Review – A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
Series: Veronica Speedwell Mystery #5
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Publication Date: March 10, 2020
Date Read: December 16, 2019
Length: 320 pages
Source: NetGalley
★★★★★

Veronica Speedwell navigates a dark world of scandal and murder in this new adventure from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal so explosive it threatens to rock the monarchy. Prince Albert Victor is a regular visitor to the most exclusive private club in London, known as the Club de l’Etoile, and the proprietess, Madame Aurore, has received an expensive gift that can be traced back to the prince. Lady Wellie would like Veronica and Stoker to retrieve the jewel from the club before scandal can break.

Worse yet, London is gripped by hysteria in the autumn of 1888, terrorized by what would become the most notorious and elusive serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper–and Lady Wellie suspects the prince may be responsible.

Veronica and Stoker reluctantly agree to go undercover at Madame Aurore’s high class brothel, where another body soon turns up. Many secrets are swirling around Veronica and the royal family–and it’s up to Veronica and Stoker to find the truth, before it’s too late for all of them.

Amazon | Audible | BAM! | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Kobo

This was a fantastic installment in a much-loved series!  This is the fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries series which is a series that is best read in order.  I have been with Veronica since the beginning and am finding that I like this series more and more with each installment.  I read this book in just a couple of days and found it to be incredibly entertaining.  I really had a great time with this book.

I have grown to love Veronica, Stoker, and some of the other recurring characters in this series.  Veronica and Stoker work very well together and obviously are quite good at solving mysteries.  They also have a lot of chemistry.  We have been gradually watching the heat grow between these two since the beginning of the series and while I do sometimes wish things would move a bit faster, it is obvious how much they care about each other.

The mystery in this book was a bit unexpected.  Veronica’s heritage is a well-kept secret.  Because of her connections, she is asked to look into some of the dealings of the prince.  He has given a piece of jewelry that can be traced back to him to a woman who runs a scandalous club and his family wants it back before anyone can find out about it.  Of course, things are never easy and Veronica and Stoker must navigate a pretty dangerous situation before everything is settled.  Throw in the famous Jack the Ripper murders which are happening and you have quite an exciting story on your hands.

This book had everything that I hoped it would have.  There were some rather light-hearted moments and some pretty intense scenes.  I loved the chemistry between the characters and am loving the way Veronica and Stoker are slowly working their way towards each other.  There were a few surprises in this book and I really enjoyed the fact that the Jack the Ripper murders were a part of this story.   I thought that the pacing of the story was very well done and I found the book hard to put down.

I would highly recommend this book to others.  This is a smartly written mystery series with incredibly wonderful characters.  I cannot wait to read more of Veronica and Stoker’s adventures!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.

About the Author

Deanna Raybourn, the author of the award-winning New York Times bestselling Lady Julia Grey series and several standalone novels, is pleased to introduce her new Victorian-set mystery series featuring Veronica Speedwell.  Deanna lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Related Posts