MYSTERY

A Wicked Conceit

by Anna Lee Huber
Berkley. (Lady Darby Mystery, Bk. 9). Apr. 2021. 384p. ISBN 9780593198445. pap. $17. M
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The ninth “Lady Darby” mystery (after A Stroke of Malice) features Kiera Gage, aka Lady Darby, a likable, strong-willed woman detective who assists her husband Sebastian as an inquiry agent in 1832 Edinburgh. Kiera and Sebastian have returned to Edinburgh to find themselves featured in a popular novel about Bonnie Brock Kincaid—the notorious thief, Robin Hood figure, and ruthless gang leader—whom they had helped to find justice in an earlier case. The book’s publisher refuses to identify its author, much to the displeasure of the Gages and Kincaid. When the publisher is murdered, Kiera and Sebastian collaborate with Kincaid to find the killer. Meanwhile, a plague of cholera threatens, and Lady Darby is nearing the end of her first pregnancy.
VERDICT The book’s many ahistorical references impede the willing suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy a historical mystery. It’s a Georgian Scotland with a 21st-century mindset. However, like the other books in Huber’s popular series, it is a well-plotted mystery that deepens even as the twists keep coming.
Reviewed by Cheryl Bryan, Orleans, MA , Apr 23, 2021
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