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ABOUT THE BOOK
The latest novel in the action-packed historical mystery series features Verity Kent, fashionable former Secret Service agent turned intrepid sleuth and high-society darling on her next clandestine mission—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries. A treat for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Ella MacNeal.
June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed—nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity’s fellow spy and friend . . .Captain Alec Xavier has seemingly vanished after traveling to Dublin to infiltrate the IRA at its highest levels. Doing her best to maintain a modicum of normalcy and stay under the radar of both the rebels and British Intelligence, Verity works undercover by day and waltzes through the city’s elite social scene by night. Still, she fears the worst for Alec—until shocking evidence mounts that not only is he alive, but that he has switched sides . . .Already disillusioned with the British government, the news leaves Verity and Sidney reeling. Worse, they learn of a conspiracy within Dublin Castle, where personal vendettas are being carried out and sanctioned by British Intelligence under the cover of revolution. With the distinction between friend and foe never more blurred—or the margin for error narrower—Verity and Sidney cannot turn a blind eye. Especially when a familiar adversary appears, bringing a threat almost too terrifying to confront—even in the cold light of day . . .
OPENING LINES
“The street was quiet. Too quiet. After the tumult that had come before— the rumble of military lorries, the scramble of people to clear the vicinity where they were headed, the pushing and shoving of those crowding the tram— any normal citizen might have breathed a sigh of relief upon turning into this calm, deserted street. Instead, I felt a keen sense of exposure.”
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
The latest from Anna Lee Huber was highly anticipated and a bold surprise all in one. The Verity Kent series, featuring a former British spy and her war hero husband, has been tripping the light fantastic since book one, but with The Cold Light of Day, Anna Lee Huber has raised her own bar to greater heights.
The seventh in this strongly connected post-WWI era historical mystery series, The Cold Light of Day, has Verity and Sidney in Dublin, Ireland during an outbreak of violence as the promised Home Rule doesn’t transpire and many Irish are not settling for Home Rule and want it all even if it means bloody civil war. Verity is determined to find her friend, whose latest assignment was to infiltrate the IRA and who has been missing for six weeks. Sidney insists on partnering with her, though they both struggle with this particular rescue since her friend was once her lover when she thought Sidney was dead.
Anna Lee Huber did her homework. Post-WWI era Ireland and its powder keg of politics and religion were painted so well that I felt I was right there on the roiling, dangerous streets of Dublin and getting the complicated situations from all sides of the equation in person. Verity and Sidney have never faced such a challenge, and that’s saying something because Verity worked behind enemy lines in occupied territory, and Sidney was out on the front lines for the fighting.
As in previous books, Verity and Sidney are presented with more than one case. This time around, they try to track down the deadly phosgene gas that their arch-enemy stole from the army, investigate a young woman’s brutal assault and suicide, and track down Verity’s former spy compatriot. This was a taut and emotional book from start to finish. There were good twists, superb nail-biting suspense, and a fab climax.
All in all, a winner and left me in that state of desperate need for the next installment. I couldn’t put this one down after it reached a third of the way. Historical mystery fans: get this series onto the top of your TBR pile!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Lee Huber is the USA Today bestselling and Daphne award-winning author of the Lady Darby Mysteries, the Verity Kent Mysteries, and the Gothic Myths series, as well as Sisters of Fortune: A Novel of the Titanic and the anthology The Deadly Hours. 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. Visit her online at her website.
ABOUT SOPHIA ROSE, REVIEWER
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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