An Unexpected Peril

December 15, 2020
A scandalous Victorian couple test the limits of their relationship when they get involved in yet another murder. Why is lepidopterist Veronica Speedwell bored with life in London? After all, she and her love, the Hon. Revelstoke Templeton-Vane, better known as Stoker, are living on a lovely estate while they work on a vast collection of objects of natural history and help design an exhibit to honor Alice Baker-Greene, an intrepid mountaineer and feminist, who died in a climbing accident in the tiny country of the Alpenwald. Princess Gisela of the Alpenwald herself comes to open the exhibit. All goes smoothly until Stoker finds Alice's climbing rope among the exhibition items and notices that it wasn't frayed but cut with a knife, turning her fatal accident into murder. Veronica, who'd met and admired Alice, is keen to investigate, but Stoker's not interested in expanding their case files. Their differences are rendered moot when members of the Alpenwald delegation beg Veronica to pose as the wayward Princess Gisela, who often goes off on little trips on her own, in order to avert the scandal that would surely arise if she did not show up for her engagements. The two women look remarkably alike because both are related through Queen Victoria's large family, Veronica as the unacknowledged daughter of Prince Bertie. Now that she has entree to all the Alpenwalders, Veronica, her boredom decisively ended, sets to work sleuthing with the reluctant Stoker. Their discoveries soon put them at odds with a clever killer. Oodles of diverse characters add extra interest to a knotty mystery.

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January 25, 2021
Set in 1889, Raybourn’s lively sixth Veronica Speedwell mystery (after 2020’s A Murderous Relation) finds Veronica, “the semi-legitimate daughter of the Prince of Wales,” and her lover, Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane, arranging a tribute exhibition at London’s Curiosity Club for the late Alice Baker-Greene, a world-renowned mountaineer, who a few months earlier fell to her death from the highest mountain in the tiny European duchy of Alpenwald. While unpacking Alice’s artifacts, they discover the rope she was using on that fateful climb was obviously cut, clear evidence that Alice’s fall was no accident. As usual, the headstrong Veronica insists on investigating, and Stoker has no choice but to go along. In the rollicking adventure that ensues, Veronica impersonates a missing Alpenwalder princess in order to avert an international incident and ends up the target of an assassination attempt. Veronica’s confused emotions about her birth family, as well as the touchingly complicated romantic relationship between fiercely independent Veronica and stalwart Stoker, bolster the appealing plot. Fans of feisty Victorian heroines will hope Veronica has a long career. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Assoc.

January 1, 2021
The sixth Veronica Speedwell mystery starts with the lepidopterologist and her partner, Stoker, preparing an exhibition for the ladies-only Curiosity Club of which Veronica is a member. One of the club's other members, a skilled mountaineer, recently died while climbing in Alpenwald--a small, alpine country--and the exhibition is meant to both honor her and patch up relations between Alpenwald and England. But when Veronica and Stoker study the exhibition's wares up close, they sense foul play, and soon after Alpenwald's princess, Gisela, goes missing. Veronica bears a striking resemblance to the princess, so when the royal entourage asks Veronica to pose as Gisela for the sake of an important treaty, how can she refuse? Veronica's disguise allows her to pry further into the mystery, and while searching for clues, she also explores her heritage and deepening relationship with Stoker. Raybourn has again crafted a delightful mystery that balances Veronica's growth and maturity with her undeterrable, adventurous spirit, and though Stoker fears for Veronica's safety, he is, as always, by her side every step of the way.

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February 26, 2021

Raybourn's sixth "Veronica Speedwell" mystery (following A Murderous Relation) finds Veronica greeting London in 1889 alongside her professional partner in natural history, adventurous investigations, and, recently, amorous relations, the Honorable Revelstoke "Stoker" Templeton-Vane. While preparing an exhibition to celebrate the mountaineering of Alpenwald, a tiny country ostensibly set between Germany and France, they understand a need to gracefully integrate into the exhibition the personal effects of Alice Baker-Greene, a famous mountaineer who died a few months previously on Alpenwald's highest peak. Treading lightly on this death is important to Her Serene Highness, the Princess of Alpenwald, for whom the matter is a national embarrassment, since mountaineering is the primary tourist attraction in Alpenwald. When Veronica and Stoker meet Princess Gisela and her entourage, they quickly discern that all is not as it seems with Alice's death, and Veronica's striking resemblance to Gisela complicates their investigation with significant international implications. VERDICT While series fans will certainly enjoy the newest installment for Veronica and Stoker, this reads well as a stand-alone and will lure readers to Raybourn's backlist. A rollicking adventure appropriate for mountaineers and mystery-hunters alike.--Julie Kane, Washington & Lee Lib., Lexington, VA

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