A Curious Beginning
A Veronica Speedwell Mystery
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4.3 • 483 Ratings
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries returns once more to Victorian England and introduces intrepid adventuress Veronica Speedwell....
London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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. 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. 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. When the baron is murdered, Veronica and Stoker embark on a journey marked by present perils and past secrets. The intrepid Veronica's witty narration ("I abhorred weakness of any kind but most particularly in my tea") and the sexual tension she shares with the equally eccentric and articulate Stoker deliver a fun read with promises of more to come.
Customer Reviews
See AllMemorial!
One of those books you remember for years and wait patiently for the next book to be written.
Intriguing characters, decent historical background
Mildly amusing but it took far too long to get to the point.
Fascinating Victorian Mystery!
The details Ms. Raybourn gives about Victorian London and its surroundings are very descriptive and leave you feeling that you were there too. Both main characters have great depth and promise many more adventures in future books.