A Grave Matter: A Lady Darby Mystery by Anna Lee Huber

    I don’t think I would like going to a ball. I’m not talking about the high school dance version. But the big society ones. Especially the balls in the 1800s. Where women wore tons of layers and had to figure out how to fit into a carriage. Sadly, for some, a ball might have been the only time a person could get out and be social. I guess if that were the case for me, maybe dealing with the huge clothing and too small carriage would have been worth it. Who knows, after those initial irritations, the ball could end up being a good time.

    With the death of her long-lost friend on her mind, Lady Kiera Darby is very happy to spend time with her brother, Trevor. In his house she gets her own space to paint. She also has a companion. A cat who likes to watch her work.

    Kiera’s problem is, despite the great working environment, she is unable to paint. She has been unable to ever since her friend’s death. No matter how hard she tries, the desire and drive do not come. Which is probably why it’s a good thing something else comes along to occupy her time. Or more two things. A dead man and a missing body.

    Good thing is probably the worst way to describe the situation Kiera finds herself involved in, but it is also accurate. It does give Kiera a distraction and something to act on.

    This distraction starts when a young man interrupts a ball Kiera is attending. He says a local caretaker has been killed. Kiera investigates the death, along with the mystery of the dug-up bodies being held for ransom.

Down a Dark Alley
Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    Kiera does not investigate alone. She has the help of Sebastian Gage. A man she has very mixed feelings about.

    Kiera’s attraction to Gage is not up for debate. She is clearly attracted to him. Her problem with Gage is the fact she doesn’t know much about him. He keeps much of his life to himself; frustrating Kiera who wants to know more about him. That’s why it is unsettling when Gage professes his feelings for her. Their relationship is unbalanced with him knowing so much about Kiera, and she being left in the dark.

    The matter is not helped by the fact Gage is terrible at saying what he feels. When Gage proposes, he does it in such an awkward way, Kiera is led to believe Gage only wants the marriage in order to use her. Something her deceased husband did.

    A lot of this book involved the psychological struggles Kiera has because of her deceased husband. While alive, Sir Anthony treated her horribly, and left her to ridicule after his death for actions he did while in life. There are a lot of emotions Kiera has not dealt with; including the anger she has towards her father for setting up the marriage. Also anger at herself for following into the marriage blindly. It is Trevor who helps Kiera work through her feelings and towards a more promising future.

    Promising even with more bad things to come. I say this because there are more books in the series. More books mean more murders and mysteries, and more cases for Kiera to investigate. I also highly doubt Kiera’s relationship with Gage will go smoothly.

    With that, however, there is hope everything will turn out all right in the end. The same cannot necessarily be said for the cases Kiera investigates.