A Darker Reality
An Elena Standish Novel
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4.0 • 7 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A personal trip turns perilous for Elena Standish after the murder of a British spy forces her to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry.
“An absorbing and calculating thriller/mystery that grabs the reader from the first page.”—Great Mysteries and Thrillers
On her first trip to Washington, D.C., Elena Standish finally gets to visit her American mother’s wealthy parents and their magnificent home. Elena’s grandparents are marking a milestone anniversary by throwing an elaborate party with the influential friends of her grandfather, a prominent political industrialist. Even President and First Lady Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are there, and Elena takes pride in capturing the illustrious guests on camera. But the festivities come to a sudden and tragic end when one of the guests, Lila Worth, is run over by a car in the driveway outside. Elena believes Lila was trying to tell her something before her death, and when a call from her employer back home, MI6, confirms that Lila was a British spy, Elena pairs with a fellow agent to find out what vital information the young woman had in her possession.
Soon an arrest is made in Lila’s murder, and to Elena’s horror, the accused is none other than her own grandfather, who claims his political enemies are trying to frame him. But who are these enemies, and how can Elena defend this man she barely knows? Nevertheless, determined to clear his name and save her family from disgrace, she delves into the details of her grandfather’s investments and discovers that his business secrets run deep. As Elena begins to question his loyalties, she wonders if she can trust anyone in this threatening new world order.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Perry's routine third novel featuring British photographer-turned-spy Elena Standish (after 2020's A Question of Betrayal) takes Elena to Washington, D.C., in 1934 to visit her grandparents, Dorothy and Wyatt Baylor, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary with a fancy party. At the party, Standish befriends Lila Worth, an Austrian whose scientist husband's research has been financed by Wyatt. During the party, someone runs over Lila in the parking lot, killing her. Though Elena initially accepts the theory that Lila interrupted a car theft, Elena's MI6 handler reveals that Lila was an operative engaged in stopping valuable scientific information reaching Germany—which suggests Lila was murdered. Elena's investigation becomes personal once Wyatt is charged with the crime because bloodstains are found on his car, a development her grandfather, a presidential adviser, suspects is a politically motivated frame. Some less than persuasive details, such as FDR attending the party without a Secret Service escort, impede full suspension of disbelief. Maisie Dobbs fans interested in a similar but less-developed protagonist may be satisfied.
