A Darker Reality is the third installment in the Elena Standish series by bestselling author, Anne Perry. Elena and her parents travel to Washington, DC to visit her mother’s wealthy parents who are hosting an anniversary party. Since Elena’s grandfather is a major player in the political scene of the times (1930s), even President Roosevelt and the first lady are attending the party. Unfortunately, a woman who Elena just meets and likes very much, is murdered when someone runs her over with a car. Her grandfather is blamed and arrested on suspicion of murder. Elena discovers that Lila Worth, the murder victim, was a British spy, working for the same M16 that Elena works for. Because Elena’s cover is that she is a professional photographer, she uses her time at the party to take pictures of the guests; her photographs help her clear her grandfather of the murder, but she also investigates to find the real murderer.

Anyone who reads Anne Perry knows that she does her research, and the scenarios in her books are true to historical facts. Perry’s skills at storytelling are brilliant, and readers will find it impossible to put her novels down. Perry is also excellent when it comes to developing her characters. Elena and the other main characters seem real and readers will be able to easily relate to them.

All told, this third installment of the Elena Standish series is an excellent read. This is definitely a series to watch. Anyone who hasn’t read the previous novels will certainly want to pick them up. Perry does, however, put enough information in this novel so that it can be read as a standalone novel.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This is one of those 2.5 - 3 star books, it's just okay. I have not read any of Anne Perry's works in a long time and the time period of this one (pre WWII) interested me so I requested a copy. I must say I was surprised to learn that the main character, Elena Standish, is 29 years old. She seemed much younger than that to me. Instant friendship with two people she met at a party during her second 24 hour period in the home of her grandparents didn't ring true for me. The beginning of the story is very rushed since the crime happens at the wedding anniversary celebration for Elena's American grandparents and she essentially doesn't know either of them. That isn't her fault, just shows how difficult travel might be in the time period before WWII so that some family bonds did not have a chance to be formed. But Elena hangs on to her camera during the party for all she's worth - even in one scene putting it into her evening bag, a tiny formal evening bag? - taking candid shots of guests at the party. Naturally Elena works to help solve the murder by utilizing her training as a secret agent with the British government, even meeting wealthy Americans who do not view what the German government is up to in a negative way.

The pacing for this novel felt rushed with everything happening almost immediately after the Standish family arrives at Elena's grandparents home. There was very little time for Elena to get to know her grandparents. Guests at the party also seemed unusually contented to have an unfamiliar news photographer (read that as secret agent) snapping pictures of them at play with only the explanation that Elena is the granddaughter of their host and hostess. Elena never did grow on me; it was interesting that she did not want to be viewed as "silly or incompetent" when she revealed her solution to the crime making her seem younger than her years. All along she seems more immature than her exploits in the secret service would allow. This one wasn't for me so I will not be reading any further in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for an e-galley of this novel.

I have read many of Anne Perry's novels, but this is the first of the Elena Standish mysteries that I have read. Although Perry was occasionally preachy about the historical and social context of the 1930s and of the isolationists and nativists activities common at the time, the actual plot of the mystery was well done and kept me focused on solving the crime. I actually liked the two protagonists and many of the characters. As always true of Perry's novels, A Darker Reality was historically accurate. I would certainly recommend this novel. I have actually already purchased the others Standish novels and will be reading them soon.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for a chance to read an ARC of #ADarkerReality. I really think that the Elena Standish series has become my favorite of Anne Perry's books. The newest in the series finds Elena in the USA to visit her mother's family as the world stage is edging towards WWII. As usual, Anne Perry completely captures the era and political feelings of the time.

The mystery centers around her family when a female spy is murdered at her grandparents' anniversary party and her grandfather is the main suspect.. Lots of great clues and blue herrings interspersed with political intrigue. A solid mystery and great cast of characters!

Elena is becoming good at keeping secrets!!!!! These characters are at their best!!! The setting is wonderful and just takes you back...Another captivating read from Anne Perry.!!!!!!

Elena Standish is back, this time visiting her maternal grandparents in the US. I think this series gets better with each new entry. Elena is maturing as a person and learning how to keep secrets, even when she feels she's unfairly judged by her family. Recommended for those who enjoy Maggie Hope and Maisie Dobbs.

This is an amazing series that keeps on giving. I love the characters, and that Anne Perry is always keeping me in suspense throughout the entire book - always wondering whodunit. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

This is the third entry in this author's Elena Standish series--taking place between the two wars--actually on the cusp of WWII. I have come to love this series as much as the Thomas Pitt series--Elena is a brave girl--smart, not brash, and Perry is an apt student of history, tearing back the curtain of sentiment and revealing the dark side of life--the rampant anti-war sentiment in the US (in this segment, even the pro Nazi sentiment--and our heroine must confront this sentiment in her own family--her grandfather. Along the way, the murder of a British agent, Lila worth, brings into play Perry's skill in constructing a good murder mystery and thrusting the cleverness to solve it into the make-up of her protagonist.
Perry has stepped into the modern era with the same deft sense of craft and sensibility toward her characters, readers, and plot that she has shown in her other series.
I can't wait to read more about Elena!

Published on Instagram @Tiffany_is_reading

4.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up here on NetGalley.

THOUGHTS: I love where this series is going. Elena’s work in the MI6 deals a lot with Nazism. I love stories that have a resistance against the Nazis. In this 3rd book, she is in the United States, visiting her grandparents, when a tragedy strikes, which may be linked to Nazism. She has to be undercover investigating her own family, while also trying to be supportive of her family. I really like Elena as a character, she is growing in each book. I will definitely keep reading this series to see where it goes!

Elena Standish has come to the U.S,. with her parents to visit with her American grandparents, whom she hasn't seen since she was small. Her grandfather, Wyatt Baylor, is a financial advisor in F.D.R.'s cabinet so the President is a guest in her grandfather's home when a woman Elena has befriended is murdered. Her grandfather is immediately arrested as the evidence points to him.. Elena doesn't know him well enough to decide if he is actually guilty but feels it incumbent upon her to try to find out for her family's sake. In conversations with Wyatt and his friends, they seems to be possible Nazi sympathizers. Are they? Or are they just isolationists like so many who lived through the Great War? There is evidence that points to both the murder and Wyatt's arrest being politically motivated so Elena has to involve her contacts in MI6 and do some undercover work of her own without blowing her cover or making her family suspicious.
The political mood in the U.S. in the years between the wars is realistically portrayed. Both isolationists and supporters of Hitler were actively undermining any involvement of the United States in uniting with other nations against Nazi Germany. The murder and events connected to it make an engrossing story, especially for history buffs. As usual, Anne Perry does a good job creating well rounded secondary characters that kept me involved in the story.
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Elena and her family certainly displayed the full range of emotions in trying to identify the killer. This was a very difficult undertaking since it was ” frightfully” personal. This book kept me wondering what would I do in Elena’s position.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my eARC.

Partner/ Netgalley and Ballentine

I’ve read the prior two books in the Elena Standish series and enjoyed them. It’s an interesting time period and not one I’ve seen explores much within the historical fiction genre. The Standish family and their diplomatic and M16 work has made for entertaining reading and I was looking forward to a Darker Reality.

I’m therefore sad to say that I struggled with this outing. Elena’s action and emotions just seemed odd for an individual of her age and as one who works as a M16 agent. Her adamant defense for a Grandfather she barely knew also struck me. I have to admit Elena was not a character I enjoyed in this book.

What I did find fascinating was the behind the scenes regarding the America First group in the 1930s and the mystery surrounding it. It made for some interesting while trying to puzzle out what was really going on.

I’m hopeful that Elena will mature in the next novel and am curious to see how the series moves forward.

Anne Perry never fails to draw me in keep me reading late into the night.This-is another well written multi layered story with twists and turns.Will be recommending.#netgalley #randomhouse

A Darker Reality is the third book of the Elena Standish mystery series by Anne Perry. It works as a standalone novel but there are multiple instances where the main character Elena Standish looks back on previous actions and mentions characters from the other books. Elena and her parents travel to Washington, DC for her maternal grandparent’s sixtieth wedding anniversary amidst the building political tensions of the mid-1030s.

The plot line promised an inciteful view of American politics and the machinations behind the search for innovative weapons but did not quite deliver. Elena’s grandfather, Wyatt Baylor, was previously a senator, but despite having President Roosevelt at his anniversary party, there were no other politicians mentioned. Only a few guests were mentioned by name as Elena made her way through the scene taking photographs of those who were supposed to be a wealthy and powerful group of her grandparent’s close friends.

A young woman Elena meets at the party and becomes immediately attached to ends up being murdered. At this point there are multiple shifting points of view and at times Elena takes a back seat to the action. The reader gets to know more than the main character about what is happening behind the scenes. The suspect list is quite narrow considering the extensive guest list. I expected a much wider focus, but this never happened.

There is a lack of tension as the story progresses due to too much soul-searching and reflection on the past and on political concepts rather than actual facts in the here and now.

The conclusion may be a surprise to some readers, but not others. There were loose ends and plot questions left unanswered. Anne Perry writes strong descriptive passages that set a colorful background, but I felt the energy and power of Washington was somewhat lacking in her descriptions of Wyatt and his wife Dorothy.

I am sure Anne Perry fans will enjoy this story. It is worth reading and I rate it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC of A Darker Reality: An Elena Standish novel.

This is the third book in Perry's new Elena Standish mystery series, taking place in the mid-1930s. Elena (a professional photographer and neophyte MI6 operative) and her parents, British Charles and American Katherine, are in Washington, DC, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Katherine's parents, Wyatt and Dorothy Baylor. At the celebratory party at the Baylor home, Elena instantly connects with a woman named Lila Worth, an Austrian beauty married to scientist Harmon Worth, who is working on atomic physics. Several hours later Lila is murdered by having been run down by her grandfather Wyatt's car—and Wyatt can't prove where he was at the time of death. With the help of James Allenby, ostensibly from the Foreign Office, but really a fellow MI6 operative, Elena will search for the person who has framed her grandfather and clear his name.

This all sounds terribly exciting, but...seriously, it's not. The first half of the book is endless soul-searching (with four shifting points of view) among Elena, Charles, Allenby, Elena's former MI6-head paternal grandfather Lucas, and Elena's mentor at MI6, Peter Howard, about whether it's right to involve Elena in an investigation, or if Elena is going to find out something about her grandfather she'd rather not know, or how Wyatt Baylor can be so conservative in personal values when Elena has seen the terror Adolf Hitler is causing in Berlin (and would he still have those beliefs if he knew?). It's only in the second half of the novel that their actual investigation begins and people are questioned, and then in the final quarter of the book the pace picks up with Elena finding out more about Lila Worth.

Several great discussions of luscious-sounding gowns (as always in a Perry novel) and of the calm quiet of the Baylor house and its wonderful rooms, but the soul-searching first half will make you wonder if it's worth plodding on. Yes, it is, but be aware it takes awhile.

Join Elena Standish and her parents as they travel to America to celebrate her maternal grandparent’s sixtieth wedding anniversary. From the opening description of their home, fascinating Elena with its light, open space to the split staircase with its graceful curves, the reader is immersed in the home and surroundings. Elena revels in the realization that beyond the opulence, this is her mother’s childhood home and the beginning of the book is filled with joy, reunion, and love.

That evening, there is a fabulous celebration party, where the wealthy and powerful are all in attendance, donning jewels and glittering gowns. Elena’s grandfather is one of the most powerful people in DC, and the party is even graced with the attendance of President Franklin D and Mrs. Eleanor Rosevelt.

Elena is introduced to many of these individuals and takes an immediate liking to Lila, a woman of striking beauty. From comments Lila makes, Elena can’t help but wonder if she knows of Elena’s work as a member of MI6. As Elena circulates, she begins to hear other comments among the guests that cause her some concern. It appears many of these wealthy, powerful people are also politically conservative in the extreme. She hears comments ranging from praise for isolationism to praise for Hitler and the Nazis themselves. Does her grandfather share these thoughts that are so foreign to what she does?

As Elena contemplates these issues, she also decides to make arrangements to meet Lila for lunch soon; but before she can complete the plan word comes through the group that a woman has been killed in the front car park. As more information unfolds she learns it was Lila and the death has been determined to be murder. Before the night is out, Elena’s grandfather is arrested and the family is plunged into chaos and concern.

As Elena investigates, along with another member of MI6, she learns that Lila was a spy who was delivering false information , loosely based on her husband's nuclear science research, to the Germans. The Americans and Germans are all intent on being first to split the atom, and Lila’s job was to inhibit the Germans if possible.

Throughout the entire book, the reader is offered a front row seat, as if they are sitting on Elena’s shoulder watching the action as it unfolds. The plot is complex and well developed; the resolution is intriguing, and the timing is excellent as it pulls the reader through at a regular pace. Although this is the third in the Elena Standish series, it stands alone easily. It may serve to interest the reader to the point of seeking out the first two books in the series to enjoy more of Perry’s writing. My thanks to Random House Ballantine Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy for review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I've been reading Anne Perry's books for more than 20 years now, and her latest is the third book in the new Elena Standish series, set just prior to World War II. In this installment, Elena has travelled to the United States for a party at her maternal grandparents' house. We've seen her paternal grandparents in previous books, but this was the first time to encounter Elena's mother's parents. Her grandfather is a right-wing politician with ties to President Roosevelt. When a party guest is murdered in a hit-and-run, he becomes the primary suspect in the investigation.

While I enjoy this new series, I don't enjoy it as much as the William Monk or Pitt novels. Sometimes the writing seems rushed, and she occasionally tells the story instead of showing it. But these are minor quibbles, as the story is still entertaining. I'm interested in watching Elena's relationship with her handler develop. The revelation of the killer was also very interesting.

I'll definitely read the upcoming books in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

In this third book of the series Elena accompanies her parents to America to celebrate her mother's parents 60th anniversary. She has only met them as a young child and doesn't know much about them. The night of the party she starts hearing comments that disturb her of these peoples political views, and it is 1939. After her time in Berlin, Elena really doesn't agree with what she's hearing but has to smile and pretend, she meets a beautiful woman whom she feels an instant connection with and they agree to meet for lunch at another time. Being a photographer, she takes various pictures of the rich and famous at the party with her grandfather introducing her and leading her around. After several hours a chauffeur comes in quite upset and says a woman has been killed. As the family goes to investigate, she sees it's the woman she met, police are called and they quickly arrest her grandfather for the murder. The tale begins at this point to free grandfather, many questionable people of acquaintance and theories are banded about and Elena's own secrets of what she really does is used to find the solution to this murder. Enjoyable murder mystery with the facts finally sorted, best of the series so far. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest opinion.

A personal trip turns perilous for Elena Standish after the murder of a British spy forces her to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry. This is an amazing first book in what
I hope will be a long series. This author creates such compelling characters and her portrayal of the era and the politics of the time made this one of the better reads I have had this summer. I cannot recommend this more highly. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

This book was sent to me on Kindle by Netgalley for review. It is a story of mystery and intrigue by an excellent author,’great at her craft. The protagonist is torn between what her family believes and her own values. Try this one.