A Sinister Revenge

The seventh book in this popular series ended with Veronica and Stoker parting ways. This eighth book, A Sinister Revenge begins with Stoker's older brother, Lord Tiberious Templeton-Vane (how's that for a snooty name!?) and Veronica traveling to collect Stoker, who needed time apart from Veronica, in the wilds of ... Bavaria.

Tiberious needs Veronica and Stoker's help and protection. After the deaths of a few of his friends, who were part of a social group back in the day, he fears his life is in danger. He asks the couple to come to his home where he is hosting his old friends to deduce if one of them is the killer.   

This eighth installment has a good mystery with some decent twists, but at the heart of the book is the tenuous relationship between Veronica and Stoker. There is also Raybourn's well-known and much appreciated banter (perhaps a bit less than I've come to expect), some new characters (I loved Stoker's childhood nanny!) and, as usual, you'll up your vocabulary game with some gems that'll have you pulling out ye olde dictionary.

This continues to be one of my all-time favourite historical mystery series (which you must read in order). Veronica is a modern Victorian woman who is sassy, smart-assy and gives not one care for the strict rules of the time. The connection between Veronica and Stoker and the amazing banter will keep me coming back for more. I cannot wait to see where Raybourn takes this series next! Excelsior!

My Rating: 3.75 stars

Author: Deanna Raybourn

Genre: Historical Mystery

Series: #8 in the Veronica Speedwell series

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher:Berkley

First Published: March 7, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.

Tiberius has received a cryptic message—along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners—that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.

As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for.