A Grave Matter (Lady Darby Mystery: Book Three): Anna Lee Huber

"Scotland, 1830.  Following the death of her dear friend, Lady Kiera Darby is in need of a safe haven.  Returning to her childhood home, Kiera hopes her beloved brother, Trevor, and the merriment of the Hogmanay Ball will distract her.  But when a caretaker is murdered and a grave is disturbed at nearby Dryburgh Abbey Kiera is once more thrust into the cold grasp of death.

"While Kiera knows that aiding in another inquiry will only further tarnish her reputation, her knowledge of anatomy could make the difference in solving the case.  But agreeing to investigate means Kiera must deal with the complicated emotions aroused in her by inquiry agent Sebastian Gage.

"When Gage arrives, he reveals that the incident at the Abbey was not the first--some fiend is digging up old bones and holding them for ransom.  Now Kiera and Gage must catch the grave robber and put the case to rest...before another victim winds up six feet under."

I was thrilled to get back into the "Lady Darby Mystery" series.  It's no secret that I very much enjoyed the mystery and thrilling adventure (as well as the subtle, steamy romantic tension between Kiera and Gage) in the first two books of this series.  I had to wait a bit for this book to come in as a loan from another library, but boy did I ever devour it once I finally got my hands on it!  A little over two days later and I'm already writing my review!

We encounter a grieving Kiera a couple of months after Will's death at the close of book two.  She is depressed and seems to have lost a good part of herself in the fog of melancholy -- so much so that she cannot even bring herself to paint.  Though she makes efforts to heal and participate in life, she struggles to come to terms with the permanent and very tragic loss of her friend and mentor.  Her brother, Trevor, does his best to allow her space, but it's clear that he's worried about her grief.  I found him to be a well-rounded secondary character and a nice counterpart to Kiera's often-brooding nature in this book.  He's a good mixture of humor and seriousness.  Having him fall one way or the other would have felt either forced or overwhelming in the unrelenting seriousness.  It was nice to see another of Kiera's siblings since we've already spent a great deal of time witnessing her interactions with her elder sister, Alana, and her husband.  While I adore the relationship that's been cultivated between Alana and her husband, it's refreshing to have a new setting and prominent new secondary character -- it keeps things interesting!

When an unfortunate omen immediately precedes a horrible murder the night of the Hogmanay Ball, Kiera knows what she must do:  she's obligated to put her investigative skills and medical knowledge to good use -- especially in the absence of anyone else suitable.  She's surprised to realize just how willing she is to do such a thing.  Perhaps this is her way of throwing herself into work that would consume and distract her from the reality of Will's death?  Perhaps she's found another calling?  Or maybe the investigation is a way to once more make her feel close to Gage?  Either way, she jumps right into the investigation and, shortly thereafter, it's requested that she call Gage in to assist (because now everyone knows they've worked together before on two (successful) occasions).  She's unsure how she feels about inviting the handsome, charming, intelligent, confusing, frustrating man back into her life, but she really has no choice.  He's been specifically requested and Kiera knows there's no better man for the job.  Gage's arrival unleashes a myriad of confusing emotions within her, but -- as he slowly opens himself up to Kiera and reveals his true intentions -- she begins to realize just how much he's come to mean to her and the real danger he might pose to her future.

The romance is a wonderful undertone to the story, though it does take a more prominent role in this book than the previous two.  This is, of course, not to say that the series has become a "romance series" -- at least not yet.  The captivating mystery and intrigue still remain strongly at the forefront.  The twists and turns of the story and investigation kept me guessing.  I wasn't sure I knew who was at the heart of the crimes almost until Gage and Kiera did.  This is no small feat.  Huber artfully omits just enough information or has her characters skim over important bits in such a way that the readers are kept guessing throughout.  I like to believe that I'm not an easy reader to fool, but Huber manages to do this time and time again.  There's real talent in this writing and mastery to the storytelling.  I find myself pulled deeper and deeper into Lady Darby's world each time I pick up another book in this series.  The enthralling mystery, spectacular characters, artful blend of fiction and historical fact, all set against the stunning backdrop of England and (mainly) Scotland serve to create a fascinating world perfect for a reader's escape.

There were a few grammatical errors (I think they were just missed in the editing process), but they tripped me up where I had to make sure it was a typo and not just a turn of phrase I didn't comprehend the first time around.  I don't blame this on Huber, but the editing process.  These were tiny word errors rather than plot holes or mistakes, so I won't judge them too harshly.

As always, I highly recommend Huber's writing.  She has a knack for writing thrilling stories and amazing characters -- all while managing to stay true to their very strong, individual personalities throughout the series (at least thus far).  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Kiera and Gage.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation: Brad Ricca

“IN 1917, ON THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE’S DAY, EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD RUTH CRUGER DISAPPEARED. WHEN THE POLICE GAVE UP, A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN IN BLACK VOWED TO FIND HER…

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmestells the true story of Grace Humiston, the detective and lawyer who turned her back on New York society life to become one of the nation’s greatest crime fighters during an era when women were rarely involved with investigations.  After agreeing to take the sensational Cruger case, Grace and her partner, the hardboiled detective Julius J. Kron, navigated a dangerous web of secret boyfriends, twofaced cops, underground tunnels, rumors of white slavery, and a mysterious pale man, in a desperate race against time.

“Grace’s motto ‘Justice for those of limited means’ led her to strange cases all over the world. From defending an innocent giant on death row to investigating an island in Arkansas with a terrible secret, from warring halls of Congress to a crumbling medieval tower in Italy, Grace solved crimes in between shopping at Bergdorf Goodman and being marked for death by the sinister Black Hand.  Grace was appointed the first female U.S. district attorney in history and the first female consulting detective to the New York Police Department.  Despite her many successes in social justice, at the height of her powers Grace began to see chilling connections in the cases she solved, leading to a final showdown with her most fearsome adversary of all.

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmesis the first-ever narrative biography of this singular woman the press nicknamed after fiction’s greatest detective.  Her poignant story reveals important clues about the relationship between missing girls, the media, and the real truth of crime stories.  The great mystery of Grace’s life—and the haunting twist ending of the book—is how one woman could become so famous only to disappear from history completely.”

As the year draws to a close I realize there has gradually become a sad gap in my reading materials.  There was a loss in my family that hit very, very close to home and I fear that put a rather large dampener on my desire and will to immerse myself in reading -- no matter how escapist I normally find this activity to be.  It's been a little over three weeks now and I'm just beginning to get back into some of my normal habits (less the interruptions of the holidays) in time to try to finish a few more books before the year ends.  I still want to try to keep my tally up (even if I don't think I'll achieve my goal to complete the 2018 reading challenge I began a little bit late into the year)!

This book was yet another Pinterest find; however, I didn't realize it was nonfiction until I went to go pick it up at my local library and the catalog sent me to the nonfiction section (thank you all those years working as a nonfiction page at my local library for helping make my search through the Dewey Decimal System painless).  I've been on a bit of a "Sherlock Holmes" kick in my reading and television watching, so this book naturally caught my eye as I was scrolling through my feed.  A female Sherlock?  Set in early Twentieth Century New York?  I was intrigued.  When I discovered this was actually a work of nonfiction, I was still interested, if a little bit unsure.  I must admit that my occasional fascination with true crime shows were what made me end up borrowing this book.  The few reviews I did skim indicated that, while this book was a work of nonfiction, it read more like fiction.  This was spot-on.  Ricca's writing is vivid with details and he crafts settings like one would expect from a work of fiction.  This serves to transport the reader rather than talk "at" the reader, which is sometimes the greatest pitfall of nonfiction.  Instead of feeling like I was reading a transcribed lecture, the book was filled with captivating details.

I found the tenacity, ingenuity, and creativity of Mrs. Grace Humiston to be remarkable and truly underscored the assertion that she is America’s female Sherlock Holmes.  I was impressed with the way in which she approached her cases and refused to accept the obvious simply because it was the easiest explanation.

I do have some criticism for this work.  The introduction with the bit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visit to America with his wife, while interesting, added little-to-nothing to the actual plot and story (other than to try to create a stronger connection between Grace and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most infamous literary creation).  I expected it to come back into play in some fashion, but it really did not.  The readers were then introduced to the mystery of the missing girl, Ruth Cruger.  Even the title of the book indicates that this is going to be the focus of the book…however, Ruth’s story is quickly shoved into the background in favor of accounts of Grace’s investigations into the white slave trade in America.  While interesting – and while I eventually saw the possible connections to Ruth’s disappearance – I felt like it really took over the book.  This wasn’t what I was expecting.  The sheer amount of research and cases and investigations probably could have amounted to their own separate book.  It felt like there was a long span of time before Ruth’s case came back into play and this slowed down my reading.  I was expecting to read about a fascinating “gone girl” case, but it steered more toward the white slavery angle and then abruptly turned back to Ruth.  I can see why this information was included, but felt it could have been abbreviated for the sake of sticking true to the book’s subtitle.  Honestly, I don’t think I would have minded this as much had the subtitle not led me to believe that we’d be focusing on Ruth’s case.  It was all interesting information and, had I gone into this book believing this was a biography about Mrs. Humiston, then I would have felt differently.

The research that went into this book was superb.  All of the details and cases, the investigations and hearings, the interviews and tactics were recounted spectacularly.  I mentioned earlier that this book reads more like a work of fiction than nonfiction and that is why I feel it was successful.  It could have so easily turned into a flat biography or read like some sort of dry account of a case (or several), but it didn’t.  The anecdotes and dialogue along with the meticulous research brought Mrs. Humiston’s story to life.  I truly believe she’s a hero for all that she did for investigative work and law in early Twentieth Century America, but I’m ashamed that she’s been almost entirely forgotten, relegated to obscure knowledge and history.  She deserves to be known for all that she uncovered and accomplished—as well as for her seemingly limitless bravery and dogged determination to truly do what was right, even at a personal cost.

If you like true crime murder mystery shows (think anything on the Investigation Discovery channel or some “Dateline” specials), then this book is right up your alley.  The writing style makes it a relatively smooth read and the subject matter is captivating.  While I had some critiques for some of the (what I felt to be) excess information, I don’t think it’s necessarily detrimental to the book.  It remains well-written and covers a very interesting topic.