A Brush With Shadows by Anna Lee Huber

This is the sixth installment of the delightful Lady Darby Series.  It’s coming out in the beginning of March, but as a member of the distinguished group of “F(Anna)tics” on Facebook, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy as soon as possible.  I turned to my friend NetGalley, requested it, and got approved!  Yes!  Now I can jump back into the adventures of Lady Darby and her devilishly handsome now husband Sebastian Gage.

Much like Deanna Raybourn, Huber knows how to write a woman character with strength and vulnerability.  And I love that.  Make it much more real to the reader.  Lady Darby is a complicated woman, who has dealt with many complications in her life and has emerged on the other side happily married and assisting her husband in investigations whenever she can.

This book takes the reader back to Gage’s early years at his Grandfather’s estate in the Dartmoor region of England.  Summoned by his Grandfather, it had been 15 years since Gage had set foot at his mother’s family home.  He’s called to help find the missing heir (his cousin) who had disappeared in mysterious circumstances on the moors surrounding the Estate.  The reader learns more about this family and how they treated both Gage and his mother while she was still alive.  By the time the end rolls around, the reader can understand all sides of the situation, and there is a modicum of respect that weaves through the house.  While there are tragedies during this foray into the ancestral estate, the book does a good job of letting the reader find their way through the maze of misinformation and folklore.  The person behind all the craziness came as a surprise to me, I had bet on someone else entirely!  And I got a little misty eyed at the end for several reasons, of which I wouldn’t want to spoil for any other fans.

I’ve written about Anna Lee’s books before ( This Side of Murder) and I’m still a huge fan of this, her original series.  She’s also a great follow on Twitter @annaleehuber.  If you’re in to any type of historical mystery, she ticks all the boxes in various time frames.