An Impossible Imposter

Veronica Speedwell and Stoker are one of my all-time favourite literary couples. Sass, sexual sparks, great banter, and a penchant for getting into the middle of mysteries make it easy to understand why this duo is so popular with fans of historical mysteries. 

In this seventh book of the series, Veronica and Stoker are asked by their contact at Scotland Yard to investigate a case of a long-lost son who was presumed dead yet suddenly shows up years later at his family's estate. Adventure, charm and some peril are thrown in for good measure and while the banter is a bit more sparse than usual and the mystery takes a bit to get going, readers will delight in the bombshell of a secret Raybourn tosses out from Veronica's past. It's a doozy that had me rereading one word a few times. This new information gives the book an intriguing cliff hanger of sorts and I'm eager to see how the repercussions will be felt in the next book.

Veronica continues to be a fierce, headstrong feminist lepidopterist living in conservative Victorian England. And, as per usual, Raybourn adds delicious multi-syllable words into the story that make me want to nonchalantly throw them out in social settings like a loquacious and potentially grandiloquent logophile to the splendiferous delight of those around me. Naturally.

I highly recommend this series but strongly suggest you start at the beginning to get a true sense of Veronica and Stoker's relationship. I cannot wait for book eight to see how this revelation wreaks havoc on their lives. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Deanna Raybourn

Genre: Historical Mysery

Series: #7 in the Veronica Speedwell series

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: February 15, 2022

Opening Lines: "I do not care for infants, and even if I 

did, I should not care for this one. It is decidedly moist," 

I protested to Stoker, thrusting the child towards him.

Book Description from GoodReads: While investigating a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a noble family, Veronica Speedwell gets the surprise of her life in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

London, 1889. Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau Stoker are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother, Jonathan, heir to Hathaway Hall, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before.

But now a man matching Jonathan's description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership over the family's most valuable possessions--a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels? It's a delicate situation, and Veronica is Sir Hugo's only hope.

Veronica and Stoker agree to go to Hathaway Hall to covertly investigate the mysterious amnesiac. Veronica is soon shocked to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past. To help Sir Hugo discover the truth, she must open doors to her own history that she long believed to be shut for good.