A Study in Death (A Lady Darby Mystery Book 4)

Crackling with tension and rising suspense, this series continues to capture me. A clever, strong, and yet vulnerable lady artist and a gentleman inquiry agent solving murders and struggling to solve the mystery of each other at the same time. I love this series and look forward to each fresh installment.A Study in Death is fourth of the Lady Darby series . This is a series that builds the character and relationship plot threads with each book so does not do well when read out of order.Kiera and Sebastian are engaged. But, if she thought admitting her love and accepting a new man's offer would be the hard part, she finds that trusting in his love and pushing away her fear is as strong as ever. Alana's pregnancy has grown more fraught with danger and she gets put on bedrest even as her husband drifts further away and focuses on his work and the responsibilities of his estate and his political activities.But when both situations have Kiera ready to burst, one of her portrait subjects dies suddenly and, though physician and husband both believe its apoplexy, Kiera can't accept that. Her intuition tells her to dig deeper and Gage trusts that and steps up to investigate beside her. Interference comes from all sides including a surprising and unwelcome newcomer on the scene and even the detecting pair themselves are starting to fall out when Gage tells her to avoid dangerous aspects of the inquiry and Kiera bristles up and forges ahead.Someone doesn't want the investigation to continue and it may mean Kiera's life and not just a shredded reputation.If I thought Kiera's angsty wavering would be over after the 'I love you's and decision to marry Gage in the last book, this one taught me that it was not smooth sailing yet. Kiera is a fiery woman and is driven by her impulses and her fears just as much as a finely honed instinct, learned skills, and a bright intellect. She is having wedding jitters in the worst way and her past is rearing its ugly head at every turn. It was painful to see her lashing out at Gage as a result. This heroine struggles so hard and works through these things. She is reactionary because of her past, but being with Gage is slowly teaching her to either let it go or find the inner strength to power through stuff and she is teaching him to open up and trust her with his painful past. They are a beautiful couple and I loved where things ended in this one.The mystery was secondary to Kiera's relationship crises, but the mystery becomes the vehicle to showing her and Gage's relationship in a good light even when they get acrimonious now and then. They have different strengths even when Kiera pulls a few stubborn-stupids that put them in unnecessary harm because she gets so determined and impatient to get to the truth. Even though I was rolling my eyes at her choices, I do love when a certain Edinburgh criminal makes an appearance or two so I let it ride. Kiera is the one who connects the dots though the culprit isn't hard to guess. It's the motive that stumped me until nearly the reveal.All in all, this was another deep feeling, suspenseful book in a fabulous series. Those who love authentic historical backdrop, amazingly drawn characters, sizzling low burn romance, and a good murder mystery then give this series a go.

A Study in Death is one of my favorite stories in the series so far. The investigations in the series show the limitations put on women during this time in history. Gage is often torn with acknowledging Kiera's abilities, and putting her in the wrong light. If her neighbors think she is taking too much initiative, they can, and often do, gossip about her.Kiera's artistic skills often play a role in solving the murder. She can create scenes described by witnesses that assist with solving a case. I like this part of the story.Kiera and Sebastian always rely on each other during an investigation. Now Lady Darby and Sebastian are admitting that they want more than death to be a part of their relationship. There romance is a slow-burn for sure. Both main characters have a history that makes them cautious in a realistic manner for the era and the individuals. I'm am ready to see them take the next step.

After reading the third Lady Darby book, I hoped this one would return to better investigations as the third book investigation left me feeling a little on the wanting side. While it was still a four star book for me, I simply felt like I needed more out of the next book. The relationship between Gage and Kiera saved the third book for me so I was hoping this one would improve the series.I am happy to report that this book had a lot more mystery and it was a bit darker which I liked. It reminded me of the earlier mystery that Gage and Kiera worked on so in that regard I was much more invested in the whodunit element of the story.So while I was completely invested in the mystery element of this book, the romance part stalled for me. I didn’t feel like Kiera and Gage were really progressing in their relationship in the way that I had seen in the previous books. I don’t know if it was the introduction of Lord Gage or if it was the illness her sister was experiencing but I felt like outside sources were interfering in their relationship a lot in this book and for some reason or other, it just stalled the progress.While that’s to be expected I guess to a certain degree, I also felt like the big Greece reveal was too rushed and didn’t satisfy me as a reader. There was such a focus on it for the last two books that I felt sure it would be something bigger than what it was. For me this was the biggest problem between Gage and Kiera in the book. I felt like the audience just needed more. More explanation and more time to process what Gage had been through.While the romance was a little off in this book for me, I felt like the mystery was better constructed than in the last book. However that said, this book didn’t have quite the red herrings that the first book had. I expected a little more in the twists department as I had come to expect from earlier books.On the whole though, while this wasn’t my favorite book in the series, it was still entertaining and fun to read. I love Kiera and Gage and their methods of investigation in addition to their wit and charm and volatile romance. I think this is a solid series and while not every mystery will compare to the first book, it’s still a wonderful read and a fun romp through Scotland!

Great book to read

Another great read from Anna Lee Huber. Love the mixed emotions between Lady Darby and Gage.

I love this series hope the next one is out quickly

Another fantastic book, this one feels more like a filler book, but it is still quite enjoyable and now more than ever I can't wait for the next one.

Ein rasant geschriebenes Buch, das mich aber dennoch nicht vollständig überzeugt hat. Die Geschichte ist eigentlich vielschichtig und interessant gestaltet, aber die Heldin wird langsam etwas nervig, es gibt zu viele Wiederholungen ihrer Ängste und Befürchtungen. Ich habe das Buch gerne gelesen, aber wegen der nicht zeitgemässen Handlungen und eben der nervigen Wiederholungen etwas Abzug, ausserdem war der Schluss zu überstürzt, 4.5 Sterne.