Reviews

A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber

aworldshapedbybooks's review against another edition

4.0

I love this series so much. Kiera and Sebastian are some of the best detectives and definitely one of the best romances I've ever read. In this book, they're attending a party hosted by the Duchess of Bowmont when they come across a dead body. These two really find so many bodies it's unbelievable everyone really has no problems with murder.

I loved the mystery, it was well-developed as they always are. I loved the romance, Sebastian and Kiera have such a strong and functional relationship it's incredible. I also really like the side plot-line that was created about one of the duchess's children, it'll be great to see how that one progresses in other books. I'm ready for things to get a little shaken up and it's kind of annoying to me that a certain character was so hypocritical on Kiera in previous novels given this revelation.

I don't like how often Kiera has to say that she's not like other ladies or like other members of the aristocracy. I think that it's pretty obvious from content that she behaves differently and at this point we're eight books in and we don't need to be constantly reminded about it. I was also annoyed by how rude her family members were being in this one. I really liked Alana and Trevor as characters and appreciated how supportive they always were. Now I'm not sure though- you shouldn't really take anything that an injured pregnant woman says so seriously especially after you were the one to insult her first and she extended you an olive branch.

Even with those things considered, I can't wait until the next in this series. I'm excited for Kiera to have her baby and nervous to see what could possibly be worse than a cholera epidemic.

This review and all my others can be found at: https://aworldshapedbybooks.blogspot.com/

larisa2021's review against another edition

4.0

This series is consistently excellent.

lsneal's review against another edition

4.0

In this installment of the Lady Darby mysteries, Kiera and her husband, Sebastian Gage, find themselves at the Duchess of Bowmont's estate, to celebrate at her notorious Twelfth Night party, before Kiera finishes painting the Duchess' portrait. As usual, a dead body appears to spoil what should be a joyous occasion. This mystery has more twists and turns than usual, as no one is actually sure who the body belongs to for much of the book, and nearly all of the suspects are close friends of Kiera and Sebastian. I thought the impact of Kiera's pregnancy on her ability to do her work, and on her mental and emotional state, was particularly well-thought-out and well-handled. And, of course, there were more revelations that raise questions about and deepen our understanding of certain recurring characters. A very enjoyable read in a very enjoyable series!

annarella's review

4.0

An excellent historical mystery, it's the first I read in this series and won't surely be the last.
I appreciated the well crafted plot, the vivid and well researched historical background and the fleshed out cast of characters.
The mystery is solid and kept me guessing till the end.
An engrossing and entertaining read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

sprinklesugarbunbun's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dk_d1337d's review

4.0

It gets a 4 if only because the loving nature of the mixed family. I feared there was going to be some resentment about half siblings and (essentially) adopted siblings, but there wasnt and that made me happy.

actually_cait's review

5.0

This pregnancy seems never ending! How many murders before delivery?

missmarketpaperback's review

5.0

I love this series so much. The mysteries are so good. Keira is amazing and I love her relationship with Gage. In this book they work on an infuriating murder as the whole family doesn’t want a murder to be solved. Some lovable characters reappear. It’s great.