Title:	A Deceptive Composition
	Author:	Anna Lee Huber
	Published:	June 18, 2024, Berkley
	No. of Pages:	383
	Cover Price:	$16.05 Paperback, $12.99 Kindle

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Anna Lee Huber is a bestselling author of historical novels. The Lady Darby Mysteries are popular, and the 12th installment of this excellent series is A Deceptive Composition, Lady Kiera Darby and her husband, Sebastian, have moved in with her father-in-law, Lord Gage, and have a beautiful baby, Emma, who is Lord Gage’s pride and joy. Lord Gage receives a letter from his estranged family, the Roscarrocks, who have been notorious smugglers, begging him to come to Cornwall because his uncle has been murdered and they want answers. Lady Darby and Sebastian have solved several mysteries, and they convince Lord Gage to go. While there they find danger, as well as family secrets.

Huber knows how to tell a good story, and has done her research so that the story rings true. She follows the customs of the day (1842) and readers will feel they are living at that time. Huber captures the culture of Cornwall at the time. Another strong point of Huber is her ability to develop her characters. They are believable and seem real. Lady Darby is a great protagonist, as well as a good wife and mother. Sebastian and Lord Gage are well-liked and their personalities show through.

As the story progresses, suspense builds, and readers won’t have any idea who murdered Lord Gage’s uncle because there are so many suspects. However, Lady Darby and Sebastian start to get close to solving the mystery and find they are in grave danger.

All told, this is an excellent novel. Readers will want to pick up the previous novels in the Lady Darby Mystery series because they are well-written and will keep them on the edge.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.