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A Darker Reality: An Elena Standish Novel Spiral-Bound | September 21, 2021

Anne Perry

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A personal trip turns perilous after the murder of a British spy in Washington, D.C., forces Elena Standish to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry.

On a family trip to Washington, D.C., Elena Standish is delighted to visit her mother's parents for their anniversary and celebrate with influential friends of her grandfather, a prominent scientist. Even Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt will attend the party. But the event comes to a sudden and tragic end when one of the guests, Lila Worth, is run over by a car in the driveway outside. Elena realizes that Lila had been trying to tell her something, and when a call from Peter Lucas back home at MI6 confirms that Lila was a British spy, Elena pairs with the American secret service to find out what vital information the young woman had in her possession.

To further complicate Elena's trip, her grandfather is arrested for the murder. Desperate to clear his name and save her family from disgrace, she looks more deeply into her grandfather's scientific life and discovers that Lila had been desperately trying to keep the latest developments in nuclear fission out of the Nazis' hands. Her grandfather's business secrets run deep, it appears, and as Elena begins to question his loyalties, she wonders if she can trust anyone in this dark new world order.

Story Locale:Washington, D.C., 1933
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0593159365
Item Weight: 1.2 lbs
Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
Praise for A Darker Reality

“A good historical mystery is like a balancing act [and Anne Perry] gets the balance just right. It would be easy to believe that Elena Standish really did exist, and that the books are actual biographical stories. Perry proves once again why she is among the top writers of historical mysteries.”—Booklist
 
“A Darker Reality is full of Anne Perry’s trademark moral quandaries and historical detail that instantly brings credibility to the story but also makes it feel like an actual slice of world history.”—Bookreporter



Praise for A Question of Betrayal

“[Anne] Perry ties her story-strands together in convincing fashion, in a work whose twentieth-century setting seems to have brought out new psychological and descriptive nuances in an author better-known for her Victorian-era novels.”—The Wall Street Journal

“[An] excellent sequel . . . Perry expertly blends character development with plot surprises. This prolific author shows no sign of losing steam.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Suspenseful and tense . . . [A Question of Betrayal] shows how brilliant a writer and plotter Anne Perry is.”—Bookreporter



Praise for Death in Focus

“Readers who love historical mysteries know that some of the most dramatic stories are set in the interim between the two world wars, when both the victors and the vanquished felt uneasy about their provisional hold on peace. Anne Perry stakes a strong claim to that unstable terrain in Death in Focus . . . the first book in a new series that opens in 1933 as Elena Standish, a resourceful photographer, is caught up in the world of international intrigue.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Death in Focus [is] reminiscent of works by Eric Ambler and Graham Greene. Cameo appearances by historical figures . . . enhance this thrilling work. . . . Perry conjures the mixed emotions and misplaced optimism of a period when many Establishment figures were desperate to avoid another world war.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Perry has found the perfect time period to showcase a family’s impassioned defense of democracy and social justice in the face of rising totalitarianism. . . . At turns heartbreaking and action-packed, this gripping and superbly written story proves Perry still has what it takes.”—Library Journal (starred review)
Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Tide Rising and An Echo of Murder, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including Murder on the Serpentine and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. She is also the author of a series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt's son, Daniel, including One Fatal Flaw and Death with a Double Edge, as well as the new Elena Standish series, including A Question of Betrayal and Death in Focus; a series of five World War I novels; seventeen holiday novels (most recently A Christmas Resolution); and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Ottoman Empire. She lives in Los Angeles.

Author Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Author Hometown: UK