The fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell series offers more of Raybourn's magic: witty dialogue, an unorthodox partnership, will-they/won't-they tension, and the solving of dark Victorian-era mysteries that call for bravery, creativity, and a little ruthlessness.
Throughout her Veronica Speedwell series, Raybourn proves herself an expert in providing a captivating main character with depth and flaws; a tantalizing attraction/sexual tension between her two main characters, and dialogue that makes me laugh out loud--all set against the backdrop of a Victorian-age mystery.
In this fifth book of the series, Veronica and Stoker become involved in a mystery involving a house of debauchery, the heir to the throne, kidnapping, and Jack the Ripper.
Raybourn offers dark undercurrents, witty banter, mischief, and also social commentary. A Murderous Relation also explores class and privilege: the story revisits a working-class character from an earlier book--and presents society's moral judgements (as well as Veronica and Stoker's indignance) about the fact that Jack the Ripper's victims were not only vulnerable, but often poor and scrambling desperately and without qualms to make ends meet.
Hold on to your hats: the Veronica-Stoker relationship gains clarity at long last!
I listened to this as an audiobook, which is wonderfully narrated, as the rest of the series has been, by Angele Masters.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
I loved A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, as well as the sequels A Perilous Undertaking, A Treacherous Curse, and A Dangerous Collaboration. (There are currently eight books in the series, with a ninth scheduled for publication in 2024.)
Raybourn is also the author of the wonderful stand-alone title Killers of a Certain Age.