veronica speedwell mystery a curious beginning deanna raybourn

When the baron is murdered, Veronica and Stoker embark on a journey marked by present perils and past secrets. At the urging of the baron, who warns her that she’s in mortal danger for reasons he can’t yet reveal, she hides at the London home of reclusive natural historian Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane. After returning home from the funeral of the last of her guardians, Veronica foils an abduction attempt with the assistance of an elderly stranger, Baron Maximilian von Stauffenbach, who remembers the mother Veronica knows nothing about. Get A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem from The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.Set in 1887, this sparkling first in a new Victorian series from bestseller Raybourn ( The Dark Inquiry and four other Lady Julia Grey mysteries) introduces 25-year-old Veronica Speedwell, who as an illegitimate child lived an itinerant existence with two female guardians. The first two books are out now - the third, a Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes, is due out March 23, 2023. Each book in the series features a new crime fighting duo, rather than following the serial adventures of one pair. A Lady’s Guide introduces us to newspaper reporter Lady Katherine Bascomb and Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham whose paths cross when Katherine’s reporting on a murder interferes with his investigation. Manda Collins’ Ladies Most Scandalous series is billed as historical romance though I maintain the first book, A Lady’s Guide to MIschief and Mayhem, is still a better fit for mystery readers than romance.

Get A Curious Beginning from The Ripped Bodice | | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books A Dangerous Collaboration, book 4, is right behind it in my ranking. The pacing is on fire and it has vague The Mummy vibes. It involves Egyptology and the deaths of a couple of people involved with the dig.

So far, A Treacherous Curse is my fave of the bunch. [Update 12/30 - I’ve ripped through the first four books.

The eighth book, A Sinister Revenge, drops March 7, 2023. The audio for book one, narrated by Angele Masters, hooked me. A Curious Beginning, book one in the eight book series, introduces the two main characters and throws them together to uncover the truth of Veronica’s parentage and solve the murder of a German baron. Set in 1880s London, Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell mysteries feature butterfly collector and scientist (that’s a lepidopterist, if you please) Veronica Speedwell and natural historian Stoker.

Veronica speedwell mystery a curious beginning deanna raybourn