A Pretty Deceit
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4.2 • 136 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“A historical mystery to delight fans of Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.”
—Bookpage
In the aftermath of the Great War, the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee Huber’s thrilling mystery series.
Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a dead body on the grounds.
While Verity and her husband, Sidney, investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are really the hunters—or the hunted . . .
Praise for Anna Lee Huber’s Penny for Your Secrets
“Stellar mystery . . . a great read for fans of the series and all who enjoy
Downton Abbey-era fiction.”
—Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1919, Huber's fine fourth Verity Kent mystery (after 2019's Penny for Your Secrets) finds 23-year-old Verity, who operated as a spy behind enemy lines during WWI, and her husband, Sidney, motoring down from London to her Aunt Ernestine's estate in Wiltshire. Aunt Ernestine, who's in dire financial straits after her husband's recent death, fears a number of paintings and other objets d'art that she was hoping to sell have been replaced by forgeries. Meanwhile, a house maid goes missing and tensions are building between Aunt Ernestine and her son, Reg, the new baronet, who was blinded at Ypres two years earlier. In addition, Verity learns that her nemesis, Lord Ardmore, is plotting some insidious skullduggery. The discovery of a body on the estate complicates an already complex plot involving blackmail, political intrigue, and coded messages. The byplay between Verity and Sidney, whom she believed dead for three years after he was erroneously reported killed in action, lends some romantic heat. Huber elegantly blends espionage and mystery.
