Book Review
Feb. 4th, 2026 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariA Curious Beginning
by Deanna Raybourn
This is the first of the Veronica Speedwell mysteries, set during the late Victorian era. Veronica is a young woman and naturalist whose elderly aunt and guardian has just passed away, leaving Vernoica with even more freedom to pursue a life of adventure and lepidoptery. When an attempted abduction leads her into the company of a German baron, Veronica discovers that her true origins are more mysterious and perhaps dangerous than she'd been told. The baron leaves her in the care of his associate Stoker, another naturalist. But then the baron is murdered and Veronica and Stoker find themselves on the run and in search of the truth.
This was a pretty good start to a mystery series. I liked both Veronica and Stoker, and the simmering sexual tension between them. Veronica is brash and brave and very observant. Stoker is brooding, loyal, and also quite clever. They make a good team, and their banter is quite good. The mystery itself was fine, but not super compelling. I do wish that the episode with the circus had added up to more or come back around later in the book. I hope it does so in future books.
by Deanna Raybourn
This is the first of the Veronica Speedwell mysteries, set during the late Victorian era. Veronica is a young woman and naturalist whose elderly aunt and guardian has just passed away, leaving Vernoica with even more freedom to pursue a life of adventure and lepidoptery. When an attempted abduction leads her into the company of a German baron, Veronica discovers that her true origins are more mysterious and perhaps dangerous than she'd been told. The baron leaves her in the care of his associate Stoker, another naturalist. But then the baron is murdered and Veronica and Stoker find themselves on the run and in search of the truth.
This was a pretty good start to a mystery series. I liked both Veronica and Stoker, and the simmering sexual tension between them. Veronica is brash and brave and very observant. Stoker is brooding, loyal, and also quite clever. They make a good team, and their banter is quite good. The mystery itself was fine, but not super compelling. I do wish that the episode with the circus had added up to more or come back around later in the book. I hope it does so in future books.
