I seriously think that Anna Lee Huber just needs to write all of the books. She is concurrently writing two of my absolute favourite series in the genre and each experience is so fulfilling and wondrous. Yet while Kiera and Gage differ so greatly from Verity and Sidney, at the heart of each experience are two men who are blindsighted to fall for incredible centered and intelligent women so different than the norm of their respective time periods.

Here, atmosphere galore swirls around a Scottish estate's Twelfth Night party which not only provides a wonderful "Closed Room" and cloistered canvas for a thrilling mystery but recalls another delightful Twelfth Night romantic suspense by Deanna Raybourn (if you like one of these authors, you will like the other).

I really enjoyed how beyond the usual whoddunit, we continue to see a deep look at a marriage of two individuals so desperately in love with each other while trying to counterbalance their strong wills, intelligence and instinctive drive for the truth. Because Kiera is expecting, the book of course delves into the difficulty of a woman very driven by a want for a family and hearth with her natural abilities. It is what sets Huber's heroes apart that they, of course, recognize that it is the outlier status of the heroines that make them so desirable---though complicates the relationships no less.


I often look at Huber's books as authentic explorations of women's roles that transcend time period. For those who want a wonderfully swoony romance and a murder and a creaky manor where things go bump in the night, you get that--- but you also get an overarching exploration on relationships, marriages and the true difficulty of reconciling a love story with tentatively separate desires to see a conclusion no matter the cost.

Luckily, Kiera and Gage always meet in the middle

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I haven't read the previous books in this series, but I didn't have any trouble understanding this one. It's an inventive mystery. I loved the historical and Christmas setting over the book. I plan on reading more of this series!

I love this series! Keira and Sebastian stumble upon a dead body on a ghost walk and once again are involved in a whirlwind investigation of not knowing really who did it until near the end. Well written and rich in wonderful details!

A rare example of a mystery series that seems to get better as it goes on -- while I didn't think the mystery itself in this case was Huber's absolute cleverest, there's so much wonderful character work going on in this book that I finished it hardly able to wait for the next installment.

I enjoyed this book so much that I've gone back and started requesting the first books in the series. I like the interactions between the characters. They mystery kept me guessing and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. - I have requested the first book so I can put it out on display

Here’s another entry in the current trend of historical mysteries featuring a strong but soft female protagonist who dabbles in solving murders among the British aristocracy. Here, Kiera (odd choice of name for a Victorian character) has suffered unimaginable horrors during her first marriage to a sadistic anatomist. Now, she’s married to the dishy Sebastien Gage and the two of them team up to unravel the discovery of a decomposing body found in the crypt below the country castle where they are celebrating Twelfth Night. This is pure escapist entertainment complete with witty dialog, appealing characters, and a clever mystery. Nothing earth-shattering, but a solid mystery that will appeal to fans of Victorian-era mysteries.

A new Lady Darby book is an event for me, one that I look forward to all year. Author Anna Lee Huber makes the wait worthwhile with A Stroke of Malice. As Kiera and Gage await the birth of their first child, Kiera is set to finish painting the portrait of her friend the Duchess of Bowmont. The Gages finds themselves attending the Duchess's 12th night party at the ducal estate, a rambling castle that proves to house a murdered corpse in its catacombs.

Due to the condition of the body, the identity of the murdered man is in doubt, although the Gages suspect it to be the malevolent husband of the Duchess's daughter Eleanor. Motives and suspects are plentiful, and even the eventual revelation of the corpse's identity does not make clear who the killer is. Kiera and Gage demonstrate a true partnership in this investigation, deferring to each other's strengths and respecting one another's insights.

The theme of identity also provides the foundation for much of the action in the book. From the unidentified victim to the duchess's tangled family relationships to Kiera's interactions with her well intentioned but controlling siblings, the question of identity gives a Stroke of Malice depths of meaning far beyond the mystery itself.

A pleasurable and thought provoking experience for the reader.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This is an excellent installment in the Lady Darby series, Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are in Scotland celebrating Twelfth Night at a friends' estate. The plot moves quickly and there are mysteries a plenty, one dead body, along with closely guarded secrets, and blackmail. There is not as much character development as in past novels, the focus here is on the mystery, I am expecting that with imminent arrival of the baby the next book will be more character focused.
I am eagerly awaiting Kiera's next adventure!

The theme of this mystery is love. How far would you go to protect those you love? What would you do to prevent a secret from being revealed that could hurt someone you love? Kiera and Gage are enjoying the Twelfth Night festivities at a house party in Scotland. Until a body is discovered on a ghost tour in the bowels of the castle. The identity of the victim can't be determined except by the process of elimination. The duke and duchess request the help of the Gages in investigating the crime discreetly but are they helping or hindering? This puzzle to solve is wonderfully complex and surprising.

This is an interesting and engaging series. There are twists and turns in the plot and everyone seems to be guilty. Investigating becomes dangerous for Keira and Sebastian , but they prevail. I hope the series continues.

This book was received as an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story was enjoyable to read and I am a fan of who dun it murder mysteries, however I do must say that A Stroke of Malice did jump a lot making it hard to follow and adapt to the plot and characters. The one character however that was easy to reach and relate to was Kiera since she was the primary character to this story. All mayhem breaks loose during a family party and the guests stumble upon a dead corpse in the family castle and now all of a sudden a family party turns into a murder scene. Kiera will stop at nothing to catch the killer even if it means digging deep to uncover some long kept family secrets. When the book got to the near middle it became interesting and easier to follow and it stayed that way until the very end. I know our community are huge mystery lovers but they like to follow along and understand the mystery from beginning to end.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. Because of the lacking beginning and the far pickup, we have to give this book 4 stars.

I have read the other Lady Darby mysteries and I found this to be an excellent inclusion in the series. I like the development of the characters as they have progressed from the first novel. I would like to see more suspense with the plot as I feel there have been duplicating events that could have been left out of this book.

This was a strong entry in this series - one of the best ones. Not much character development, but the mystery itself, as well as a strong supporting cast made this an engaging read. There’s also unresolved plot lines to look forward to in the next book. I think this author is getting better as time goes on.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher for an honest review. I could not put this one down! A Stroke of Malice is the latest in the long running Lady Darby series and as such, I would recommend reading the previous books in the series to get the most enjoyment out of this one; the mystery works as a stand-alone, but many of the characters have appeared in previous books.

After the events of the previous book, Kiera, Lady Darby, and her husband Sebastian Gage have agreed to attend a house party hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Bowmont for 12th Night. Kiera has been working on a painting of the Duchess and will continue to work on it while visiting their remote castle in Scotland. In addition to Kiera and Gage, Kiera's sister Alana, brother-in-law, and brother are also in attendance. The duke and duchess are both somewhat scandalous; it is common knowledge that the duchess's younger children are not the duke's even though he has acknowledged them as such. During a ball to celebrate the season, Lord Edward takes some of the guests, including Kiera and Gage, on a ghost tour of the castle. While visiting catacombs under the castle where a friar is said to haunt, the group is stunned to come across a recently deceased man. Unable to confirm the deceased's identity, but suspecting it could be someone closely related to the family, Kiera and Gage agree to investigate.

The investigation is far from easy when it quickly becomes obvious that the duchess and her family have many secrets that they seeming willing to do anything to keep, but does that include murder? Despite being 6 months pregnant, Kiera is determined to not only confirm the identity of the victim but to also figure out who did it. As always, the mystery is very well done and kept me guessing until the final reveal. I adore both Gage and Kiera and always love getting to see the continued evolution in their relationship. There are some interesting developments with secondary characters that I'm excited to see playout in future books. This is one series that keeps getting better!