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Zusatztext Praise for the Lady Darby Mysteries “[A] history mystery in fine Victorian style! Anna Lee Huber’s spirited debut mixes classic country house mystery with a liberal dash of historical romance.”— New York Times bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming “Riveting…Huber deftly weaves together an original premise! an enigmatic heroine! and a compelling Highland setting.”— New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn “[A] fascinating heroine…A thoroughly enjoyable read!”—National bestselling author Victoria Thompson “[A] clever heroine with a shocking past and a talent for detection.”—National bestselling author Carol K. Carr “Reads like a cross between a gothic novel and a mystery with a decidedly unusual heroine.”— Kirkus Reviews “Huber deftly evokes both [Sebastian and Kiera’s] attraction and the period’s flavor.”— Publishers Weekly “[Huber] designs her heroine as a woman who straddles the line between eighteenth-century behavior and twenty-first-century independence.”—New York Journal of Books “[A] must read…One of those rare books that will both shock and please.”—Fresh Fiction “Fascinates with its compelling heroine who forges her own way in a society that frowns upon female independence.”— RT Book Reviews “One of the best historical mysteries that I have read this year.”—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews Informationen zum Autor Anna Lee Huber Klappentext Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage investigate a macabre murderer in this historical mystery from the author of Mortal Arts. 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. CHAPTER ONE Remember, friends, as you pass by, As you are now so once was I. As I am now, so you must be. Prepare yourself to follow me. —EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GRAVE EPITAPH CLINTMAINS HALL BORDER REGION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND DECEMBER 31, 1830 The flames leaped high into the starry sky. Revelers clapped and reeled about each other in the golden flickering light, there and then gone, swallowed by the darkness and the whirling mass of their fellow merrymakers. As the orchestra behind me paused between songs, I could just make out the feverish pitches of a fiddle and the low thump of a drum playing a Scottish jig. It floated on the crisp night air through the open French doors. What the players lacked in skill, they certainly made up for in exuberance. The professional musicians playing in the ballroom behind me had also gotten into the festive spirit. Our hosts, my aunt and uncle, the Lord and Lady Rutherford, never would have stood for anything less. Most of the assemblage of local nobility and gentry were dancing, just like their servants and the villagers outside, and those who were not were either too old or too infirm to join in. Or perhaps they’d simply wished for a quiet moment to themselves. Unfortunately my brother, who’d been hovering about me all night, failed to understand this. “Kiera, stop sulkin...
