In this the 5th (I cannot believe this is book 5 already) of the Verity Kent mystery series, author Huber marks a slower cadence to her story. Verity and her husband Sydney are visiting Verity's family home in the Yorkshire Dales for the first time since before the death of Verity's beloved brother whose plane was shot down during the war. And if that emotional quagmire weren't enough, traveling with them is Verity's Great Aunt Ilse who has left war-ravaged Germany and returned to England seeking some peace. That peace may be hard to find as anti-German sentiment is rampant and many would like Ilse and her German maid to stay away. Trouble follows them to the family estate and Verity and Sydney have to put their sleuthing abilities to work once again.
To say that I'm always happy to visit Verity's post-WWI doesn't really do justice to the deeper explorations of trauma that underpin each of the books in this series. Here Huber explores the fractures in a family whose members have all felt the impact of the war and cannot help but have it continue to affect how they relate to one another. Verity's reconnection with her family isn't an easy process, but it feels so real throughout. Atmospheric and richly detailed, I will be "happy" to return to this world again and again.