AN UNEXPECTED PERIL by Deanna Raybourn

Y’all, Deanna Raybourn’s books are pure gold. But don’t just trust me on this, check it out for yourself. Back in book 6 of the Veronica Speedwell series, Veronica dazzles in AN UNEXPECTED PERIL. Veronica Speedwell is a lepidopterist, a butterfly collector. She’s an intrepid and forward-thinking female to her Victorian compatriots who has adventured all around the world in her collecting, and a fully liberated woman. Oh, and did I mention she’s a sleuth?!

Veronica and her coworker and lover, a natural historian named Stoker who is a fallen aristocrat, are pulled into solving a new mystery. Veronica and Stoker are working to assemble a memorial exhibit for a pioneering mounter climber when they discover in the climber’s artifacts that her death was in fact a murder. When they inform the patron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, their findings quickly become twisted up in the events of a Europe on the verge of war.

I adore Veronica Speedwell with every fiber of my being. She is the bomb. Witty, saucy, and staunchly defiant of society’s attempts to fetter women into the restricted roles that the patriarchy tries to mandate. She’s exuberant and just so much fun. Her adventurous spirit pulls her into all kinds of shenanigans, and then Stoker comes along and assists her in getting herself out of. Stoker’s laconic demeanor is a wonderful foil for Veronica’s joie de vivre, and they are such a fantastic couple, in bed and out of it.

The prose is gorgeous. Raybourn has a dynamic way of using her words to paint such an incredibly vibrant picture of the Victorian times. And the witty bon mots are to die for- such fantastic dialogue I highlighted the heck out of this book- there are so very many phrases and paragraphs I want to go back over and wallow in my delight. Raybourn is one of my top authors, and AN UNEXPECTED PERIL does not disappoint. Murder with its surrounding twisty mystery, smashing historical backdrop, and sparkling dialogue coalesces to form an engrossing tale.

A princess is missing and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

January 1889. As the newest member of the Curiosity Club--an elite society of brilliant, intrepid women--Veronica Speedwell is excited to put her many skills to good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica and her natural historian beau, Stoker, tell the patron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, of their findings. With Europe on the verge of war, Gisela's chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to make waves--and before Veronica and Stoker can figure out their next move, the princess disappears.

Having noted Veronica's resemblance to the princess, von Rechstein begs her to pose as Gisela for the sake of the peace treaty that brought the princess to England. Veronica reluctantly agrees to the scheme. She and Stoker must work together to keep the treaty intact while navigating unwelcome advances, assassination attempts, and Veronica's own family--the royalty who has never claimed her.