Today I'm joining
Berkley Mystery
in celebrating the upcoming April 7 release of
A STROKE OF MALICE
Book 8 in the Lady Darby Mysteries
by Anna Lee Huber
Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are looking forward to celebrating with new friends at an exciting yearly soiree, but they soon learn that murder never takes a holiday in the latest riveting installment in this national bestselling series.
January 1832. After enjoying a delightful few weeks with her family, expectant mother Kiera and Sebastian Gage have been invited to the Duchess of Bowmontʼs Twelfth Night party in Traquair, Scotland. Though she normally avoids such fashionable, rambunctious events, Kiera is ready to join in the festive merrymaking. But upon their arrival at the opulent estate, it becomes obvious that all is not merry in their hostess’s home. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.
Matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the partygoers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castleʼs crypt. The corpse is thought to be the duchessʼs son-in-law who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage soon realize that a ruthless murderer walks among them—and may well be a member of the duchessʼs own family. And when the investigation takes a treacherous turn, Kiera discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.
January 1832. After enjoying a delightful few weeks with her family, expectant mother Kiera and Sebastian Gage have been invited to the Duchess of Bowmontʼs Twelfth Night party in Traquair, Scotland. Though she normally avoids such fashionable, rambunctious events, Kiera is ready to join in the festive merrymaking. But upon their arrival at the opulent estate, it becomes obvious that all is not merry in their hostess’s home. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.
Matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the partygoers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castleʼs crypt. The corpse is thought to be the duchessʼs son-in-law who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage soon realize that a ruthless murderer walks among them—and may well be a member of the duchessʼs own family. And when the investigation takes a treacherous turn, Kiera discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.
Available April 7!
📚📖📚📖📚
From Anna Lee Huber
Q&A
with Anna Lee Huber
Whenever I’m asked to write a blog for the release of
a new book, I always turn to my readers on social media to ask them if there
are any questions they would like answered. As an author, it isn’t always easy
to know what readers are most curious about. So I’m grateful for their input.
One reader queried: I have wondered if Lady Darby will use her
artistic knowledge and talent in the future, related to a case or otherwise.
Those of you who read the series know
that Lady Darby is a gifted portrait artist, and she’s used these skills in
numerous ways in the past to help with investigations. And, yes, she will
definitely continue to do so, whether it’s sketching possible suspects, or her
keen artistic eye, or spotting something off in a potentially forged piece of
artwork. As alluded to at the end of As
Death Draws Near, she will also be painting a series of portraits based on
the people she met in Ireland—The Faces of Ireland—with the goal to exhibit them
and showcase their humanity. Readers will also recall her notoriety has made
her portraits all the rage, so she will also continue to accept commissions,
but only for subjects she’s interested in painting.
Another reader asked: I just would like to know how you come up
with your plots, and also how you decided to let your readers get into Kiera’s
head.
My plots
have been inspired in a number of different ways. The plot for The Anatomist’s Wife emerged from the
development of Kiera’s character and background, as well as the necessity for a
mystery in an isolated setting. For Mortal
Arts, the story actually started with a dream I had of the scene where Will
is drawing on the walls and Kiera comes to sit beside him and help him. For A Grave Matter, I was inspired by a
documentary I watched about how criminals planned to steal President Lincoln’s
corpse and ransom it. For A Study in
Death, it was the desire to pursue the topic of domestic violence in that
period. For As Death Draws Near, I’d
had the idea early on for Kiera to investigate the death of a nun, for it
seemed feasible that in such a murder, a woman might be requested to view the
body rather than a man. For the latest Lady Darby book, A Brush with Shadows, the plot was entirely inspired by the setting,
as well as a desire to force Gage to return to his childhood home. I’d already
established this manor stood at the edge of Dartmoor—a place I have visited and
long wanted to set a book in. There is so much rich history and myth and mystery
already surrounding that patch of England, so it was ripe with material.
As far as
choosing to write in first person, inside Kiera’s head, I simply enjoy it. And
I also think it adds a layer of suspense and uncertainty to a mystery, as well
as immediacy.
A third reader asked: Will Gage inherit his father's title? If he
inherits his father's title, then will Kiera be Lady Gage? Considering
everything Gage has done for the Crown, will he receive his own title?
Yes, upon Lord Gage’s death, his son—Sebastian
Gage—will inherit his title and become Baron Gage. And Kiera will become Lady
Gage, a baroness, both by right and courtesy, as the title of baron is
higher-ranked than her first husband (Sir Anthony), who was a baronet. As far
as Gage receiving his own title from the Crown, only time will tell. No
spoilers. Although, there are a number of factors against this happening—namely
the fact that Gage will be inheriting a title eventually, and Lord Gage, who is
good friends with the King, would likely be displeased to see his son ranked
higher than or equal to him. But that doesn’t mean something extraordinary
couldn’t happen. Readers will have to wait and see.
Another reader asked: How did you choose the names for your lady
protagonists? I love the name Ella & am familiar with it, but Kiera &,
especially, Verity, were new to me.
I am a bit idiosyncratic when it comes
to names. It’s one of the first things I have to know about a character, and it
MUST fit them in my mind, or I simply can’t move forward with them. I wrangle
with names a lot. But fortunately, my main female protagonists seem to tell me
their names rather quickly when they’re forming in my head. From what I can
recall, and bizarre as it sounds, Kiera simply told me that was her name, and that
was that. Verity (from my Verity Kent Mystery series) was slightly trickier. I
wanted something a bit unique, so I started searching through name lists and
stumbled across Verity, which means “truth.” Quite fitting for a mystery
sleuth, huh? And her last name simply slid into place once I had her first
name.
One final question: Your settings are often unique. How do you
choose them?
Other than character,
I would say setting is the element of my stories I enjoy crafting most. It’s
something I’m drawn to, and I love exploring new places through fiction.
Sometimes, I’m inspired by a picture. Sometimes, I happened to visit the site
and connected with the place. Other times, a location pops up while I’m doing
research and presents itself as the perfect setting for a mystery. I love
London, but sometimes I get tired of seeing it used so often in 19th
century mysteries, so I gravitate more toward Edinburgh and rural settings.
That being said, Lady Darby Book 7 (out April 2019), is set in London, but only
because a piece of 1831 history demanded Kiera be there. However, Book 8 will
find Kiera and Gage venturing to some distinctive locale yet again.
As always, please leave a comment and
let me know what you think!
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