A Tarnished Canvas

In the 13th Lady Kiera Darby mystery (after A Deceptive Composition), Kiera and her husband, Sebastian Gage, return to Edinburgh for the winter of 1833. They plan to spend time with family, care for their infant daughter, and give Kiera time to finish her paintings and ready them for her first exhibition. Kiera can sense that Sebastian is struggling a bit without a case to solve, so she’s thrilled when they’re invited to an art auction. When the floor of the auction house collapses under the large crowd, Kiera and Sebastian feel lucky to have escaped with their lives. What at first seems to have been a tragic accident is soon revealed to have been sabotage, and Sergeant Maclean is on Kiera and Sebastian’s doorstep asking for assistance. Having a floor collapse seems an inefficient way to kill someone, but soon Kiera, Sebastian, and their team find that perhaps the victim was not the intended target, and it will take further digging to solve the real mystery.