undertook for the Secret Service.

The book opens with Verity and Sidney attending a dinner party hosted by the Marquess and Marchioness of Rockham, at which it is quickly obvious that all is not well between the couple.  Ada (the marchioness) - a friend of Verity’s – is Rockham’s second wife and was previously his mistress; they were in love when they married, but now things have soured. Rockham is rumoured to have another mistress and Ada makes no secret of her affair with Lord Ardmore, whom Verity believes holds some sort of hush-hush position within Naval Intelligence and whom Sidney pronounces “a bounder.”

After an uncomfortable dinner – at which Ada makes a very distasteful joke about shooting her husband – Verity and Sidney excuse themselves as soon as it’s polite to do so and make their way home, only to be woken in the early hours of the morning by a telephone call from an almost hysterical Ada, who tells them that Rockham is dead from a shot to the temple. The police are already on the scene and are clearly looking at Ada as their prime suspect, and while Verity believes her friend to have been guilty of poor judgment in her behaviour of late, she can’t believe her friend to be capable of murder, so she agrees to Ada’s request for help proving her innocence.

Just a day or so later, Verity is surprised by a visit from Irene Shaw, a former MI5 employee whom she met during the war.  Irene is desperate to find out more about the death of her half-sister Esther, who was killed during what seemed to be a burglary-gone-wrong a couple of weeks earlier.  But despite the fact that Esther’s room had been tossed, nothing was taken, which makes Irene suspect that perhaps the killer had an ulterior motive related to Esther’s wartime job in the censorship department of the Royal Mail.

Frustrated at the slow progress she and Sidney are making with their enquiries into Ada’s situation – some of that due to Ada herself, who, Verity senses, is not being entirely truthful – Verity agrees to look into Esther’s death, much to Ada’s annoyance; she thinks Verity should be focusing on her and not diverting her attention elsewhere.

As Verity and Sidney investigate the two murders, they start to realise that the crimes may be connected – they just have to figure out how.  Their investigation draws the attention of Lord Ardmore, who is very clearly a man to be reckoned with, and it sees them travelling back to France, and then to the Isle of Wight and the estate of Max, the Earl of Ryde, Sidney’s former commanding officer and the man to whom Verity had experienced a strong attraction when she’d still believed herself to be a widow.  Anna Lee Huber pulls her seemingly disparate plot threads together with great skill as Verity, Sidney – and eventually Max – uncover a complicated web of deceit and betrayal.

One of the things the author does very well in this series is to shine a light on the lives of the young people who survived the First World War, showing how their world has changed – and how, in some ways it has not – and how difficult it is for the young women who were drafted into taking on men’s roles and jobs during the war to go back to the way things were.  Verity is one of those women reluctant to relinquish the greater freedom and autonomy she gained, but is also uncertain about where she goes from here.  In the previous book, much of the time spent on the relationship between her and Sidney was to do with her wondering how much she should tell him about her work with the Secret Service and how much it would affect his opinion of her; in this one, there are still things she’s not telling him, but the focus shifts more to Sidney, who is obviously struggling with survivor’s guilt but refuses to talk to Verity about it and repeatedly shuts her out.  The author handles this aspect of their relationship very well; Verity’s frustration and fears for her husband are palpable, but one downside to this is that I still haven’t got much of a handle on Sidney’s personality.  He’s a decent man, no question, but he’s defined mostly in terms of anger and guilt, and because the stories are narrated entirely in Verity’s PoV, we’re not getting to know him in any real detail.

I also confess that I found the mystery in this book a bit harder to get into than previous ones, and didn’t really become fully engaged with it until well into the second half when things were starting to coalesce.  I’m not completely sure why that was; the writing is strong, the research is meticulous and while I wasn’t as invested in Ada’s plotline as I was in Esther’s, the story is very well put together – but I didn’t warm to either Verity or Sidney in this book; they were both a little too distanced and I felt there was a fair bit of repetition in terms of the issues that are still lying between them.

With that said, Penny for Your Secrets is a solidly good read and fans of historical mysteries should definitely give the Verity Kent series a try.  The books do work as standalones but I think readers will be best served by starting at the beginning with This Side of Murder.

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