INDEPENDENT DARING HEROINE
A Curious Beginning
Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series
By Deanna Raybourn
Mystery
Historical
Kickin' Female Lead
Veronica Speedwell has spent months looking after her ailing spinster aunt and after burying her she is determined to head back out into the world again, maybe the tropics, in search of more butterflies to capture and mount, and sell to rich aristocrats who don't bother themselves with the hunt. It wouldn't be her first trip abroad, nor even her fifth, she's been travelling since she turned 18 and now she is finally free of any obligation to anyone and she is determined to do what ever the hell she likes.
That is, until she finds a man in her soon-to-be-departed home who nearly abducts her. Coming to her aid, a German Baron takes her under the cover of darkness to London and leaves her on the door steps of a fellow natural historian, Mr Stoker, who is intriguing, bad tempered, foul mouthed and very well proportioned for the heavy work he does. Then the Baron is murdered and Mr Stoker whisks Veronica away to hide out in a travelling performing troupe, disguised as husband and wife, until the police's inquest into the Baron's death reveals his murderer or until Mr Stoker and Veronica Speedwell can find out who killed their friend.
Veronica is a strange, powerfully independent woman in Regency England, and well acquainted with speaking her mind, travelling abroad, butterflies – but not moths – and foreign rendezvous of the masculine kind. A self-taught scientist and published academic – under the nom de guerre 'V. Speedwell', of course - she has always determined her course in life, no matter who or what stood in her way. But could the mysteries surrounding her and Mr Stoker and the Baron's death be a little too much for even our daring heroine to bring to bear?
Beautiful, smart, determined, flawed and incredibly forthcoming, Veronica Speedwell is a character that is as refreshing as she is stubborn and I really enjoyed reading her adventures. The story is the first in a series of mysteries by the author Deanna Raybourn and it reflects what I would describe as a mature, very well written, and enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the rest of the Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series.
5 stars out of 5 for the first book, will have to read and review the rest of the series and let you know what I think.
