Book Review - A Curious Beginning - Deanne Raybourn

Title:  A Curious Beginning

Author:  Deanna Raybourn

Review:  This is a Veronica Speedwell novel and one that I assume is the first in what could be a long line. It is written in a classic style that keeps the reader both involved and interested. It involves murder, mayhem, mystery and royalty all of which are key elements in any Victorian novel. The heroine, Veronica Spedwell, is brilliant and brave and has no problem facing any and all dangers placed in her path. Her cohort, Stocker, is titled, stalwart and moody. He was entrusted to protect Miss Speedwell by another titled gentleman who was subsequently murdered and so it begins. A mutual attraction is slowly developed during the course of the story leaves one wondering if it will be consummated or will the reader be left hanging.

I enjoyed this offering very much and gave it a four star rating.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Thanks Frank for this review -

Synopsis:   In her thrilling new series, 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. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England now gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron with ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker—a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant, wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: September 1st 2015 by NAL/Penguin

Author Information:   A sixth-generation native Texan, New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a double major in English and history and an emphasis on Shakespearean studies. She taught high school English for three years in San Antonio before leaving education to pursue a career as a novelist. Deanna makes her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband and daughter.