A Perilous Perspective

A Perilous Perspective (2022) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby Mystery)

Set in Scotland in 1832

The tenth Lady Darby book finds Kiera and Sebastian are in Scotland for the wedding of her friend Charlotte to her cousin Rye.

Trouble comes with Kiera realizes that several of Lord Barbreck’s paintings are most likely forgeries.

If the forger had been able to replicate Van Dyck’s style and technique more exactly, I think I would have been less upset, for then they would have at least exhibited skill equal to that of Van Dyck, or nearly so. I was no prig. I appreciated talent wherever it appeared. But to pass off this mediocre effort as the work of a master was frankly infuriating.

One of the things I particularly liked was how the baby was an integral part of the story–not just a prop. Kiera is breast feeding, so she has to time everything to meet the baby’s schedule. Even though she has a nursemaid, she still is up at night when Emma gets sick. And Kiera gets excited about the first milestones. Plus this:

Cradling Emma’s downy head in one arm while the other plucked lint from between the toes of her silky soft feet— her grabby little toes collected it like a magpie.

That’s just so charming.

I did guess pretty quickly who the murderer was (maybe even before the first murder happened) but that’s fine.

Mostly it was a lovely story to get absorbed in.

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 8/10

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