Now this book had me invested but not in the way you may think. Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mystery Series continues with A Study in Death, the fourth novel in her collection, and it brings with it a healthy separation from its previous tales.

I do love scenery and lush, deep, dark landscapes in which to set historical fiction in, but there’s nothing wrong with a good, classic, city setting. Edinburgh has many of the same facilities as London, bringing that Polite Society aspect to the story which we haven’t seen directly so far. We also have that underbelly current with the link to the stews of Edinburgh. I do love contrast with setting and characters, it makes the read so much more enjoyable.

The themes in this one are serious and very much so discussion points still relevant today. Domestic violence is no joking matter, and unfortunately, the way in which this is handled comes across a little naive. We have multiple characters who have faced some sort of abuse in their married lives, including Kiera, and the mystery aspect of this novel didn’t carry as much tension as it should’ve. That, instead, lay in Alana’s pending pregnancy with her due date arriving and her health taking a turn for the worst, which we had been warned about in earlier books. There was more tension between working-husband Philip and pregnant-wife Alana than in the mystery in my opinion. As soon as the “weapon” was understood, it was evident that there would be a plot point where something dire could happen which triggered its own developments.

There are two things that made no sense to me in this book. One, the fact that Philip willingly spent so much time away from his wife when he knew, as did everyone, that she was in a very delicate state. The reasoning which was finally dug out far to late in the book was so stupid and if any man actually thought it was justified, I would vow to the woman to get a divorce then and there. Talk about themes from the investigation seeping through to the other relationships and interactions characters have.

Then we have quite possibly the most infuriating repetition of arguments and dialogue that, had this been kept to maybe two scenes, three tops, would’ve shortened the book down by at least forty pages. I don’t know how Kiera thought that Sebastian was meant to open up about himself, his demons, his private thoughts and feelings in such a time as this case with her constantly berating him for not bringing things up when he’s not comfortable doing so. It seemed like every day she was asking him to talk about something from his past and he said, and rightfully so, that he wasn’t ready to talk about it and that he needed time. Time isn’t a few seconds, Kiera. Time is days, weeks, possibly months before your relationship is in such a place where he feels comfortable and safe with you to bring up the things he struggles to address about himself. I don’t know if I can give her the benefit of the doubt given she was essentially Alana’s second nursemaid for most of the book and saw the straining relationship between Philip and Alana with her own eyes. I just wish she was smarter.

A Study in Death is not a bad book, in fact, I have said so much about it because it’s a good book. Even with these details and lacking aspects, I still gave it a 4.5/5 because some of these things aren’t necessarily plot holes or lapses in character, they are authentic and realistic to the characters (the exception being Philip, that was just wrong). I’ve still continued the series and I was pleasantly relieved with the next book, as you will see in my next posting of the series.