As a fan of Anna Lee Huber, I have to say she is an incredible story teller and researcher.

I had a little bit of a difficult time getting into the book for the first few chapters - I just felt it was all over the place, but I promise - this is only at the beginning. Then it flows all the way through.

WWI is discussed much more in-depth, touching upon PTSD, war stories, and the superpowers (as I said very well researched). As a history buff, I love this, as a cozy mystery lover - I wasn't expecting this level of insightfulness.

The story starts with the capture of a French woman who was a spy for Germany, and ties over to the murder of a Belgian citizen who was a British informant. We also have our Mr. Ardmore and Mr. Smith very much in the story. It is difficult to know who Verity and Sidney can trust, and it questions the couple's old and new alliances. We also get more insight into Verity's wartime efforts as a spy and Sidney's time as a soldier/combattant and hero.

I rounded up to 4 stars, only because the beginning had me all over the place. But this is a well-written, well-researched book.

This 6th book in the Verity Kent mystery series is a post World War 1 spy novel with a murder. I haven't read any of the previous 5 books and had a really hard time getting into this one, at first. I couldn't keep the characters straight and had a hard time following the events in the book but, especially, didn't understand what happened in earlier books.

Suddenly, for me, everything clicked and I really started to enjoy it. It's well written and, ultimately, a real page turner.

I'm going back and starting this series at the beginning. Once I get caught up, I hope there are many more to come as I will certainly read them.

Book 6, as this continues many themes which have developed over several books it may not be an easy read for someone new to the series.

It might be March 1920, but the Great War is still very much in the forefront of everyone's thoughts. While Verity and her husband Sidney Kent are trying to gather evidence against Lord Ardmore (boo hiss, how I wish he would just disappear in a puff of smoke), Sidney's assistance is requested by the French government, they have arrested a former acquaintance of Sidney's who was involved in trafficking British secrets to the Germans and claims to have proof of treason. The woman refuses to speak to anyone other than Sidney. After a short interview with the woman, in which she rambled nonsensically for parts, they leave to regroup, only to discover that she has allegedly committed suicide, with a women's scarf which the police believe was brought to the prison by Verity.

Meanwhile, Verity has been contacted by her Secret Service boss C to help with locating some very incriminating documents which a British informant was carrying. He has been found dead on a train (very Agatha Christie) but the papers are missing. Apparently they relate to the sinking of a Dutch ship which is claimed to have been carrying German gold to the US - if the papers aren't recovered there could be thousands of people treasure-seeking.

Together Verity and Sidney travel through the Netherlands, France and Belgium trying to identify the murderer(s), locate the missing papers, and find the 'evidence' which the French prisoner claimed to possess. All the while, Verity and Sidney are besieged by Ardmore's sidekicks Willoughby and Smith, and a Belgian intelligence officer. All three claim to be helping the Kents, but someone has made several attempts on their lives and the race is on to find the information first.

Do you remember the days when I used to moan about the on-again-off-again relationship between Verity and Sidney? Oh how I wish we could go back to those days. Now we have far to much smoochy-smoochy and mildly nauseating arch comments between them and we are beleaguered by the omnipotent and ever-present Ardmore and his henchmen - just like some cartoon Bond villain. I am heartily sick of Ardmore.

This seems to be a very well-researched novel which considers the plight of the Belgians and the Dutch in more detail than I (as a Brit) was previously aware, but it did feel a bit fact-heavy at times, as if the author wanted to ensure the reader knew how much research she had done.

Overall, the plot was good but the plethora of suspects, spies, factions, and subterfuge made it hard going and I don't honestly think I could explain it coherently to someone.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I’ve read most of this series now, and I have fallen hard for Sidney and Verity Kent, both of them strong, intelligent people, and clearly devoted to each other. This one involved a lot of travel around Belgium and Netherlands, and questions of loyalty, betrayal and secrets - I admit I struggled to follow bits at times, but I think that was me, rather than the writing. I’d definitely recommend trying this series if you like historical fiction, strong characters and love that would make them take a bullet for each other.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Racing across Europe, trying to locate a missing document that has the power to destroy a blood drenched peace, Verity, and Sydney Kent are out to locate it, before it falls into the wrong hands. Being chased, blown up, with other spies racing to get there first, it becomes a matter of who can you trust? A good spy series, well written, fast paced, and would make an interesting TV series, I am talking to you Netflix!
I highly recommend! Thank you #Netgalley #A Certain Darkness
carolintallahassee.com

Still a good effort, but this one seemed a little muddied in terms of the plot, as the author tries to find a way to get information known today about the history of WWI into the path of Verity and her husband Sidney. There is a lot of to-and-fro-ing all over France and Holland, and another (unsolved in real life) historical murder used as a hinge for the whole plot, and I don't feel like it flowed as smoothly as some of the earlier books. It certainly delivers on the promise of its title, bringing even more darkness and uncertainty to characters who were already traumatized by their personal experience of WWI.

A Certain Darkness, Anna Lee Huber, #6 in the Verity Kent Series (8/30/22)

A Certain Darkness is a great next addition in the Verity Kent historical mystery series. Verity, a young British woman who served as British spy/courier during WWI who is now trying to make a life with once-thought dead husband, Sidney. While the war is now over, in the 1920s, Verity gets pulled back into service for the British intelligence to discover what happened to important papers being transported by a Belgian lawyer who ends up murdered. Verity and Sidney also have an ongoing mystery of their own they are trying to solve.

I have read the five prior books starting with This Side of Murder and I think the story makes more sense if you start at the beginning. I would rate this book four stars and look forward to reading the next one in this great historical mystery series.

Thank you Kensington Books & Net Galley for the advanced reader copy of this book. The review is currently posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon on or shortly after the publication date.

Another excellent historical fiction in this series showing that even though the Great War had ended, there was still a lot going on behind the scenes, and truths coming to light. And of course, Verity and her husband are in the thick of the intrigue. Not only this but finding out some of the truths made Sebastian so upset that Verity finally got out of him what did happen to him and his men near the end of the war. Get ready, it is horrible. Such a heart-pounding, page-turning, must read. And we know what their mission is for book #7, phew! I cannot wait to find out how to solve their next mystery.

Some series keep getting better and better as they go along, and this is certainly true with this one.
I love Verity and Sidney so much, and this book was so, so amazing!

At the start of the story, Verity and Sidney think they have some time off but they're soon called to investigate things in the continent. First, Verity and then Sidney, with seemingly different cases to look at in person. But the more they investigate, the more the cases are connected, and the more dangerous the situations become.

The premise/theory of what happened with one of the situations was historically chilling. It gave me so much to think about.

Can't wait for the next book! Highly recommend this one and the whole series!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the copy. In this sixth installment, Sydney and Verity Kent are at it again. As a formal British Intelligence Officer, Verity is still called on, unofficially, to assist in matters that usually involve the government and murder. Their investigation into treason takes them into harm's way and a world of political intrigue, both during and after World War I. Sydney aids Verity and during the investigation, he has to experience unpleasant memories from the War. PTSD was covered well, with sympathy and insight. A sleuthing couple to watch as they continue to put themselves to use, even at the risk of their own lives.

Verity and Sidney are involved again in political intrigue. This time it is hard on Sidney, going over the battle grounds where he fought and lost so many many men. PTSD is a terrible disease and Sidney is the worse for it. Some of the images are difficult to read.

The mystery is complicated; I always try to figure out who-done-it, but not this one. I finally sat back and just enjoyed the ride. Sometime the story was like a travelogue of war torn countries. Ms Huber did a lot of research for this book. Her writing and storytelling are above par. There are not many authors who can match it.

The people Verity trusted showed an entirely different side and she lost her trust in them. We will see if that trust can be rebuilt, especially with her friend Alec missing, along with poison gas, in Ireland.

My thanks to Anna Lee Huber and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. And so it is.

Recommended

After the series of events in Yorkshire the previous year, life seems to have settled down for the Kents, despite the shadowy presence of Lord Ardmore and their ongoing determination to get to the root of his actions. But as a former British intelligence agent, things rarely stay calm for Verity. Aren’t we readers glad?

When Sidney is approached with an unusual request involving an imprisoned female collaborator he knew in the war, the Kents travel to France to obtain her statement at her insistence that she’d speak to only Sidney. They are left with more questions than answers, however, and the mysterious death of the woman adds to the puzzle. While trying to ascertain what clues Adele Baverel may have left behind, Verity is called upon once more by the Secret Intelligence Service to leave France and investigate the death of a young Belgian lawyer, Jacques Offerman. A refugee living in neutral Netherlands but passing information on to the British during the war, Offerman was in possession of highly sensitive documents outlining the sinking of a German vessel as well as the truth about its cargo. These papers were stolen at the time of his murder, and the Kents are instructed above all else to locate the documents and destroy them — destroy them without reading them, an important caveat. Are these documents all that they’re purported to be, or is it a much deeper issue?

While initially seemingly disconnected, both murders end up intertwined as Verity and Sidney travel throughout the Netherlands and Belgium trying to unravel the pieces, encountering nemeses both old and new. Being back in previously war-torn areas is also highly emotional for Sidney, who up until this point has kept the experiences of his war tightly closed to Verity.

An unusual aspect of this addition to the series is that the Kents are minus their cast of friends, but that did not detract from the story and felt important to their growth as a couple, especially a couple with baggage from living through a war and secrets kept from each other.

This was a solid, fast-paced mystery, and Anna Lee Huber really excels at research. I kept stopping to look up certain villages or situations online, which adds to the enjoyment for me. As I read an advanced reader’s copy, there were grammatical and spelling errors that hopefully will be caught before the publishing date.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

espionage, 1920s, France, friction, post-WW1, historical-novel, historical-research, historical-setting, agents, suspense, suspicion, secrets*****

British intelligence is alive and very busy in 1920, especially Verity and Sidney Kent. After the War To End All Wars suspicion and hatred from one nation to another was just as rampant as it had been during the conflict, and their current assignments were testimony to that fact. It's really easier to appreciate the workings of espionage at this point in time if you read a book or two before this one despite the fact that the author makes certain to cover personal past histories of the main characters and their wartime tribulations. The publisher's blurb is a good hook, and this series has my nose stuck to the pages. Loved this one, too!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from the Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Verity Kent and her husband Sidney continue to look for proof of wrongdoing during the war. Filled with spies, double-crossed and intrigue. Excellent.

Verity Kent and her husband are continuing with their quest to uncover the truth about Lord Ardmore when Sidney is summoned to meet with a collaborator who has been arrested by the French police. but refused to provide any information to anyone but Sidney. After a cryptic meeting, Verity is tapped by the secret service to track down some stolen papers that may--or may not--have to do with a sunken cargo of gold. As the Kents deal with their individual war trauma, they must continually assess who's friend or foe and decide whom to trust. Another solid period mystery from Anna Lee Huber that will have you looking for the history books to refresh your understanding of the Great War!

Thanks to Kensington Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.