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 … 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.
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We’re off on another mysterious adventure with Veronica Speedwell and Revelstoke (Stoker)Templeton-Vane (I love his name). The Curiosity Club is preparing an exhibition dedicated to mountaineering in general and the famed female mountaineer Alice Baker-Greene in particular. Alice recently fell to her death while climbing to the summit of the Teufelstreppe, which is located in the tiny country of the Alpenwald. Stoker and Veronica have been wrangled into setting up the displays of Alice’s memorabilia as well as a natural history display of flora and fauna of the Alpenwald.
With Stoker and Veronica involved, we know that foul play has to be involved somewhere and it doesn’t take us long to discover it. As they are unpacking the items for display, Stoker discovers that the climbing rope Alice was using in her last climb was cut very cleanly – it didn’t fray and break as was supposed. Unfortunately, just as they are discussing the fact that Alice was murdered her good friend Her Royal Highness Gisela, the Hereditary Princess of Alpenwald walks in and hears the discussion.
That conversation sets off a chain of events that includes more murders, thefts, betrayals, a missing Princess, and Veronica impersonating a Princess just to name a few things. We have a plethora of suspects and we’re left guessing to the very end. Who would risk creating an international incident to murder a mountaineer? Has the Princess been kidnapped? Murdered? Did she just run away? With vital political treaties needing to be signed and politicians to be placated answers have to be found – and quickly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, but I did think the middle dragged just a bit. It was also missing a bit of the danger and excitement of some of the earlier books. I guess it just wasn’t quite as couldn’t-put-it-down as earlier stories. I am also getting a bit tired of Veronica and her unyielding, know-it-all attitudes. Those are okay in smaller increments, but it does get tiresome book after book. I’m waiting for a bit of character growth and mellowing on Veronica’s part. I love Stoker, and Veronica says she loves Stoker, but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me to have her just walk off and leave him at some point.
I am totally enjoying the series and I enjoyed this book. I hope you’ll give it a try and enjoy it as well.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love this series so much!
You can check out my booktube video review at https://youtu.be/Cb4Hm7ZKAkA
or read my review on my blog at https://lisasiefert.com/book-review-an-unexpected-peril-by-deanna-raybourn-a-veronica-speedwell-mystery-book-6/
Another great installment of the Veronica Speedwell series. My only problem – I’m now all caught up and will have to wait far too long for the next one.
Shades of Rudolf Rassendyll! Veronica Speedwell bears a striking resemblance to the ruler of a tiny European principality (not unlikely, given that they’re likely related somehow since Veronica is the unacknowledged daughter of an English royal) and when the princess of Alpenwald goes missing, Veronica is dragooned into being a stand-in.
She agrees because there’s also a murder mystery involved, and she and Stoker throw themselves into the masquerade, at great risk and peril (of course.)
Another delightful entry in the Speedwell mysteries, deepening the relationship between two strong and independent people in love. Raybourn continues to deliver the goods and this read is looking forward to the next installment in this entertaining historical series.
I enjoyed this book. The main characters are like old friends who are also adventurers. I have always enjoyed reading about strong and capable women characters, and Miss Speedwell is a corker. This series would make an excellent movie or three. The plot is easily followed and the story is a very good one. I definitely recommend this book.
Well written and interesting characters. I enjoyed the glimpse into royal life and how difficult it must be. The mystery was predictable and kept me guessing. Very enjoyable.
Another great addition to the Veronica Speedwell series. I truly enjoy these books- so entertaining!
Since the first Lady Grey novel that I read from Deanna Raybourn, I found her books to be spellbinding reads. Her characters are mesmerizing. Unlike today’s “feminists”, whom seem more interested in neutering and effeminating men while destroying our morals and society, the historic women that she creates pioneer for women’s rights to education, perusing goals that interest them and not be chattel to the men in their lives. Yet they still want a strong man to be their side.
Veronica Speedwell and her partner and amour Stoker (Revelstoke Templeton-Vane) have had to suppress their wanderlust, as they have made a commitment to the Earl of Rosemorran to catalogue and organize everything stored in the Belvedere to eventually arrange it as a museum. In. addition, Veronica has recently become a member of The Curiosity Club, thanks to Rosemorran’s sister, Lady Cordelia, who has been put in charge of arranging a memorial for mountaineer Alice Baker-Greene, who had recently fallen off the highest peak in the tiny European country of Alpenwald. Veronica and Stoker are enlisted to help her, but while they are going through her last effects, Stoker discovers that her rope was not shredded but clearly cut. Another murder mystery to solve, involving them again in danger and intrigue, complicated more, when Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, in London to sign a treaty with France, decides to take a “walk-about” and Veronica, a very distant cousin with a close resemblance to the princess is coerced into impersonating her. As usual the murderer, is one of the last people you would expect. Another terrific story from a very talented storyteller.
I just loved falling back into Veronica and Stoker’s world and relationship–it feels like visiting highly entertaining friends. I enjoyed this installment very much and found myself giggling out loud at the banter in places. I think I enjoyed this mystery more than the previous book’s (maybe because I had no expectations like I did with the last one’s connection to Jack the Ripper?), but I read this series because I love the characters and the Victorian setting, more than for the mystery or the historical accuracy. Each novel feels like a romp, and this was no exception. For anyone who loves unconventional female characters, historical fiction, or rollicking mysteries.
What a delightful series!
A marvelously forceful, self-reliant female character with a delicious male companion.
Competent to travel all over the world searching for rare butterflies at a time when women were expected to stay home “bare foot and pregnant”, she is a force of nature to be reckoned with.
Not a strident, harsh harpy, but a fully developed person who I would be delighted to sit down with for a chat. Or an adventure.
Another escapist trip to the world of lepidoptery and taxidermy with a twist of mystery, aristocracy , fashion and sexiness . Have fun!
Veronica Speedwell and Stoker are one adventure away from disaster or discovering something amazing. This series is fun and exciting. I’m so happy for the little bit of romance but it’s the friendship and adventure that keep me coming back for more!
Book 65 towards my goal of 280! 5/5 stars for this Historical Adventure read, as usual. Another fun adventure for Veronica and Stoker. Beautiful cover. Great side characters, and a dash of family drama in this one! Narration was great. Can’t recommend this series enough!
An Unexpected Peril is the sixth book in the Veronica Speedwell series. I am entirely hooked on this series. In each book Stoker and Veronica get pulled into a new mystery and adventure. They reconnect with past characters but also meet new and interesting characters. I love trying to put the pieces together as they solve crimes, work through mysteries, and still find time to build their relationship.
This book tells the story of Princess Gisela and her village of Alpenwald. The area is known for their mountain climbing and when a climber dies it is realized that it was not accidental. Of course, Veronica cannot leave it at that. She must find out who would want her dead. Things never go exactly as planned for Stoker and Veronica but somehow they always solve their case, meet interesting people, and get tangled up in unique circumstances.
Deanna Raybourn never disappoints. Her books are fun, unique and must-reads.
Alpinist Miss Baker-Greene has died climbing in the country of Alpenwald, an accident. But was it, Stoker has found evidence showing otherwise. Now the ruler of the country wishes to open the exhibit at the Hippolyta Club celebrating her life. Unfortunately the princess, her Serene Highness, Gisela Frederick Victoria Helena, soon disappears. So they have two mysteries to solve with the added complication that Veronica needs to impersonate Gisela at various important functions.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery. A good addition to the series with its likeable characters.
I loved this book! I have been a fan of this series from the start and it seems to just get better with each installment. I started reading this book just as soon as a copy made its way into my greedy little hands just because I couldn’t wait to see what was next for Veronica and Stoker. I found this installment to be incredibly entertaining and have a fantastic time with it.
Veronica and Stoker learn about a female mountain climber and they suspect that her untimely death may not be the accident that it has been believed to be. Soon after they inform the Princess of their suspicions, the Princess goes missing and Veronica is asked to step in and take her place. Things get really interesting very quickly with Veronica posing as the Princess while still investigating the death of the mountain climber.
I found this book to be incredibly exciting. I had a lot of fun watching Veronica and Stoker step into a different role even for a little while. They both have such strong personalities so it was very entertaining to see them act differently than they would naturally. The mystery itself was very interesting and much more involved than I thought it would be at the start of the story. There were a few times that I worried if Veronica and Stoker would be able to get out of this situation unscathed. I really loved seeing the relationship between Veronica and Stoker grow during this installment. These two really care about each other and can be quite protective of each other.
I would highly recommend this series to others. This is a series that I would recommend reading in order if at all possible since each installment builds on the events of the previous books. I have found each book to be incredibly well-written and entertaining. I cannot wait to read future installments in this fantastic series.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.
An Unexpected Peril is the 6th book in Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell Mystery series. I’m a big fan of Ms. Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series, and I was really looking forward to her next major series. I have the first five books, but got behind in my reading and haven’t yet read them. So I started this series on this installment – book six. Am I nuts?! I’d be totally lost! And yet I wasn’t.. Though I missed the progression of Veronica and Stoker’s romance, this mystery totally stood alone, thank goodness! And now I MUST go back and see all I missed.
Veronica Speedwell, lepidopterist (one who studies butterflies and moths), is the newest member of the Curiosity Club, a club for pioneering and intrepid women. She is working on an exhibit to honor renowned mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, who died in a tragic accident. As Veronica and her natural historian beau – Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (aka Stoker) – go through memorabilia to decide what to use in the exhibit, they find evidence which shows Alice may in fact have been murdered! They bring this to the attention of the exhibit’s patron, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald. However, Gisela’s chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to pursue the matter, as Europe is on the brink of war. Before Veronica and Stoker decide their next step, the princess disappears! The princess was in England to sign an important peace treaty; what would they do now? Ah, but von Rechstein notices that Veronica closely resembles Gisela. He begs her to pretend to be the princess until the treaty is signed. Veronica agrees, and she plays princess while she and Stoker investigate the murder. Will they even survive to solve it?
As I stated earlier, this mystery stands alone; however, references to past cases and the development of Veronica and Stoker’s relationship makes me crave to see all the excitement I missed! I must admit I did not warm up to Veronica until I was about halfway through the book. I appreciated that she was an intelligent and strong woman, but at times she seemed overly pushy, plus I didn’t like the way she sometimes talked to Stoker or treated him. She did grow on me, though. Stoker I totally loved from the start. ~Sigh~ He was handsome, quite unique (taxidermy, anyone?), smart, romantic and had a fascinating background: he was a surgeon’s mate in the navy and had also worked in a circus. I ADORED him! Of course, a mystery book can’t be good without a compelling mystery; fortunately this one was great. I had no idea who the murderer was until the reveal. The supporting characters were all good, especially Stoker’s master chef friend Julien, lady’s maid Yelena, the Baroness from Alpenwald and Duke Maximilian. Books like this are the reason that I now love historical mysteries. I can’t wait to see what Veronica and Stoker get up to next!
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and Edelweiss. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
This sixth book in the Veronica Speedwell series is her best yet. The mystery is set in 1889 (Victorian) London, but is centered around Alpenwald culture and characters. I found them so fascinating, that I kept googling all the people and places mentioned. I finally read the historical notes at the end of the book, and was surprised that they were fictitious because I found them so compelling and realistic.
An Unexpected Peril comes after Stoker and Veronica have admitted and acted upon their love for each other. In such succinct yet evocative language, DR portrays their relationship, which is based on mutual respect, a deep love, as well as a lot of humor.
Because of Veronica’s resemblance to Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, she is asked to impersonate her when the princess goes missing. Stoker is not happy about the masquerade since they narrowly escaped death in the previous book, A Murderous Relation, but Veronica is anxious to investigate the mysterious death of a mountain climber, and friend of the princess’s who died in Alpenwald.
As the book progressed, Veronica slowly revealed to Stoker her deepest feelings, about the circumstances of her life, her fears of stagnating, and her “what-might-have-been” thoughts. Stoker, for all his gruffness and no-nonsense character, is a tender and deeply understanding friend and lover. Their relationship has grown so perfectly, that I look forward to the next book to see where they are.
The thing I admire the most about Deanna Raybourn is her wisdom and acceptance of all people, and it shines through her writing—in all of her books. She has an innate sense of goodness, and is never judgmental. I met her once and embarrassingly, burst out crying when I told her that during a Q&A moment. And what did she do? She came down off the podium and gave me a warm hug. That is Deanna Raybourn! I will never forget that.
The things I loved:
The humor: “And if you think those are regrettable, you ought to see what has become of my bosom.”……..”Gravity comes for us all in the end,” I remarked. The older woman gave a bark of laughter as she eyed my own décolletage. “Mind you enjoy those whilst you can. Make the most of them before they make their descent.”
The profound musings of Veronica:
“It was astonishing to see the effect it had upon them. I was still myself, as much plain Veronica Speedwell as I had ever been, but since I had been presented to them as a princess, they believed it. The jewels and the gown and the fact that people called me “Highness” had somehow rendered me almost sacred, and there was a touch of worshipfulness I did not entirely like. Strip away the costly trappings and I was no more or less than any of them, I thought angrily. And yet they could not see past the dazzling display of wealth and power.”
The historical background:
“My poor Fritz was emperor for three months. For the whole of his short reign, they ignored him, those ministers and generals and Bismarck,” she said, fairly spitting the name. “They took one look at a dying man and knew his grip was too weak to hold power. They passed him over and went directly to the son, praising him and promising to make his wildest dreams of German domination come true. This was the great mistake, you know. They think they can control him, can use him for their own ends. But no one can control my son, and they will learn this too late. My only hope is that it will not be too late for the rest of the world.”
The lovely dialogue between Veronica & Stoker:
“You are not among the good that has happened to me. You are the best of all that I have known. You are what I searched for when ……..” (I won’t rob the reader from the thrill of reading this passage for yourself
I enjoyed this sixth installment of the series, and am beyond grateful to Netgalley and Berkley Marketing that I received an ARC to review—I was happy that I didn’t need to wait until March 2 to read this lovely book.
#AnUnexpectedPeril #NetGalley
January 1889, Veronica Speedwell is hard at work putting together an exhibition at the Curiosity Club to honor Alice Baker-Green, a renowned female mountaineer – and also a member of the Club – who recently died on her latest climb in the Alpenwald mountains. The pressure is on as Princess Giselda of Alpenwald will be attending the ceremony as well to pay her respects.
While assembling items for the exhibition Stoker and Veronica notice some incongruities that lead them to believe Alice Baker-Green’s death was not an accident. When they bring their findings to the Princess, the Alpenwalders are afraid of the potential for scandal in an already precarious political situation in which they find themselves.
Just as Veronica has begrudgingly agreed to keep their findings quiet, the Princess goes missing, and with certain political negotiations hanging in the balance, Veronica – who bears a striking resemblance to the Princess – agrees to pose as the Princess. But we all know that trouble and danger follow Veronica everywhere. Using the opportunity, while incognito, to search for more information surrounding Alice Baker-Green’s death, Veronica will put herself in the crosshairs of someone who wants to keep her, or possibly the Princess, quiet.
Just a note: I will be discussing events from previous books so if you haven’t read them and want to avoid possible spoilers, please do not proceed past this point. You have been warned 🙂
I always look forward to Veronica and Stoker’s adventures. This time around I kind of felt like An Unexpected Peril was like releasing a long-held breath. There had been such build up throughout with Veronica and Stoker’s relationship, along with Veronica’s complicated family situation and I felt like a lot of that came to a head in the previous book A Murderous Relation, that with An Unexpected Peril Veronica, Stoker and, by extension, readers, are settling into a new normal, as the case may be.
I felt like the mystery aspect concerning Alice Baker-Green was almost relegated to a secondary storyline as Veronica masquerading as the Princess kind of overshadows things for a bit. The story takes a little longer to find its legs I think with a good more than half of the book done before readers are allotted further developments with that initial mystery.
I still found the story readable and it moved along at a good clip, it just wasn’t as easy to determine early on how the story was meant to unfold. Therefore, I wasn’t as enthralled as I have been with previous books.
Of course Veronica and Stoker are always a stand out. I loved that more time is taken on seeing them in their newly formed romantic relationship. Deanna Raybourn is not just going to build things up between them, have them finally get together, and then have done with it. No, she’s going to continue to explore who these characters are and now more closely, explore who they are together romantically. Veronica and Stoker are a constant and I appreciate, and applaud, the fact that Deanna Raybourn can still give these characters so much independence and agency on their own without the threat of a parting of ways between them. I love that both Stoker and Veronica understand one another on a level that not everyone get to experience. I’m always hopeful when they’re together because they can push each other and truly and fully accept one another for who they are. That alone will always bring me back to this series.
Regardless that I felt the mystery was rather light this time around, I like how Deanna Raybourn has built up this history and how she’s seemingly connected Veronica to it and how it kind of pivots around her. The mixing of the factual and creative liberties are so subtle and feel so plausible that I’m always surprised in the author’s note at the end when we get more details on decisions made. It’s really a testament to Deanna Raybourn’s wonderful writing and always pulls me in.
As always, I’m excited to see what adventures are next for Veronica and Stoker. Excelsior!