The Veronica Speedwell Mysteries | Deanna Raybourn

If you’re someone who needs a palate-cleanser kind of book, or if you just read candy, this is a good stuff. There are nine in the series (note to self—reserve A Grave Robbery at the library!!) and they’re great fun. They absolutely need to be read in order since they refer back to previous stories. 

Veronica Speedwell and her hunky natural historian main squeeze Stoker get up to all sorts of crazy, often steamy shenanigans in Victorian England. These are not pure period pieces, to say the least, but they’re hilarious and well-written. They’ve peppered with nudge-nudge, wink-wink moments that are delightful. Like all good mysteries they’re loaded with secrets. Veronica’s isn’t revealed until partway through the series and Stoker is the black sheep member of an aristocratic family with a whole string of secrets of his own. 

But are they sassy, you ask? Oh my, yes. Veronica Speedwell is no shrinking violet with a sharp wit. And Stoker is a rock on the outside, marshmallow on the inside and—as you will learn, looks his best, apparently, when he’s shirt-less and covered in sawdust from rebuilding a rare stuffed rhinoceros. These books are the literary equivalent of a binge-worthy Netflix series, although I’ve found that two in a row is my limit for maximum enjoyment. 

Deanna Raybourn is a prolific and versatile mystery writer. Her Killers of a Certain Age is also delightful. She’s a master of colorful characters, presented with humor and compassion. She’s also written the Lady Grey Mysteries which I started to read but stopped. They just weren’t as good, but I think Deanna got better and that shows up in the Veronica Speedwell stories.