Anna Lee Huber

Immersing herself in her painting after the death of her anatomist husband, Lady Kiera Darby is ostracized by London society until her brother-in-law asks her to use her skills to help a local inquiry agent to solve a murder. Original. 30,000 first printing.

A Lady Darby Novel

The Anatomist's Wife

Cameryn Wright

THE FIRST LADY DARBY MYSTERY “A riveting debut…an original premise, an enigmatic heroine, and a compelling Highland setting…a book you won’t want to put down.”—New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister’s estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when her hosts throw a house party for the cream of London society, Kiera is unable to hide from the ire of those who believe her to be as unnatural as her husband, an anatomist who used her artistic talents to suit his own macabre purposes. Kiera wants to put her past aside, but when one of the house guests is murdered, her brother-in-law asks her to utilize her knowledge of human anatomy to aid the insufferable Sebastian Gage—a fellow guest with some experience as an inquiry agent. While Gage is clearly more competent than she first assumed, Kiera isn’t about to let her guard down as accusations and rumors swirl. When Kiera and Gage’s search leads them to even more gruesome discoveries, a series of disturbing notes urges Lady Darby to give up the inquiry. But Kiera is determined to both protect her family and prove her innocence, even as she risks becoming the next victim…

Barbara Williford

Lady Darby has been outcasted by all of society after the death of her husband. As she is seeking shelter at her sister’s house in the highlands, a murder is committed. She has to overcome the prejudices of the past and help solve this murder.

Easy cozy little mystery read.

Lady Darby has been outcasted by all of society after the death of her husband.  As she is seeking shelter at her sister’s house in the highlands, a murder is committed.  She has to overcome the prejudices of the past and help solve this murder.

Lady Darby has been outcasted by all of society after the death of her husband.  As she is seeking shelter at her sister’s house in the highlands, a murder is committed.  She has to overcome the prejudices of the past and help solve this murder.

Easy cozy little mystery read.

Connor 

Haley Murray

Stark Koenig

The mystery was alright, I did guess the whodunnit part pretty early, but it was still well constructed and took me a little longer to work out the rest of the details, which was good. 

HOWEVER... The feminist misogyny of this book is too much, really. It's my biggest pet peeve in books with strong female protagonists when that protagonist distinguishes herself as being "not like other girls". In this case, all of the other female characters, with the exception of Lady Darby's kind but still not too bright sister, are repeatedly described as silly, simpering, conniving, gossiping, shallow, unintelligent jerks. Their silliness is evidenced by their attention to their looks and their desire for male attention, so like, super anti-femme. The men are jerks, too, but they aren't described as stupid or silly. And the redemption of our heroine is her acceptance by the smart, commanding men, even the creepiest of the lot afforded more respect than any of the women. 

There is no reason why one woman being smart in a few particular ways must be predicated on the assumed silliness of other women. If that's your measure, then you're probably not that smart after all. Especially when this character misses a crucial and obvious clue halfway into the book, which is never explored at all. I kept expecting Lady Darby, who is supposed to be such a genius and so keen to detail, to remark on this ANVIL of a clue that was dropped so early in the story, but it never came up. 

I'm all for having a genius woman teach the menfolk a thing about respecting women's knowledge, but I have no time for stories that rely on throwing other women under the bus to win that respect. 2.5 stars.

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

Heather Wilds (what an incredible name, first of all) does a FANTASTIC job narrating this series. Her voice acting is so elegant and the suspense so well-timed, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Kiera, or Lady Darby, is a fascinating lead and I particularly love the scenes of her painting. (As a painter, I am very particular about this sort of thing, and the descriptions here about the creative process are among of the best I’ve read!)

And of course, the romantic banter and tension between Kiera and “the insufferable Sebastian Gage”… 😉 I love this pair, and their sleuthing partnership. Perfect for fans of the Veronica Speedwell series! 🕵️‍♀️ 

The Anatomist's Wife A Lady Darby Novel

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