In Huber’s gripping eighth Lady Darby mystery, Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage arrive at the Scottish castle of the Duchess of Bowmont to enjoy a traditional Twelfth Night party in a pleasant setting. Instead, a tour of the castle's lower depths, they discover a murdered man. The face of the corpse has been destroyed by animals, so it's impossible to identify it clearly; but Gage and Kiera do their best to understand the crime even before threats to Kiera's life give their investigation special urgency. Huber makes smart, colorful use of the details of Twelfth Night traditions, the castle's vast and sometimes sinister spaces, and the peccadilloes of its aristocratic owners and guests. As always with this series, A STROKE OF MALICE combines a well-crafted mystery plot, engaging personal storylines, and a vivid look at a fascinating period and place.

One of my favorite series and a new storyline that doesn’t disappoint. Kiera Darby is a force to be reckoned with - especially when pregnant. There are enough thrills and chills to Jeep you invested in the mystery despite wondering why Kiera and her family are invited anywhere because the ALWAYS find a dead body. Swoony without being overdone with a cast of secondary characters that are stepping into the spotlight more and more, Stroke of Malice is worth the investment in the series.

A Stroke of Malice (Lady Darby Mystery #8). By Anna Lee Huber. 2020. Berkley. (ARC eBook).

Married investigative agents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage attend a Twelfth Night house party at the Scottish estate of a Duke and Duchess in order for Kiera to work on her commission to paint a portrait of the Duchess. However, before the night is out, a dead body is discover in the lower recesses of the castle and the couple are enlisted by the ducal family to investigate. However, as it becomes suspect that both the victim and killer were closely tied to the family, Kiera and Gage begin to wonder if justice will be served.

This is an enjoyable historical mystery; with believable danger balanced out well with the detail paid to the customs and settings of the period.

The winter holidays spent with family in Scotland and a Twelfth Night Ball at her new friend the Duchess of Bowmont’s Scottish castle home seem just the thing for Kiera and Gage after the perils of their last case in London. Then a body turns up and the ducal family secrets might very well play a part.

A Stroke of Malice is the eighth of the Lady Darby mysteries that must be read in order to see how personal and relationship ties progress through the series.

The mystery in this one is an unidentified dead body that exposes an already notorious Kerr family to closer inspection. The duke and duchess produced their heir and spare and both have gone their own ways with lovers. The children between them and from their peccadilloes are loved by their acknowledged parents and are loving to one another. Kiera is not used to such arrangements and situations especially since her own growing up and recent marriage are very different. But, the facade is veneer thin and she sees how dark deeds like murder and abuse, jealousy and spite can be hidden when the family closes ranks and makes the investigation tougher. And, if that weren’t complicated enough, their old friend Marsdale is mixed up in it all and one of the Kerr family secrets touches her and Sebastian personally. Loved all the twists and turns, tension and thrills throughout.

Kiera is well into her pregnancy and struggling with her own dark thoughts of being a fit mother, juggling a career as an inquiry agent with family and home, and overcoming her unearned, dark reputation forced on her by her late husband’s anatomist work. Sebastian is fully supportive though he can’t help his qualms when their inquiry case gets long and dangerous and Kiera is all but dropping with fatigue and nearly gets killed and the baby harmed when a murderer thinks they’re getting too close. I do enjoy how these personal and marital elements are as strong as the mystery in each book.

All in all, A Stroke of Malice struck the chord pitch perfect and left me needing the next installment as soon as possible. This historical mystery series dosed with a good portion of romance and character-development is one I highly recommend, particularly in audio.

I so love a historical author who does her due diligence regarding historical facts! I always learn something from Ms. Huber.

Surrounded by family and friends getting ready to celebrate the new year, once again, Keira and Gage find themselves stumbling onto a dead body. Was it murder? Who is it? Why? Questions abound with no answers forthcoming. Tension is built as the reader follows Keira as she sleuths, even though she is pregnant. Gage is always wonderful to Keira and gives her the freedom she needs to collaborate with him and ultimately solve the mystery.

The authors ability to weave a murder into the story is wonderful. Her dialogue allows you to be in the shoes of those speaking and feel the tension and danger.

I love this series and can’t wait for the birth of their baby…hopefully in the next book!

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber

Another amazing historical murder mystery by Anna Lee Huber that I enjoyed. Huber's amazing style of storytelling with the detailed development of the setting, the characters, and the fantastic build up of the tension in a perfectly researched book is Huber's brilliance and the reason she has this amazing following of readers that adore her writing. This installment of the series is quite an interesting read that involves a duke and duchess, in Scotland with a body in the crypt. This was a truly enjoyable read that I highly recommend for its twists and great storytelling overall. Very fun to read!

I flew through the Lady Darby series last year after reading and loving Anna Lee Huber’s Verity Kent series. Both are delightful! When we meet Lady Kiera Darby at the beginning of the series, she is a woman ostracized by society when they found out her late husband had her sketch the dead bodies he dissected for an anatomy journal he planned on publishing. At the time fresh bodies were hard to come by, not many would donate their body to science for this purpose, so medical colleges and people like Sir Darby resorted to buying corpses from questionable sources. It was later found out that some of these suppliers not only robbed fresh graves, but also murdered people to sell as dead medical subjects. Kiera had no knowledge of this, and even if she did there wasn’t much she could’ve done about it since her husband was forcing her to comply by force and threats. He was an awful man, as we learn from Kiera’s memories, and so I was thrilled he died before we’re introduced to her.

This unwanted, unsolicited knowledge of anatomy as well as Kiera’s superb deductive skills make her valuable source of information to Gage, an inquiry agent tasked to solve a murder while staying at her sister’s estate. In Kiera’s estimations, Gage is entirely too full of himself, and the rest, as they say, is history! Each installment tackles a new mystery, while at the center of the series is the relationship between Kiera and Gage. Ms. Huber masterfully created two wonderfully complex characters, faults and all, so of course their journey isn’t all smooth sailing, but I’ve loved every minute!

This is the eighth book in the series, so if you read on, you’re bound to get some spoilers. If you’re planning on reading the series, which I totally recommend, I’d stop right here and go search for the first book! I highly recommend the audio version as Heather Wilds’ performance is perfection!

In Stroke of Malice Kiera and Gage are intent on relaxing, spending time with family while enjoying the festivities of a Twelfth Night Celebration at the Duchess of Beaumont’s estate in Scotland. This is a happy time for Kiera and Gage, still newly married and expecting their first child. I adore these two together, settled and joyous in their situation! Unfortunately, the happy times are rudely interrupted by the discovery of a dead body in crypt. Gage and Kiera must find out the identity of the body as well as the murderer which is not made easy by the family or guests involved.

The mystery is wrapped up and solved, but as usual I’m left wanting the next story!

It felt a little off to begin a detective series on book 8 but I really enjoyed this book and was immediately invested in Lady Darby and Gage. Despite the holiday setting it was a really fun spring escape. The writing was period enough to set the mood but was easy to read and well paced. Will definitely be reading more from Anna Lee Huber.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

A Stroke of Malice, the stunning eighth entry in the Lady Darby mystery series, is full of marvelous characters, family drama, a stellar mystery to solve, and a perfect gothic-like setting.

The Duchess of Bowmont, who has commissioned a portrait painted by Kiera, invites Kiera and Gage to her annual Twelfth Night celebration, but under the celebratory façade, the infamous family seems tense. Things go from merry to mayhem when a body is discovered in the depths of the castle. Too decomposed to readily identify, several family members believe the deceased to be the duchess’s son-in-law, but the Duchess tasks the investigative pair to find the truth even though no one is completely forthcoming or helpful. Kiera and Gage must weed through secrets, lies, and personal danger to expose a killer.

The Lady Darby series, always delightful, gets better and better with each new installment, and A Stroke of Malice does not disappoint. Author Huber does a fabulous job drawing readers into the story from the first page. Always eloquent and stylish, the writing is superbly descriptive, ripe with details without becoming tedious. I felt like I was right in the middle of the action, my senses transported to nineteenth century Scotland.

The victim’s identity and the killer’s motive present quite the puzzle to figure out, and I enjoyed investigating alongside Kiera, Gage, and their maid and valet. This time around even Kiera’s brother Trevor puts on his sleuthing cap. Considering the duchess’s family is notorious for its scandals, the secrets they desperately try to keep concealed make Kiera and Gage’s job all the more difficult. There is also an amazing revelation unrelated to the mystery that I cannot wait to see how it plays out in future books.

Huber excels at drawing wonderful, complex characters. Kiera is admirable, stronger than she realizes (though I think she is recognizing her fortitude more), smart, and relatable. She is ahead of her time, as is her relationship with Gage, but I would not change a thing. Gage is quite progressive, and his obvious respect and care for Kiera is endearing and notable. Handsome, intelligent, grounded, and noble – he is one of my favorite characters in fiction.

A Stroke of Malice is sure to be one of my favorite books of the year. Highly recommend!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Oh, what fine bones support this series! Pleasure and enjoyment in every title.

From the first book, particular people and ordinary-seeming plot structures were established, and that first book was a good one. But the magic of how those same people and structures have developed through the series is amazing!

This eighth title in the series, A Stroke of Malice, continues to satisfy, yet with completely different mysteries and murders and in a fresh setting. Those characters we first became attached to in the earlier titles develop ever more satisfyingly. The intrigues are singular in this latest book, but the same engaging characters work together to make this a compelling read.

This was a book I didn't want to quit reading - I loved the clever resolution of the intrigue and the crime. And I avidly soaked up every new development in the story arc across the series.

Happily, as with each book's ending, the author is already promising something even better to come in the next release. I am a captive reader: Ready for the next adventure!

Anna Lee Huber has done it once again! Thank you to Netgalley for granting me an ARC for a favorite author once more. The historical details show Ms. Huber has a love of research and she translates it to the page with so much finesse. This novel picks up right where the previous installment left us. The Gage family is travelling to Sunlaws Castle for a Twelfth Night party. Once there, a body is discovered and an investigation soon follows. But who is guilty? There are so many secrets that perhaps everyone is a suspect? The Lady Darby series is 5 stars for me once more. A great novel for historical fiction mystery fans.

This series has quickly become a favorite of mine. From the flawless beautiful writing to the wonderful settings and riveting mysteries it truly is captivating. I adore the characters and with each new story, I love them even more.

This has truly become such a treat and a series that I have quickly devoured. My only regret is that I read them so quickly over the course of the month that now I have a long wait until the next book.
Truly a series ever lover of this genre needs to check out and read.

4.5 stars

2019 wasn’t even over yet before I sunk my teeth into this one on a cold December afternoon. I adore this series and couldn’t resist picking this one up well before the official release date to see what adventures Gage and Lady Darby get up to this time around!

I am sure a huge fan of Anna Lee Huber, I have read every single book she’s written and while some are better than others, both her Lady Darby and Verity Kent series are solid and tried and true favorites of mine and I would gladly clear my calendar for any of her books!

I picked this one up on a Friday afternoon, by Saturday night I was done with it. It was a great read that had a lot of red herrings to keep readers guessing!

Summary
Scotland 1832. After enjoying a delightful holiday with her family, Lady Kiera Darby is looking forward to finishing her new friend, the Duchess of Bowmont’s portrait, as well as attending the duchess’ annual Twelfth Night party. Though she normally avoids such fashionable events, Kiera trusts the attention will not be focused on her, but rather her notorious hostess and her family. But upon their arrival at the opulent Scottish estate, Kiera and her husband and fellow investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, swiftly deduce that all is not merry in the duke’s household. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

However, matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the merrymakers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castle’s crypt. This corpse is certainly no laughing matter, especially when it is identified as the duchess’ son-in-law, the Earl of Helmsdale, who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage step in to investigate, at the duchess’ insistence. Kiera and Gage must swiftly reexamine the facts, for a ruthless murderer walks among them and may well be a member of the duchess’ own family. Kiera soon discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.(summary from Goodreads).

Review
The last book I read in this series was one that I would not recommend reading without having read the previous novels, however this one I think a new reader could easily pick it up and fall in love with Lady Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage. But the question is, why would you want to? This is such a fun series that even if some of the books can be read out of order, you will want to return to these characters and their mysteries again and again.

This book had a lot of characters to keep track of admittedly and a lot about bloodlines. I did have to play close attention to who was related to who and how which kept me focused on the story but at times distracted a little from the plot because I had to stop and think who was who.

The murder victim in this story isn’t identified until much later in the story which makes this a challenging case for Lady Darby and Gage. There are also a lot of people in the house with motive and means to kill the victim and I loved how many different red herrings there were, just when I thought I knew who had done it, something would happen to make me question if I was right or not. I loved seeing how Gage and Lady Darby worked together to try and ferret out the killer. It was a different approach than in the previous books and I thought it kept things interesting and fresh.

This was an excellent installment in a solid series and one that I think keeps getting better and better with each book. The only thing that I struggled with in this one was the lack of progression between Lady Darby and Gage. They are expecting a baby and I suspect that the next book will have a lot more changes in store for Gage and his wife, but in this book the focus was truly on the mystery and the supporting characters who will likely be making appearances in future mysteries. I can’t wait to see what is in store for Gage and Lady Darby in the next book and I wonder if perhaps the next book will explore the hint of romance between Anderly and Bree. Looking forward to the next one!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: April 7th 2020 by Berkley
ISBN 0451491386 (ISBN13: 9780451491381)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: historical fiction, mystery

Lady Darby and Gage are two of my favorite gothic sleuths at present. This series continues to have good solid mysteries along with the creepy castle, requisite ghost sightings, and over indulged aristocracy. This installment includes another step in the Bree/Anderley romance as well as the continuing great romance between Keira and Sebastian. Fantastic escapist reading in turbulent times!

5/5 stars

I loved this new addition to the series so much. It truly made me fall in love with these characters, historical fiction novels and this series all over again!

<u>Synopsis</u>
Kiera and Sebastian Gage are back and stumbling over bodies again. When a body is discovered at the Duchess of Bowmont's Scottish castle during a Twelfth Night party, what else can our hero and heroine do but jump right into the investigation and possible danger!

<u>Pacing & Points of View</u>
I loved that the story was set in an atmospheric, enormous Scottish castle next to abbey ruins. Kiera was the sole point of view throughout the mystery and it was probably what helped make this mystery's pacing faster than most. The mystery itself flowed really well without being easily guessed.

<u>Characters</u>
I love a good mystery, but my favorite parts in this story were the interactions between characters. It felt like there was so much more heart and intimate moments between all my favorite characters, especially Kiera and Sebastian, this time around! This story had a lot of really good moments between the romantic couples in this series as well as new romances popping up! I'm interested to see how certain relationships evolve in the upcoming books. I'm also excited to see how parenthood changes Kiera and Sebastian's lives during investigations as well as the relationships with the side characters around them.

<u>Overall</u>
I really loved this new mystery that added so much to the series overall! It made me want to go back and read everything from the start just to fall in love with these characters and this series again!

*Thank you so much to Berkley publishing and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Lee Huber continues to deliver intriguing whodunits in A Stroke of Malice, the eighth book in the A Lady Darby Mystery series. I will go further and suggest that this may be the best book of the series so far!

Lady Darby (Kiera Gage) and her husband and inquiry agent Sebastian Gage are enjoying some holiday cheer attending the Duke of Bowmont’s Twelfth Night party at the duke’s estate in Scotland. But a lively party cannot disguise that all is not well within the duke’s family. The Duke and Duchess both have lovers in attendance; their children, all grown, and seemingly of varying parentage, appear to have their own issues with love, and the castle is supposedly haunted by friars of old. When two of the Duke and Duchess’s sons (Edward and Henry) offer to take guests on a ghost tour of the castle, Kiera and Sebastian jump at the chance to get away from the drunken debacle the party has become. Unfortunately for them, the ghost tour party stumbles across a dead body in the cellars of the castle. And not from the friars’ days - a body no more than a few months deceased.

The remains are thought to be those of the husband of the Duke and Duchess’s only daughter, Lady Eleanor, the Countess of Helmswick. Her husband supposedly left for Paris before Christmas but could the body be his? What does this mean for Lady Eleanor and her friend (lover?) Lord Marsdale? And what of Lord Edward and Lord Henry (and their siblings) - was their surprise at finding the body real or fabricated? Kiera and Sebastian begin to investigate only to be thwarted time after time by the Duchess and her children. The Gages can’t help but wonder what other skeletons lie in the Bowmont’s closets and how can they ever sort fact from fiction when every discussion with the family seems to send them on a wild goose chase.

Kiera and Sebastian’s relationship continues to mature in A Stroke of Malice. Expecting their first child, their bond and attraction to each other is stronger than ever. Ms. Huber packs the story with interesting supporting characters - the many Bowmont siblings, the servants, the villagers, the other party-goers, and Kiera’s family. It’s a large cast but Ms. Huber pulls it all together tightly with everyone playing an important role. The return of Lord Marsdale in this novel is a delightful addition and he continues to be an alluring man of mystery.

A Stroke of Malice is a perfect puzzle. Hints are dropped and picked up again, speculation as to the identity of the victim fluctuates and the list of suspects shrinks and then grows again. Every time I found a few minutes to read, I was drawn deeper and deeper into the story - it’s one of those great mysteries where you find yourself keeping character lists with notes hoping to identify the murderer yourself. When everything is revealed at the end, it is with a believable and clever twist.

If you are interested in reading this series, I suggest you start with the first book - The Anatomist’s Wife - to get the full backstory on Kiera and Sebastian. This one could be read as a stand-alone but I wouldn’t suggest it - there is just too much that you might miss! As with the other books, at the end of A Stroke of Malice there is a hint to what the next mystery will be. Sebastian and Kiera are off to cholera-ridden Edinburgh to await the birth of their child. I’ll be right with them!

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Well, surprise upon surprise!

Sebastian Gage and Lady Kiera Derby are all set to enjoy Twelfth Night Ball revels courtesy of the Duke and Duchess of Bowmont at their palatial castle Sunlaws in Scotland. They're an unusual couple whom like so much of "the nobility [didn't] marry for love, but married for wealth and connections." Taking lovers is par for the course. They have a spawned family of legitimate and illegitimate children who are close and supportive, accepted and loved as one.
Keira is pregnant and has been looking forward to working on a portrait of the Duchess before going into seclusion. The last thing she and Gage want is a murder to solve. When on a ghost tour through the castle as part of the Twelfth Night romp, a body is discovered, Kiera and Gage's sojourn becomes an investigation into what happened, at the bequest of the family. Assured full disclosure by them, Gage and Kiera find the opposite. Secrets and half truths become blockages to solving who the corpse might be.
Gage's valet Anderley is dispatched to the Bowmont's son-in-law's estate near Haddington to help sort things out, despite cholera raging through that area. There's some thought the body might be Lord Helmsfield's. That needs to be verified. Bree, Kiera's maid lends a supportive hand to the task.
When Kiera finds herself at risk, it's obvious that things are becoming dangerous and secrets have a way of causing harm.
Sunlaw Castle is atmospherically just the place for a Gage and Darby mystery to present itself. I drank in the heightened descriptions of this sprawling place, complete with not the so secret passages leading "into the catacombs beneath the ruins of Kirkbryde Abbey." With a rumoured ghostly friar and the various staircases leading all over the place like Hogwarts rising from the mists of time, this is a bone chilling setting. Fabulous!
I was riveted by Gage and Kiera's process towards unravelling the mystery surrounding the dead body. I was charmed as always by their personal interactions, and as new twists kept being added to the ongoing story of Kiera and Gage, I was enthralled.
Later, Kiera and Gage head for Edinburgh to await the birth of their child. Despite wanting to stay away from further mysteries at this stage, the story intimates that this just may not be the case.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley

I love this series so much, but I felt like this one was not the best. As always, I really enjoy getting to spend time with these characters, but the mystery just wasn't as good as those in the prior books and the action dragged.

"Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are looking forward to celebrating with new friends at an exciting yearly soiree, but they soon learn that murder never takes a holiday in the latest riveting installment in this national bestselling series.

January 1832. After enjoying a delightful few weeks with her family, expectant mother Kiera and Sebastian Gage have been invited to the Duchess of Bowmontʼs Twelfth Night party in Traquair, Scotland. Though she normally avoids such fashionable, rambunctious events, Kiera is ready to join in the festive merrymaking. But upon their arrival at the opulent estate, it becomes obvious that all is not merry in their hostess’s home. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

Matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the partygoers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castleʼs crypt. The corpse is thought to be the duchessʼs son-in-law who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage soon realize that a ruthless murderer walks among them - and may well be a member of the duchessʼs own family. And when the investigation takes a treacherous turn, Kiera discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day."

Twelfth Night celebrations? Can I RSVP?

Murder Roils a Twelfth Night House Party

Kiera, Lady Darby, and her husband, Sebastian, have been invited to the Twelfth Night Party at Sunlaws Castle, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Bowmont. Although Kiera prefers to avoid large parties, particularly one reputed to be as raucous as the one at Sunlaws Castle, she’s looking forward to seeing her new friend the Duchess of Bowmont and finishing her portrait.

When they arrive at the castle the atmosphere seems strained. This feeling is amplified during the festivities when the Lord of Misrule proposes a tour of the castle dungeons. The dungeons are suitably eerie for a ghost tour, but no one expects to find an actual ghost or in this case a decomposing body.

Because of the state of the corpse, it is impossible to make an identification, but Lady Eleanor’s husband has been in Paris and hasn’t communicated for weeks. Could this be Lord Helmswick, and if so how did he get back to the castle unnoticed?

This is another delightful mystery where Kiera and Sebastian have to overcome obstacles, including the reticence of the family, to discover the identity of the murdered man. I love these characters. Sebastian is very solicitous of Kiera, particularly since she’s pregnant, but he listens to her ideas and treats her as a full partner.

The descriptions of the castle are opulent but also unsettling. It’s a great setting for a ghost walk. Bree and Anderly, Kiera and Sebastian’s personal servants, play role and a romance is brewing. If you’re a fan of this series or of historical mysteries, this is a good one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.