Review: A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

 

A Fatal Illusion (Lady Darby #11) by Anna Lee Huber

Publication Date: June 20th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

A Fatal Illusion is book eleven in the Lady Darby series and it’s one that should definitely be read in order even if every book has its own mystery that’s solved by the end. There are ongoing relationships, the most important being the romance between Keira and Sebastian Gage, which had some bumps along the way but has been so worth it!

If you haven’t started the series, there are spoilers ahead.

In the last book at the end, Kiera and Sebastian receive news that Lord Gage, Sebastian’s father was attacked while on route to them to meet baby Emma. Not knowing exactly how bad the attack was, they make plans to leave in the morning and that’s where we pick up the story here.

They arrive in Yorkshire with Henry, Lord Gage’s illegitimate son he’s yet to acknowledge, and are invited to stay with the treating doctor and his wife. Lord Gage is scant on details, and when they question him on possible motives for the attack, he isn’t helpful. He butts heads with Sebastian and Kiera and is completely rude to Henry, and they even consider giving up the investigation, but as a young footman was murdered in the attack, they feel they at least owe it to him and his family to bring the attackers to justice.

I have to say for much of the story I could sympathize with Sebastian. He’s so frustrated and angry with his father, and rightly so given that he hid the fact he fathered another child, Sebastian’s half brother Henry, and didn’t bother to tell him and still refuses to acknowledge Henry. Lord Gage withholds information left and right, but by the end we do see a little bit of change and get some backstory that sheds some light on Lord Gage’s behavior. I was heartened to see Lord Gage’s interactions with baby Emma. Still, it’ll take some time to mend fences. The mystery wraps up satisfactorily. There’s also a surprise I sort of saw coming in regard to one character. Ms. Huber expounds on that storyline in a historical note, and it was based on a real-life account. Very interesting.

Every scene with baby Emma just warmed my heart! Ms. Huber captures some of the very touching aspects of babies and parenthood perfectly!

A Fatal Illusion was another winning installment that captured and held my attention from page one! I think any fan of historical mysteries would enjoy this stand-out series!

4 Stars

Book Description:

New parents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage look forward to introducing Sebastian’s father to his granddaughter, but instead find themselves investigating an attempt on his life...

Yorkshire, England. August 1832. Relations between Sebastian Gage and his father have never been easy, especially since the discovery that Lord Gage has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate son. But when Lord Gage is nearly fatally attacked on a journey to Scotland, Sebastian and Kiera race to his side. Given the tumult over the recent passage of the Reform Bill and the Anatomy Act, in which Lord Gage played a part, Sebastian wonders if the attack could be politically motivated.

But something suspicious is afoot in the sleepy village where Lord Gage is being cared for. The townspeople treat Sebastian and Kiera with hostility when it becomes clear they intend to investigate, and rumors of mysterious disappearances and highway robberies plague the area. Lord Gage’s survival is far from assured, and Sebastian and Kiera must scramble to make the pieces fit before a second attempt at murder is more successful than the first.

Photo Credit: Shanon Aycock

About the author:

Anna Lee Huber is the Daphne Award–winning author of the national bestselling Lady Darby Mysteries and the Verity Kent Mysteries. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in music and minored in psychology. She currently resides in Indiana with her family and is hard at work on her next novel. Learn more online at www.annaleehuber.com.