This is the 4th and best book in this series to date. This series takes place right after WWI in England. Verity Kent worked for the war office while her husband served. Verity has gone to visit her aunt who is struggling financially and is considering selling her great estate. Strange things are going on though, including a murder. Verity and her husband are investigating while also dealing with an old enemy. The setting, the time period, and the mystery all came together for one excellent read. I recommend starting this series from the beginning.

A Pretty Deceit is number four in the Verity Kent cozy mystery series by Anna Lee Huber. I would suggest that you read the series in order. While each one has it's own mystery, there is a very strong substory that builds with each book. Set just after The Great War, Verity is called to her aunt's estate to help assess the damage that the RAF officers did to the manor while billeted there. There also seems to be some odd things going on, such as people are seeing ghosts and the door to the master chamber seems to lock on it's own. This mystery keeps building. As does the sub story with Ardmore and Lord Ryde brought forth from the third book and the mystery of the Zabrina.
Well written and I give kudos to Ms. Huber for her handling of all aspects people of the time faced post war. She is sensitive to PTSD, new roles in life, wounded, dead, and other issues that everyone faced at the time, or after any war. Thank you to #NetGalley and #KensingtonPublishing for allowing me to give my honest review on #APrettyDeceit.

A very good historical mystery. I've read one other in this series, and enjoyed this one as much or more. The characters are interesting and well formed, along with good pacing and an engaging plot. Huber is a talented writer, and her books are safe bet for those that like this genre. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

I am in love with Verity and Sidney. They make the perfect pair as they both battle with wartime trama and a world that is changing. Please read this series in order as they do build an ongoing political drama even while a mystery is solved in each book. I think this series is absolutely top notch and anxiously await the next title.

This latest title in the Verity Kent series begins with a seemingly unrelated flashback to an incident during Verity’s war work. It is, of course, not unrelated, as the reader does eventually discover. The two mysteries Verity and Simon are pursuing seemed at first to be confusingly separate (and not terribly interesting), but again, Huber weaves them together later in the story.

It begins with Verity reluctantly agreeing to help her father by visiting his sister’s estate in Wiltshire. Verity’s aunt - a highly irritating character, intent on micromanaging and belittling her son, Reg, who lost his sight in the war - is distressed by the damages done to her estate when it was requisitioned by the military: careless treatment of the house itself, missing valuables, and suspected art forgeries. The Kents wade through the facts and rumors behind these complaints, and find additional puzzles in a missing maid and a murder victim found on the estate grounds.

Interwoven into this storyline is the continuing thread with their newly acquired adversary, Lord Ardmore. Together with Max and Alec, they try to unravel the mysteries involving Ardmore and other powerful men as revealed in the previous book, all the while keeping tabs on Verity’s relatives’ dilemma and a possible connection between all the pieces they’re working with.

I will say that for the first half of the book I was not enjoying it as much, but it picked up for the second half and I found it much more engaging. I am thoroughly sick of the Verity/Simon/Max/Alec love... quadrangle? though. At this point in the series, those issues and the resulting backlash just feel like they’re getting in the way of the main story. Enough already. We get it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I think this may be my favorite of the series so far...and I’ve loved them all!

Huber has a way with developing 3D characters that pull you into their worlds and leave you bereft at having to leave.

This one boasts action, two interconnected mysteries (only one of which is resolved), an arrogant, nasty villain and all of Verity’s friends/former love interests.

I devoured this and am now hating that I blew through it so swiftly. Recommend this entire series.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #Kensington for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

People ask me what my favorite historical mystery series, I have a few and Very Kent is at the top of my list! The stories, the characters, the ongoing drama and the immediate story keep pulling me back in. Ms. Huber pulls the reader into post war England, the death, the secrets, the grief, the recriminations all of it is just there as a reality and she gives hints at the Jazz Age to come - its the perfect backdrop for a woman like Verity who seemingly understands the pathos but is embracing her new freedom. Sidney is the perfect dashing Englishman and they make a great pair. Dare I say an edgier Nick & Norah? As they sped around the English countryside solving crimes, going to jazz clubs and house parties and thwarting villains? It all felt very glamorous. The writing is beautifully done and communicated Verity's inner turmoil and the drama happening around her. I especially the complex interplay between her and Alex - where is that going to go? I was struck lessby the minor, anti-climatic mystery surrounding her aunt and cousin but more how it fed into the larger "big bad" mystery - it felt a lot like filler of how to get from a to b. The true star of the show is Verity and how her mind works and how she gets from a to b. Verity is once in a lifetime heroine, a character with style and wit and intelligence and who presents honestly but still has a while secret life hardly anyone knows about. and I want to know more!

#netgalley #aprettydeceit

Anna Lee Huber does it again, I love this Verity series and this book didn't disappoint. The plot thickens with this book and Verity finds herself on a mystery hunt again. I loved it!

post WW-1, historical-fiction, historical-research, cosy-mystery, murder-investigation, espionage, survivor-s-guilt, suspense, blindness, England

Sidney and Verity have been married for five years but spent most of the time apart because of the war, so those problems are a large part of the plot. Included in that aspect is, (1919, eleven months after the Armistice) that Verity spent much of that time working in the Intelligence Division. Enhanced her detective ability but made for some problems in home life considering the time as well as their post war issues.
Verity and Sidney have been ordered off to her aunt's estate to resolve some problems that the aunt will not turn over to fully capable son who was blinded in the war. While there, a groundskeeper is murdered and some other oddities surface. As the police appear to be managing, the couple hare off to London to celebrate her birthday with friends but become embroiled in finding proof that another peer has been and still is a traitor.
This is a very busy book going back and forth between complicated issues an might be a tad difficult for a reader who is coming to the series cold. I am not, so I thought it was really well done!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Another fabulous instalment in the Verity Kent series!

I have loved how Verity and Simon’s relationship has developed over these last few books; how through shared war experience they can with one look comfort and understand each other. This book gives us more of these awesome moments between this couple. The stunning visuals Huber creates across the pages will have you imagining you’ve travelled back in time.

When Verity & Simon are called to Wiltshire to investigate disappearing servants and heirloom forgeries we realize this is just the tip of the iceberg. As the body count rises and the clash with adversary Lord Ardmore continues, will the Kent’s be able to decipher the truth of what’s going on? As always with Anna Lee Huber, the mystery woven throughout these pages hooks you in. If you haven’t already read this series I have one question… what are you waiting for? Grab this book and get cozy, you’re in for a delightful read.

A big thank you to Kensington Books for providing a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #APrettyDeceit #Goodreads #BookBub
** This review can be found on NetGalley, Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon

Kept my attention from the first page. Verity and Sidney have grown as characters, as has their relationship. I feel much more invested in them than I have in previous books. I want more of the intrigue between Verity and Ardmore. Right now Ardmore is cast simply as the villain and we're told he is devious and cunning. I hope he is fleshed out a little more and he and Verity can truly have a battle of whits in the coming books.
Enjoyed the clues that were left for the quartet to find and the description of the places they traveled.

A Pretty Deceit Vy Anna Lee Huber

To start off apparently this is a mystery book continuation, but is considered a standalone. However, I found it hard to follow with the characters. I did go and get the other books to get the jest of the authors writing style because I will be honest the first time reading it, I was bored. I felt that it was a uninteresting plot and no twists that were unexpected or even going to want me to get the next book.

I read the other books and I didn’t hate them or her writing style. The book plot after all wasn’t what I was expecting. I am positive others love this type of mystery book, but I cannot.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

If I consider that I almost did not continue with the series after book 1... well, I am glad I did. This 4th instalment in the series is hands down the best book of the series yet: the characters are well established, we have a formidable enemy that always seems to be a step ahead, a main mystery for the book, riddles, dashing about, the aftermath of WWI... all in all just a jolly good read. The perfect book for locking reality out and disappearing somewhere else. It's been a while since I was thoroughly entertained by a mystery, this one absolutely delivered.

I’m a huge Anna Lee Huber fan and I love this series. A Pretty Deceit is the fourth installment to the Verity Kent series. It will work as a stand alone novel but I highly recommend reading the entire series as characters and plots are revealed in book 1. This series takes place in post WW1 England.

A Pretty Deceit picks up where the investigation of Lord Ardmore left off in the last book. Only Verity’s family prove a major distraction by enticing her to go to her Aunt in the Countryside. We find a series of problems plaguing her aunt and cousin (home from the War). Their estate has been damaged by the use of the Royal Air Force, a servant is missing, Items have been replaced with forgeries and other items have gone missing. Her Aunt and Cousin Reg are great characters new characters! Sidney, Max and Alec are back as well! I also love the additions of her Mother and Father over the phone!

The entire novel is a grand, suspenseful adventure. And this wouldn’t be a Verity Kent mystery if there weren’t a couple murders sneaking up. I love how there are two cases going on at once and keeping pulling Verity’s attention. Huber is masterful in the details. The descriptive settings and fashions put us right there into the action.

What I found to be unique to other mysteries is how Huber captures the characters grappling with post-war mental health. She out does herself in this installment. The best examples of this are her cousin Reg who blinded and is building new dynamics with his family as the heir. Another emotional and historical example is Mrs. Green. Through the novel I learned that many women were driven to alcoholism due to overpowering fear and anxieties during wartime.

I’m so looking forward to the next in the series!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and Anna Lee Huber for the chance to read an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

This is the first book I've read in this series, so while I probably would have gotten more out of it if I'd started from the first one, I don't think it impacted the story negatively that I hadn't read them in order. I enjoyed the mystery portion and the relationships between the characters.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book in the Verity Kent mystery series. Set in the year following the end of WWI, Verity continues to look into the larger mystery involving Lord Ardmore. I really like how Anna Lee Huber continues to write Verity and Sidney as two people who are communicating and still learning some things about what happened to each other when Sidney was presumed dead.

Verity Kent is still getting re-acquainted with her returned-from-the-dead husband Sidney when her parents strongly suggest that she visit her aunt who's worried about damage done to the estate by billeted airmen during the work and a missing maid. As a further complication, Verity and Sidney are still trying to uncover the machinations of Lord Ardmore. Verity is struggling with her memories of the war and the men who died in the trenches, including her brother and cousin, but her training stands her in good stead as she tracks down murderers and thieves.

A solid period mystery with great characters.

Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for access to a digital ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for a copy of A Pretty Deceit in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth Verity Kent book in the series. It opens in April 1918 in Bailleul, France where Verity has been sent to warn a Brigadier General that there is a traitor in his midst. Moments after leaving his location there is an explosion.

The story continues in October 1919 in Wiltshire, England where Verity and her husband Sidney travel to assist her father's sister Ernestine after she claims that heirlooms have gone missing from their crumbling home Littlemote House. There is also a matter of a missing servant and a possible ghost.

While an interesting story, it starts off rather slowly and there are many details to sift through.

A Pretty Deceit continues the high quality of this series. Historical detail, compelling plot and complex characters make for a rewarding read. I finished the book in one day and am looking forward to the next title in the series.

Anna Lee Huber recently tweeted that her mother was disappointed in Huber's career choice. I, for one, am not disappointed. I am ecstatic!

Huber is a story teller par excellence, and that excellence is on display again in A Pretty Deceit, her fourth entry in the Verity Kent series. Verity has been tapped by her aunt to solve a series of thefts from her manorial home, which coincided with the disappearance of one of her aunt's maids. On the surface, the mystery seems easily solved, but Verity and war hero husband Sidney discover ties to their arch nemesis,, and possible traitor, Lord Ardmore.

As is usual with Huber's series, the action is heightened with the evolution of the relationships among the characters, especially that of Verity and Sidney as their trust in each other, at one point shattered by decisions made in war time, deepens.

Verdict: A worthy entry into a quality series.

Please do not become a dentist, Ms. Huber! Your readers would be inconsolable!.