Part of Verity Kent Mysteries
First published 2020
Verity Kent travels to Wiltshire to help her father's sister, who faces financial ruin and may need to sell the family estate. The former Secret Service agent expects a simple family visit, but the manor holds darker secrets. Servants have vanished without explanation. Valuable heirlooms may be clever fakes. Whispered rumors spread through the household staff. When a corpse turns up on the property, Verity and her husband Sidney must solve the mystery while pursuing their own dangerous quarry. Lord Ardmore, a suspected traitor, continues to evade them at every move. Their friend Max discovers a hidden code among his deceased father's papers that might expose Ardmore's treachery. But Verity begins to question whether they are closing in on their target or walking into his trap. In post-war England, where loyalties remain murky and old enemies wear friendly faces, even a seasoned agent struggles to separate ally from adversary.
Genres: 20th-century, mystery, adult, adult-fiction, british-literature, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, intricate, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse-pursuit, hidden-secrets, married-couple-detective, unreliable-allies
Setting: Wiltshire, England, Manor
Period: Post-World War II, 20th century
384 pages · Paperback · Kensington
Content warnings: death, murder