A Grave Robbery

Posted March 29, 2024 by Carole in Reviews / 6 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Grave RobberyA Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn
Narrator: Angèle Masters
Series: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery #9
Published by Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Random House Audio on March 12, 2024
Genres: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical
Length: 12 hours 25 minutes
Pages: 336
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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four-stars

Veronica and Stoker discover that not all fairy tales have happy endings, and some end in murder, in this latest historical mystery from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Lord Rosemorran has purchased a wax figure of a beautiful reclining woman and asks Stoker to incorporate a clockwork mechanism to give the Rosemorran Collection its own Sleeping Beauty in the style of Madame Tussaud’s. But when Stoker goes to cut the mannequin open to insert the mechanism, he makes a gruesome discovery: this is no wax figure. The mannequin is the beautifully preserved body of a young woman who was once very much alive. But who would do such a dreadful thing, and why?

Sleuthing out the answer to this question sets Veronica and Stoker on their wildest adventure yet. From the underground laboratories of scientists experimenting with electricity to resurrect the dead in the vein of Frankenstein to the traveling show where Stoker once toured as an attraction, the gaslit atmosphere of London in October is the perfect setting for this investigation into the unknown. Through it all, the intrepid pair is always one step behind the latest villain—a man who has killed once and will stop at nothing to recover the body of the woman he loved. Will they unmask him in time to save his next victim? Or will they become the latest figures to be immortalized in his collection of horrors?

This was fantastic! I have a huge soft spot for this series and look forward to each new release so I was eager to pick up this newest book. I went into this book with high expectations, and am happy to report that they were all met. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end and there were some tense moments worked into the story. Veronica threw herself into solving the mystery, just as I expected, and Stoker may have made me swoon a time or two. Overall, this was a highly entertaining story.

Stoker is asked to make Lord Rosemorran’s new acquisition, a wax woman, look more lifelike by adding a mechanism to make it look like she is breathing. When he cuts into the wax, he learns it is a real corpse instead of a wax model. Stoker and Veronica feel compelled to discover the identity of the woman and learn how she died. They find themselves in several unusual situations, and some danger, as they work to solve this mystery.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Angèle Masters did a great job with the narration. This is the second time I have listened to a book in this series and I think she captures Veronica’s personality through her reading incredibly well. I wasn’t completely sold on the voice that she uses for Stoker but that is probably because the voice that she uses doesn’t match the voice in my head. Her voice was very pleasant, and I wanted to listen to this story for hours at a time.

I would highly recommend this book to others. I recommend reading the series in order if possible since some events from previous books are mentioned in this story, and the relationships between the characters grow and develop throughout the series. I had a great time with this book and cannot wait to see what adventures Veronica and Stoker may find next.

I received a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group and Penguin Random House Audio.

6 responses to “A Grave Robbery

  1. Yay. Glad to know this one is so good. I’m a little behind in this series, but it is a fun one.

  2. This is an audio-only series for me. The narration is superb. I really liked this one – I love how far Veronica and Stoker have come together!