This is a rather sad story of a woman who is falsely blamed for her husband's death and spends a long time dealing with the stigma, and then finds herself at the center of a mystery again when a guest is murdered at a dinner party, and she has to help the handsome, aloof investigator figure out who did it before the murderer strikes again. The Anatomist's Wife is a Gothic Romance featuring a heroine named Kiera and hero named Sebastian. Kiera is the quietly attractive young widow of an anatomist who it was rumored used his gifts for strange experiments, and included his wife in them. Kiera never did anything of the kind, and is fact more interesting painting than biology, although she does have a very thorough understanding of anatomy as a result of her husband's tutoring. But Kiera hates the gossip surrounding her and becomes a shut-in, never going to parties or socializing with anyone except a few close friends.
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She gets thrown into the center of a mystery when she moves to live with her sister, a noblewoman who lives in a castle. She is forced to attend a party when a great deal of important guests from London come to visit the castle, and is aware that people are gossiping about her. But all of that is forgotten when one of the guests is found murdered, and one of the party guests is suspected. Kiera was the last person seen with the victim and people begin muttering about Kiera and her past again. Desperate to prove her innocence - and all before the police even arrive at the remote castle, Kiera is almost grateful at the opportunity to be of service when her sister's husband tells her to help one of the guests, an amateur private investigator named Sebastian, examine the body and try to figure out what happened. Sebastian is highly intelligent, capable and good-looking. He is as skeptical about Kiera as the rest of the guests are
Sebastian and Kiera begin hunting for clues in the couple days it takes for the actual police to get the message that the murder has happened and actually access the remote and distant castle. Sebastian and Kiera begin to fall for each other. Sebastian grows to respect Kiera's strength and intelligence, while also feeling the urge to comfort and protect her when she is distressed.
They begin to notice that the victim, Lady Godwin, was entangled with another guest, Lord Stratford and at one point have to duck on the grounds as Stratford appears to attempt to shoot them. He is killed by a shot from Sebastian in return, and it emerges that Lord Stratford had planned to kill his own wife in order to marry Lady Godwin, but when Lady Godwin found out and confronted him about it, threatening to turn him to the authorities, he killed her in a panic to protect himself.
However, the romance does not end happily ever after as Sebastian is afraid to confront his feelings. As soon as the murder investigation is concluded and the guests are allowed to depart, Sebastian flees without a word of good bye, leaving Kiera sad and disappointed, but hopeful for a reunion in the future.
Best part of story, including ending:
Everyone likes a Gothic whodunit combined with a Gothic romance.
Best scene in story:
I liked the scene at the end when Kiera's sister tries to send Sebastian away during Kiera's interrogation with the police to give her sister some privacy, and Kiera says that Sebastian can stay. They smile at each other, and it's a very intimate moment.
Opinion about the main character:
I liked Kiera's capacity to forgive.
