I happened upon this book via my Overdrive app. I read the summary and was intrigued for two reasons. One, this book is set in 1830, an era I love. And two, it’s a mystery! When two of the things you love are combined in one, you know you’ve really lucked up.
The Anatomist’s Wife takes place in Scotland and opens with a startling discovery. Right off the bat, a lady is found murdered in the garden area of a home where many guests are staying. This of course sends the house guests into a frenzy. Lady Kiera Darby’s sister and brother-in-law have been hosting a house party for high society London, so when Lady Godwin is found murdered, you can only imagine the hysterics that ensue.
Everyone is required to remain at the castle until the authorities are able to come (from far away no doubt) to examine the body and interrogate the guests. In the meantime, no one wants to wait around twiddling their thumbs, especially since a murderer might be wandering around—or worse, staying as a guest.
Kiera’s brother-in-law enlists her help in discovering what in the world happened, and he pairs her with Sebastian Gage who has a background as an inquiry agent. But why Kiera? Well, her late husband had forced her to help him write human anatomy textbooks. Being the artist she is, he capitalized on the opportunity to have Kiera draw the images for his textbooks. This was scandalous when such material came out after his death. During this time period, ladies were never to see death or matters of the sort. Kiera was largely assumed to have murdered her husband. Instead of escaping the past she’d desperately hoped to get away from, she’d been pulled back into digging through her unwanted knowledge.
At first Kiera thinks Gage to be an imbecile, but she comes to find him more intelligent than she’d originally assumed. Kiera follows strange clues, odd notes, and warning signs in an attempt to unveil the murderer while also trying to prove her own innocence.
I loved Anna Lee Huber’s language, content, and crafting of the narrative. I fell in love with reading thanks to mystery books because I love wanting to know what happens next! Huber gave me that feeling with this book, and I really couldn’t put it down. Plus, I enjoyed the time period of this book.
Not being familiar with Anna Lee Huber before this read, I did a little research, and low and behold, she’s a fellow Lipscomb University grad! All the more reason to love this book. And the best news? It’s a series!
I highly recommend this read, and I can’t wait to continue on. Happy reading!