A Curious Beginning (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

I wound up getting into this series a little backwards. After winning an ARC off NetGalley, I was excited to begin my foray into mystery, led by a lady detective.Until I realized that the ARC was actually book 3, and you can’t just jump in anywhere and be all caught up. This is a character-led mystery series more than a circumstance-led one. I read the first lines of book 3, featuring Veronica Speedwell and her companion Stoker, when I realized that these two characters have a world of history behind them, and I wanted to know every little detail.So here I am, frantically attempting to get through all three books and post reviews before A Treacherous Curse comes out on January 16th. Whoops! Wish me luck.Fortunately, reading A Curious Beginning was not at all a chore, proving instead to be a quick, fun read. I instantly fell in love with Veronica, a young woman who explores the world as a lepidopterist, or a butterfly collector. Shrewd and intrepid, Veronica recognizes that this profession is one of the few that allows women to “act out” and roam the countryside unaccompanied, and she does so with particular zeal.I loved that she spoke her mind and admired other women who do the same or hold ambitions of their own. She’s not even shy about the trysts with foreign men she’s had overseas, viewing sexual fulfillment as being equally important for women as it is for men. She even has a self-imposed rule that she will not dally with her own countrymen (Englishmen), both because it would ruin her local reputation and she’s not looking to settle down.The novel opens upon a funeral. Veronica has just buried the last of her two adoptive aunts and readies herself to leave England behind for a moment and go on a much-needed expedition overseas. Before she can, she stumbles upon a man ransacking her aunts’ home and, in true Veronica fashion, runs him off with a concealed blade. When the man tries to abduct her, a German baron appears, helping her ruin the attempt.The baron claims to have known Veronica’s mother, a woman she has never known or seen, but he is forced to be extremely secretive about the knowledge, promising her he will tell her everything when the time is right–but right now she is in grave danger, and he must get her to safety.Veronica doesn’t believe him, despite the previous abduction attempt, and I have to agree with her reasoning. She claims that she is no one special and, aside from the lepidopterist profession, has led an unremarkable life without making any significant enemies of anyone. Plus, she doesn’t know the baron from any other stranger, so why would she believe his judgement?Regardless, seeking a new adventure and a free fare, she accompanies him to London, where he leaves her in the care of one of his friends who owes him a debt, a natural historian named Stoker who is as bad-tempered as he is mysteriously solitary. The baron tells Stoker to stay with Veronica and protect her with his life until he returns to retrieve her.That night, the baron is murdered.Veronica and Stoker do not learn this until a few days later. They manage to bond over natural history, but they butt heads about everything. Stoker is surly, and Veronica is neither scared of him nor hesitant to goad him. Both characters are fascinating separately, but together they add so much entertainment to the page. I could read about them doing literally anything.Both characters can be rash in their own ways, as evidenced by Stoker when he immediately takes Veronica and hides them both at a traveling show, taking the baron’s last request completely seriously. Veronica still believes that the murder has little to do with her and that she isn’t the one in danger, but both she and Stoker become determined to discover who the guilty party is so they can move on and be rid of each other.As more clues come to light, about the mystery and who they both are, they come to trust and respect each other, both as scientists and people, though still arguing and driving each other crazy all the while.I came to love the idea that neither of them have any kind of background as detectives but that they combine their skills as scientists to figure things out. Veronica often leads the charge, making the boldest moves, but Stoker easily holds his own. (The knife-throwing scene and the fight scene are nice.)Even though I’ve never read anything like Sherlock Holmes or Poroit (yet), I imagine this novel could be considered “mystery light” in that, while a mystery is the purpose of the plot of the novel, the characters are actually its driving force, the mystery itself coming somewhat second. Which is totally fine! I believe this could be a good start for anyone who wants to see if mystery is a genre they’re into. For mystery veterans, it may be a bit basic but at least it’s fun. Plus, Deanna Raybourn has a true gift with vocabulary and Victorian-style writing. My dictionary app got a lot of use because she effortlessly offered words that many writers just don’t use anymore–and they weren’t even particularly outlandish.My hat’s off to Raybourn for another reason, too: she gave me another slowburn romance to be invested in.Yes, there is a bit of intrigue between Veronica and Stoker, i.e. a lot of tension. Veronica is lovely and brilliant and not shy about flirting, and Stoker is handsome, also brilliant, and hilariously pent-up. It’s funny to watch Stoker cursing up a storm but then blushing at a passing suggestion from Veronica, his regard for privacy being challenged at every turn. Meanwhile, Veronica is stubborn–remember her no Englishman policy? That’s being tested here–and blithe about things that most Victorian women would never say in mixed company. They clash and mesh in so many interesting ways.And okay, I’ll be honest, if you put both the “fake married” trope and “sharing a bed” trope unabashedly in your novel, I will instantly love it and you because I am, in fact, a sucker. (And she did it so masterfully! Nothing was rushed, nothing was forced! Bless, this is the kind of content I want!)At least I admit it.Overall, the outcome of the mystery was fulfilling while still promising longterm effects related to it down the road. I’m eager for Veronica and Stoker to work together again, to hash out other mysteries, and get into trouble in the process.Which is why I’ve already started the sequel, A Perilous Undertaking. Stay tuned!

Deanna Raybourn definitely has a type. Strong, intelligent women, and the rakish, flawed men who trail in their wake. Since her debut with Silent in the Grave (The first in her Lady Julia Grey series), Raybourn has featured refreshingly strong female leads in her books, women who are smart and capable, yet fully human and flawed.I certainly enjoy the theme she has set for herself, and "A Curious Beginning," was exactly as I expect from Raybourn.This is the first book in a new series featuring protagonist Veronica Speedwell, and takes place around the same era as her previous series (the mid 1880s). Veronica Speedwell is a woman ahead of her time, an amateur lepidopterist, willfully headstrong, searingly direct, and far too independent (not to mention an orphan of unknown parentage). Returning from the funeral of her elderly aunt, she finds a strange man has broken into her cottage, and proceeded to wreck the place in search of something. From there a fortuitous meeting with a kindly stranger (who, naturally, seems to know something about her past) whirls her to the docks of London, where we meet the tall, dark, and brooding leading man of the series, Stoker (all leading men are tall and dark for Deanna Raybourn, and they all brood professionally). When the kindly stranger winds up dead soon afterwards, Veronica and Stoker are thrown together to try to solve the mystery not only of the murder, but of Veronica's past.I love Deanna Raybourn's books for a fun mystery with well-researched historical details, and witty banter between her protagonists. "A Curious Beginning" didn't disappoint in this regard, the book was an enjoyable day and half read, and her characters, while occasionally ridiculous, generally manage to be sympathetic and interesting. Raybourn is very good at layering mysteries; Stoker seems to have quite a few secrets of his own, and is quite loathe to share. Her plot is also loaded with the prerequisite red herrings and false revelations. And, if I can speak frankly, I always love having a strong female protagonist take the lead. I'm sexist like that.I do feel, however, that this book isn't as strong as her Julia Grey series. Veronica Speedwell as a character is in some respects so far ahead of her time as to be anachronistic. Let's not forget that the book is set in the latter years of Victorian England, and sometimes it seems quite impossible for a woman to get away with the things that she does in the story. At times, her character seems like someone who would be more at home in a novel set in the 1920s or 1930s. Additionally, aspects of the mystery are a bit sloppy and overly telegraphed. A reasonably astute reader has a good chance of figuring out most of the plot with 100 pages still to go. Fortunately, I generally enjoy Raybourn's writing style, so continuing on through the plot wasn't difficult.In sum, if you enjoy a fun and frivolous historical mystery, this book is a good bet. I'd say take it out to the hammock or down to the beach, and enjoy a nice, relaxing read.Check out more reviews by checking out my blog![...]

Fãs de Bones e Castle que gostam da estética vitoriana precisam ler esse livro!É 2023 e eu tenho muito mais séries literárias iniciadas hoje do que jamais terei séries concluidas provavelmente na minha vida. Felizmente esse não é o caso de Veronica Speedwell. Comprei esse livro em junho de 2021, em um mês li os 7 livros que até então tinham sido lançados, dia 07/03 desse ano saiu o oitavo livro da série, e após reler meus dois volumes favoritos da série (o 1 e o 4), li o oitavo no mês do lançamento.Sem dúvida não são uma obra prima da literatura, não serão um clássico em alguns anos, mas os livros são muito divertidos, os personagens são cativantes, o humor me encantou, e os mistérios são instigantes. A série é principalmente de mistério/aventura, e o romance está em segundo plano, é um slow burn beeem slow, é bom não esperar um romance histórico tradicional com sexo explicito porque demora uns bons livros para o casal ficar junto, e quando ficam o romance é fade to black.Recomendo muito para quem é fã de Castle e Bones porque a vibe é a mesma, você vai torcer por anos pelo par romântico, comemorar cada flerte como se fosse uma grande vitória, mas ao mesmo tempo se divertir muito com o elemento central que é cada mistério que a Veronica e o seu companheiro vão ser levados a resolver (cada livro tem um caso diferente, então até a natureza procedural/procedimental está aqui).Esse livro especificamente é uma ótima introdução da dinâmica dos personagens, as habilidades e falhas de cada um (sim, a veronica é teimosa como uma mula, se irritar com ela faz MUITO parte, a admirar também), boa parte da história se passa em um circo ambulante, e o cenário circense logo de cara evidencia o tom lúdico que permeia todos os livros da série.Recomendo muito darem uma chance para A Curious Begining!

The entire Veronica Speedwell series is fantastic. The writing is wonderful, the plot is engaging. I have reread this series a few times because I truly enjoy the two main characters. Their interactions are so organic and flow well. I'm a big fan of Raybourn's style. Her description (of settings and characters) are transportive.

Bon état

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has all entertainmening elements suspense, humour, romance. I had already read part 3 and 4 of this series and was well aware of the main suspense. But it was a terrific read. Not to mention the huge crush which I have developed for Stoker.

Absolutely loved reading this book. An easy read that transports you back in time to London in the 1800s .