Books*Reviews*Etc: MORTAL ARTS by Anna Lee Huber

Rated 4 HEARTS

MORTAL ARTS

A Lady Darby Mystery

Book Two

Anna Lee Huber

Published September 3rd 2013

by Berkley Trade

OVERVIEW

(from Goodreads)

Scotland, 1830. Lady Kiera Darby is no stranger to intrigue—in fact, it seems to follow wherever she goes. After her foray into murder investigation, Kiera must journey to Edinburgh with her family so that her pregnant sister can be close to proper medical care. But the city is full of many things Kiera isn’t quite ready to face: the society ladies keen on judging her, her fellow investigator—and romantic entanglement—Sebastian Gage, and ultimately, another deadly mystery.

Kiera’s old friend Michael Dalmay is about to be married, but the arrival of his older brother—and Kiera’s childhood art tutor—William, has thrown everything into chaos. For ten years Will has been missing, committed to an insane asylum by his own father. Kiera is sympathetic to her mentor’s plight, especially when rumors swirl about a local girl gone missing. Now Kiera must once again employ her knowledge of the macabre and join forces with Gage in order to prove the innocence of a beloved family friend—and save the marriage of another…

REVIEW

Lady Kiera Darby has been helping her sister with the first part of her pregnancy. Lady Darby had helped Sebastian Gage to solve a murder and now is trying to stay out of the eye of the public. She has neither seen or heard from him since. The family has decided to move to Edinburgh. This was so her sister could get the best care for her pregnancy. Lady Darby is not real happy about the move. She prefers the peacefulness of the country. She is not sure if she is ready to face the many different aspects of living in the city.

The family heads to Edinburgh but is met with an unexpected appearance. Some of the family are besides themselves.Lady Darby's brother-in-law has been asked to help to straighten the situation out. Lady finds out that Sebastian Gage is already at the new home and it appears there are some problems at hand. Lady Darby joins with Sebastian to help prove the innocence of a loved family friend and to help save the marriage of another,

The author takes us on an adventure into a castle and some secrets are revealed.

The story is set in the 1830's when many soldiers are affected by the war and the horrid things they saw and had to do. This happens in all wars. War destroys, people and places. Back then they had asylums where soldiers suffering from the war are put to "treat" them. Ms. Huber tells it like it is. She introduces us to Michael Dalmay and his tragic story. He was once an artist and would draw and paint graphic images of the war. He was later locked up for "treatment". When he was released his drawings changed from the war to the ones with "brain impairments" and the treatments that were given. Lady Darby is his last chance to help him heal and become whole again. He has been accused of something that she knows he is not capable of doing. I feel the author did a lot of research in order to portray the characters so well for that time period. The characters were quite realistic the book will have you turning the pages as fast as you can. It is a sad story that may make the reader shed a tear or two. In the 1830's the ways of war were not nearly as advanced as they are today. But war is war and no one can understand what it does to the soldier except another soldier. It leaves destruction in many ways where ever it goes. the story has a little bit of everything, mystery, suspense, romance, a little history and of course, Lady Darby. What a Heroine. You may want to read the first book in the series, THE ANATOMIST'S WIFE. It introduces you to some of the characters and scenes. You can definitely read MORTAL ARTS as a stand alone though.

I would give this book 4 Hearts.

I was given a complimentary copy of MORTAL ARTS by Anna Lee Huber from NightOwlReviews for my personal view. I received no other compensation.

AUTHOR

Anna attended college in Music City USA—Nashville, Tennessee. There, she met her husband while acting in a school production of Our Town. They married just before she graduated summa cum laude from Lipscomb University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a minor in Psychology. Discovering she was better trained to sing opera than Top 40, and uncertain where her future lay, she found work as an administrative assistant while she tried to find herself again.

While pondering her choices, Anna rediscovered her need for creative expression. She began arranging music, and returned to her love of writing fiction. She now pens historical mysteries for Berkley Publishing. A love of history, mystery and romance combined to build the plot of Anna’s debut novel, featuring a heroine who is a talented portrait artist with a macabre reputation. THE ANATOMIST’S WIFE, the first book in the Lady Darby historical mystery series, will be released by Berkley Publishing on November 6, 2012.

Anna is a member of Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband and troublemaking tabby cat, Pita. When not hard at work on her next novel, she enjoys reading, singing, travel, and spending time with her family.

Anna Lee Huber was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. From a young age, her imagination was boundless. She spent her summers with her four brothers and one sister playing Star Wars, wearing snow boots and her mother’s old nightgowns while swinging plastic bats as light-sabers, and The A-Team hanging off the riding lawn mower (what else were they supposed to use for the van?). In the fourth grade, she penned her first story and asked her teacher to read it to the class. Sure, it was titled Prom Duty, and a ten-year-old doesn’t really know much about high school dances, but she chalked it up as her first success. She went on to write several more stories, including a series featuring her own gang of mystery-solving teens, keeping her pen moving despite teenage hormones and a cross-country move to South Carolina.

Having dreamed of becoming a Rock Star, more along the lines of Amy Grant than Britney Spears,