Part of Lady Darby Mysteries, book 10
First published 2022
Kiera Darby has earned a quiet summer. She and her husband Sebastian Gage travel to Argyll in July 1832 with their three-month-old baby, joining a small wedding party at the estate of the Marquess of Barbreck in the Scottish Highlands. Her cousin Rye is marrying Charlotte, once a critic of Kiera's, now a genuine friend. The celebration feels simple and good. Then Barbreck invites Kiera to look through his art collection. She spots something wrong with one of his most valuable paintings. It is a forgery. When she raises it, Barbreck erupts, and the whole house goes tense. Kiera soon learns this is not the first time someone has questioned the authenticity of art in his possession. The situation turns deadly when a maid from a neighboring estate is found murdered near the forged painting. Kiera and Gage have to ask whether the killing is a warning to anyone who digs too far. As they press forward, they realize the stakes reach beyond the wedding. Rye and Charlotte's future happiness is bound up in what gets uncovered, and whoever is working against them is more dangerous than Kiera and Gage first assumed.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, adult, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, elegant, intricate, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, danger-closes-in, married-couple-detective, secrets-and-lies
Setting: Argyll, Scottish Highlands, Barbreck Estate
Period: July 1832, 19th century
387 pages · Paperback · Berkley
Content warnings: death, murder