Description
Veronica Speedwell and her handsome partner Stoker are at it again in this fun and fraught mystery romp from Danna Raybourn. A Grave Robbery, the ninth book in the Speedwell series, provides twists at several key moments to keep the pages turning.
After Lord Rosemorran acquires a lifelike wax figure of a sleeping woman, he asks Stoker to equip the figure with a clock mechanism so that the figure will be similar to those at Madame Tussaud’s. The task, though challenging, should be relatively easy given Stoker’s particular skillset, but when the figure is revealed to contain the preserved body of a beautiful dead woman, Veronica becomes invested in determining the woman’s identity and how she met with such a terrible fate. Unraveling the mystery takes the pair to a traveling circus, the halls of an aristocrat’s home, and an underground tunnel system, all of which smack of peril.
Having not read Raybourn before, I was immediately hooked by the description and detail of each scene and the expert renderings of the characters. Villains where you expect none, heroes and heroines in surprising corners—I was often surprised and delighted by the choices. And if, like me, this is your first in the Speedwell series, fear not. When Raybourn refers to other adventures shared by Stoker and Speedwell she caringly provides a footnote with the title in which that adventure appears. It’s a masterful way to build an audience for the other eight books while you ponder the truth at the heart of A Grave Robbery.