Mortal Arts

Written by Anna Lee Huber

Narrated by Heather Wilds

After her foray into murder investigation, Lady Kiera Darby must journey to Edinburgh with her family so that her pregnant sister can be close to proper medical care. But the city is full of many things Kiera isn't quite ready to face: the society ladies keen on judging her, her fellow investigator (and romantic entanglement) Sebastian Gage, and ultimately, another deadly mystery.


Kiera's old friend Michael Dalmay is about to be married, but the arrival of his older brother, William, has thrown everything into chaos. For ten years Will has been missing, committed to an insane asylum by his own father. Kiera is sympathetic, especially when rumors swirl about a local girl gone missing. Now Kiera must once again employ her knowledge of the macabre and join forces with Gage in order to prove the innocence of a beloved family friend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781494574918

Anna Lee Huber

Anna Lee Huber is the Daphne award–winning author of the national bestselling Lady Darby Mysteries and the Verity Kent Mysteries. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in music and minored in psychology. She currently resides with her family and is hard at work on her next novel.

Reviews for Mortal Arts

[Sarah Perchikoff · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

HAD TO KILL THE CHARACTER WILL MENTAL ILLNESS??? REALLY??? UGHHHH. The mystery was fine and the relationship between Kiera and Gage was as good as ever but COME ON.

[Katharine Bedsole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good read! I find the historical elements very interesting. Worth picking up.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

1830 On the way to Edinburgh with her sister Alana and family, Lady Darby decides to stay at the home of her old friend Michael Dalmay as he is about to be married. But there is a secret to be revealed and the case of a missing local girl, Mary Wallace. But is there a connection between the two.
An enjoyable and well-written historical mystery.

[kathy89_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lady Darby fan here. She’s travelling with her sister and brother=in-law to Edinburgh because her sister is having a difficult pregnancy and needs to be near her doctor. Enroute they receive a letter from a friend who requests their help and they make the stop. Michael Dalmay older brother (believed dead) is now back home after spending 10 years in an insane asylum. Rumors abound that he is responsible for some unexplained murders in the area. Of course Sebastian Gage is there too and their more interaction and tension between him and Keira. Exciting ending although I would like to see Keira stop and think before racing off into the middle of danger again

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Keira, her sister Alana, and her brother-in-law Philip are on their way from the Highlands of Scotland to Edinburgh where Alanna can be nearer to medical assistance for her latest pregnancy when they take a side trip to deal with a summons from Philip's aunt. Lady Hollingworth has some qualms about her daughter's engagement to Michael Dalmay, a childhood friend of Alana and Keira. Michael's older brother has been missing for some years and Lady Hollingsworth wants Michael to petition to have him declared dead so that he can become the new Baron.This would be a tense enough situation for Keira, Philip and Alana to come in on, but it gets worse. Gage is there after leaving Keira quite abruptly at the conclusion of their last adventure. Keira has a number of questions about their relationship or lack of one. Even more confusing is that Keira learns that Michael's older brother Will is not dead but had been committed to a lunatic asylum by his father ten years earlier. Upon his father's death, Michael had searched to locate his brother and bring him home. Will's problems began when he was fighting for England in the war against Napoleon. He suffered from melancholia and nightmares. His incarceration in the primitive and cruel environment of asylums at the time did not improve his sanity.Keira remembers Will fondly. He was her art tutor for some months when she was fifteen. She refuses to believe that he would be violent and that he was responsible for the disappearance of a young local woman. Gage is not at all sure that Will is as harmless as Keira believes he is. However, they team up to investigate both the young woman's disappearance and Will's continuing mental problems. This was an excellent historical mystery. I enjoy the growing relationship between Gage and Keira even though his secretiveness is almost enough to derail any hope of a relationship. I liked the historical accuracy of the story and the information about the early days of medical discoveries and almost total ignorance of mental illness which played a major role in the plot. I also liked learning about the state of law enforcement at the time in the person of Constable Paxton who uses his position as a way to boost his ego and importance.I look forward to reading more of Keira and Gage's adventures.

[katebaxter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I do so enjoy these Lady Darby mysteries. This third book in series features Scotland, 1830 along the Firth of Forth. Lady Darby is accompanying her very pregnant sister, brother-in-law Philip - the Earl of Cromarty and their retinue from Gairloch estate to their town-home in Edinburgh. They make a slight detour to Dalmay House at the behest of his Aunt Hollingsworth. Apparently, there's a spot of trouble with his cousin Caroline's betrothal. Tension is high and tempers are short and it only gets better from there. This book addresses the 19th century attitudes on mental illness or states of being different from "normal" people. It explores institutional practices and experimentation, the care of those with PTSD (as we know it today) and those suffering manic depression.The cat and mouse romantic and professional sparring between Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage continue where book #1 had left off. It's charming without being gushy and excessive.If a little Upstairs/Downstairs with a murder mystery thrown in for good measure is your cup of tea, then this may just be the book for you.Synopsis (from book's back cover):Scotland, 1830. Lady Kiera Darby is no stranger to intrigue-in fact, it seems to follow wherever she goes. After her foray into murder investigation, Kiera must journey to Edinburgh with her family so that her pregnant sister can be close to proper medical care. But the city is full of many things Kiera isn't quite ready to face: the society ladies keen on judging her, her fellow investigator-and romantic entanglement-Sebastian Gage, and ultimately, another deadly mystery.Kiera's old friend Michael Dalmay is about to be married, but the arrival of his older brother-and Kiera's childhood art tutor-William, has thrown everything into chaos. For ten years Will has been missing, committed to an insane asylum by his own father. Kiera is sympathetic to her mentor's plight, especially when rumors swirl about a local girl gone missing. Now Kiera must once again employ her knowledge of the macabre and join forces with Gage in order to prove the innocence of a beloved family friend-and save the marriage of another...

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mortal Arts
4 Stars

Lady Kiera Darby travels with her sister and brother-in-law to Edinburgh, but is detoured to Dalmay by an urgent missive from Phillip’s aunt. It seems that Michael Dalmay, an old family friend, is soon to be wed to Phillip’s cousin. Unfortunately, the return of Michael’s older brother and the disappearance of a local girl put a pall on the wedding plans, and Kiera is forced to join forces once again with the enigmatic Sebastian Gage to uncover the truth.

An enjoyable sequel with engaging characters although the mystery is far too obvious.

Similar to Charles Todd’s A Duty to the Dead, Huber provides an accurate and heart-wrenching portrayal of battle fatigue albeit during a much earlier time period (Napoleonic War vs. WWI). Huber’s insight into the human mind as it struggles with the devastating aftermath of war and her descriptions of the terrible atrocities suffered by those afflicted with mental illness and confined to asylums in the 19th century adds a darker tone to the story and makes it impossible for the reader not to sympathize with William Dalmay’s suffering.

The mystery takes time to get going and although the eventual explanation is exceedingly disturbing it is also very predictable. The culprit is glaringly obvious from the start as is the motivation, and all that remains is following along as Kiera and Gage investigate and figure out the hows and the whys of it all.

Gage and Kiera’s relationship (one cannot quite call it a romance at this time) develops at a steady pace as more of Kiera’s past is revealed including her feelings of isolation as a young teen and the time she spent under her nefarious husband’s oppressive thumb. More details of Gage’s background are also provided and they go a long way toward explaining his actions in the previous book. Nevertheless, there are still many unanswered questions and it will be interesting to learn the answers.

Heather Wilds' narration is alright. Her accents are very good, but her pacing is off. She reads quite fast and there are times when the sentences seem to run together, i.e., she doesn't pause would she should at the end of a paragraph or a section of dialogue.

All in all, a well written and disturbing mystery with a touch of romance. Recommended for fans of Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia series.

[nero56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this character! A nice mystery with a little romance and it pulls information in from the "body snatchers" and mental health issues of the period.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No sophomore slump here. An excellent tale of murder and the evils that men do, that takes place in early 19th century Scotland. After the events that transpired in The Anatomist's Wife, Lady Kiera Darby is pulling herself together. She's no longer trying to disappear amongst the furniture. She's stronger, more willing to stand up for herself and others. Sebastian Gage is unchanged, although in this book we see more of his true feelings come out - eventually. He's starting to open up, but more like a box whose lid hinges have rusted shut and must be worked open, bit by bit, as opposed to a jammed lid that springs open and starts gushing the box's contents. That was a horrible metaphor. I hated creative writing in school, and now it's clear why. It’s also clear to me that we’re in for the long haul if we want to see Kiera and Gage together; this is not going to be some combustible romance, but a love that is going to build up over time, tears, and insults, as well as mutual respect and trust that is earned. With a few kisses thrown in to keep the pulse rate up. There's a mystery and a story in this book - at 370 pages there's room enough for both. Lady Darby and her family are en route to Edinburg when they are asked to make a stop on the way, to the home of an old friend from Keira and Alana's childhood (who also happens to be a uni mate of Alana's husband). Upon arriving they discover the Lord of the manor, William, missing and presumed dead for the last decade, has been found and rescued from an insane asylum his father secretly committed him to. William was, at one time, Keira's art tutor as well as childhood chum; a war hero she had secretly worshipped. She is invested in doing whatever she can to see him mended. The book’s mystery, in my opinion, takes a bit of a back seat to the larger story here. Mortal Arts is also a narrative about the horrors of war, the damage it does to the men fighting it, and the further damage that can happen when the people who are supposed to love them misunderstand the effects on those returning home. Battle fatigue, shell-shock, PTS, PTSD - whatever name it's given by whatever generation suffers it, it's all the same. We get a front seat view of the damage both the war and the asylum have done to William. Unless you read a lot of horror, or other graphic fiction, I dare say the scene when Kiera sees William again for the first time is one that will leave an impression, if not raise the hair on your arms. Ghastly and horrific. But not really graphic in it’s details - the author allows the reader’s imagination to add the colour and detail (or not) to many of the descriptions. The mystery surrounds the disappearance of a girl in the village - could William, who's still suffering "episodes" stemming from the horrors of his incarceration, have been responsible? Kiera refuses to believe it's possible for William to hurt any female, but evidence comes to light that he may have murdered a young woman while at the asylum - a fellow "resident" of the facility. Kiera and Gage agree to investigate the missing woman and find out what really happened before deciding William's fate. It’s a good mystery, but not a great one, since I think it’s a rather narrow field of suspects and little doubt as to where the true perpetrator lies. It’s more about establishing for a fact, William’s innocence and finding evidence that can stand up in legal proceedings. Because there’s so much else going on, the mystery itself also loses a bit of urgency, but I didn’t mind, as caught up as I was in the other dramas. The ending was heart-wrenching; no tears, (thank god! I hate crying over books!) but definitely a bit of melancholy when I closed the book. I found Lady Darby’s reaction to the aftermath felt authentic; I think I would have reacted in much the same manner had I found myself having to suffer similarly. The last page ends with portents of future investigations and strong use of foreshadowing, which I normally hate, but since I know the third book’s publication date is coming up, I’m not as irritated as I might be. It’s already on my list of books to buy for July and I’m relieved to see there will be at least two books beyond that; colour me hooked on this series.

[bgknighton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nice feel for the gentry in Victorian England. The restrictions, especially. Like the characters, not too difficult a mystery.

[ladyofthelodge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very creepy historical novel, reminded me a lot of the gothic novels I read as a teenage reader. The setting and characters are brooding and dark. I like Lady Darby, and Gage. Now I want to go back and read the first in the series, as this is the second. The plot kept me reading, and was a page turner--but still creepy.