The latest installment of Veronica Speedwell takes our favorite pair through a new adventure fraught with danger, murder, and madness.

When Veronica and Stoker discover that Lord Rosemorran's latest purchase of a waxwork figure is really a murder victim, they are once again on the case to track down the perpetrator and find justice for their Sleeping Beauty. With a little help from their friends, both old and new, they work to solve a 15 year old cover-up.

As with previous installments of the series, there is plenty of banter and fun had between Veronica and her main man. This mystery also comes with the twists and turns we've come to expect from the series. I really enjoyed learning a little more about waxworks, even if it was just a tidbit here and there. And the little monkey added a fun bit of comic relief as the tension and danger built up. A few new characters were introduced in this one, so while it does seem to wrap everything up neatly and could be the end of the series, I would also like to see where the next adventure can lead the duo and their new friends.

This was another exciting and enjoyable installment in the Veronica Speedwell series. Deanna Raybourn is so skillful in bringing out historical details and occurrences. I find that she brings to light many things that we likely weren't taught in our history classes and would have assumed were fictional - as in this story with the corpse that has been so expertly preserved as to appear a wax figure. Veronica, Stoker, JJ, and Mornaday had more substantive interactions with each other, and character growth is evident. Excited to see where the next story takes us with them! I absolutely love this series!

Deanna Raybourn is never anything less than completely entertaining. Whether she’s writing suspense or historical fiction, there’s a magic to her storytelling that suspends time as you’re reading. For the uninitiated, Veronica is a lepidopterist (she studies butterflies), and her partner, Stoker, is a gifted naturalist and expert taxidermist. These are adventure stories in the vein of Mrs. Pollifax or Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books. There’s a mystery involved, of course, but the overriding feel is that of pure adventure, and you, dear reader, are along for the ride.

In this outing, Veronica and Stoker are relaxing at home – they live on the grounds of Lord Rosemorran’s estate, and their actual job is cataloguing Lord Rosemorran’s extensive collection of artifacts, art, and just plain oddities. As the book opens, a glass coffin containing a waxwork woman is delivered to their studio. It’s soon followed by Lord Rosemorran’s daughter, Rose, who has requested a wax figure like the “breathing” Sleeping Beauty she’s seen at Madame Tussaud’s. It’s the turn of the 20th century and Madame Tussaud’s was a magical place – and the clockwork gears inside the sleeping beauty seem magical to young Rose.

On further inspection, however, Veronica and Stoker realize that this waxwork is probably an anatomical “Beauty.” Such figures were used to teach anatomy (in the absence of a corpse) and the figures contained a complete set of organs. They send Rose away as they begin their examination, only to discover that the wax beauty is actually a real woman who has somehow been preserved. This upsetting discovery only spurs Veronica and Stoker to try and discover who the woman might have been.

They must call in reinforcements in the persons of Mornaday, a policeman, and J.J., an aspiring reporter. As a female reporter J.J. resents being relegated to the fashion beat and Veronica and Stoker have provided many stories for her in past adventures, this book proving to be no exception.

The joy of these books lies in the relationship between Veronica and Stoker, which is a loving one, and in Veronica’s fearless personality. While she’s a woman in Victorian London, she goes where she wants and does what she wants, which very often leads to trouble. This investigation includes a trip on the Necropolis Railway – a Victorian idea to relieve overcrowded cemeteries. Coffins and the mourners travelled on an underground train to cemeteries a bit out of London proper. This is quite the atmospheric setting and background for this adventure.

No adventure worth its salt lacks a compelling villain as well as a sympathetic victim. The detective work undertaken by Veronica and Stoker is clever and intelligent and requires the couple to call upon a variety of interesting personalities. Raybourn is great with pacing a story as well as with character. As the two of them race ahead to a solution, Veronica thinks to herself: “We were forty centuries removed from the days when it was necessary to take up a spear to stalk one’s dinner, and yet all the thrill of that atavistic hunt thrummed in my veins.” It may thrum in your veins as well dear reader, as Veronica arms herself with a stiletto and goes forth to Victorian London to settle scores. As she would say, Excelsior!

4 stars - It was really good

Veronica and Stoker’s newest mystery involves a wax figure purchased by Lord Rosemorran for his daughter. He requests Stoker to incorporate a clockwork mechanism to give the Rosemorran Collection its own Sleeping Beauty in the style of Madame Tussaud’s, but Stoker quickly discovers that this is no wax figure but a beautifully preserved body of a young woman. Now Veronica and Stoker have to figure out who this young woman is and what happened to her.

As someone who is interested in medical history, I found this mystery very interesting because I have seen images of anatomical venuses and thought the premise of this mystery was great. From the beginning, I was hooked on the mystery of this perfectly preserved woman and the investigation that followed. This investigation had a very Frankenstein vibe with underground laboratories with scientists experimenting with electricity to resurrect the dead, which personally just made it even more enjoyable for me. Another bonus with this investigation, J.J. and Mornaday actually participate.

“…I want you—in all your intrepid and audacious glory. I want you just as you are, the entirety of your chaos and your wildness. You are the whirlwind I did not know I needed, but now that you are here, I will not be the one to ask you to be anything different than exactly as you are.”

My favorite aspect of this book was that we are finally seeing Stoker and Veronica as a couple and they solved the case together, which was my issue with the previous book. I adored seeing these two finally as a couple and solving mysteries together again. These two know each other so well and I just love the interactions between them and how they know what the other will do before they even say anything. It was just such a wonderful adventure and I really loved seeing Stoker let Veronica do dangerous things even though he hated it. He really understands her and accepts her for who she is.

Overall, this was a wonderful mystery and a great continuation of Veronica and Stoker’s story. I can’t wait to read their next adventure.

In the ninth Veronica Speedwell Mystery, set in 1889 London, our crime-solving scientists, Veronica and Stoker, come across a most curious artifact that turns out to be more than it seems at first glance. The “anatomical Venus,” or anatomically-accurate wax model, that their benefactor’s exuberant daughter has recently acquired in the hope of making her own version of Madame Tussaud’s “sleeping beauty” turns out to be, well, not wax after all but a human woman preserved through means which impress even the experienced taxidermist Stoker. This unsettling discovery kicks off a quest to discover the identity and story of this poor girl. Given the eerily preserved state of her body, murder seems to be on the table. Eventually, with the help of their old friends from the traveling circus, Metropolitan police officer Mornaday, and gutsy journalist J. J., Veronica and Stoker get to the bottom of this weird enigma. The tale culminates in a gripping and suitably, ahem, explosive climax.

At times the marvelously macabre story almost dips into the realm of science fiction, however subtly. The more speculative elements are the kind of details you’d expect to find in an old gothic novel or Arthur Conan Doyle yarn. The style also evokes these works without being overly garrulous. Rich with references to the historical events of the period, which provides a strong and vibrant sense of the steampunk-esque setting, the book’s prose is electric and engaging.

The relationship between our adventurous leads is passionate and plausible, yet undeniably romantic. I particularly enjoyed their flirty, adorable banter. Slightly squeamish readers will be happy to hear that the sauciest stuff all happens offscreen, winked at wittily but never portrayed in graphic detail.

In this ninth historical mystery starring Veronica Speedwell and Revelstoke Templeton-Baine the mystery comes to them in the form of a waxwork - an Anatomical Venus - purchased by Lord Rosemorran for his young daughter Lady Rose who wants Stoker to turn her into a clockwork waxwork.

Both Veronica and Stoker are fascinated by the waxwork, but secrets of a sinister nature are uncovered when Stoker opens to chest to make room for the device which it make it look like she's breathing. They find a perfectly preserved human body instead of a waxwork. Determined to find out who she was and who managed to preserve her in a way unknown to them. Stoker and Veronica begin a quest through the scientific underground of London.

Assisted by their friends journalist J. J. Butterworth and Metropolitan police officer Mornaday who have assisted on others of their investigations, they discover a shady undertaker's parlor and scientists who let their quest to bring the dead back to life overwhelm their lives.

This was another exciting adventure for the crime-solving duo which, naturally, puts Veronica in danger from a particularly nasty villain. I love the Victorian setting. Veronica's modern and unfiltered opinions often put the more conservative Stoker to the blush which is particularly amusing since his visage is that of a pirate.

I like that the author builds her plot around real things. Underground railroads to carry coffins and mourners to the cemetery and Anatomical Venuses really existed. And the Victorian interest in galvanism and other experiments with electricity was also real.

All in all, this is a very engaging series especially as it is told from Veronica's journals which give us insight into her mind and her opinions.

It is hard to believe that this is the ninth book in this series. I don’t think I will ever get tired of them, especially because each one has such a fresh mystery that is grounded in historical, yet obscure events. This one is a bit more sedate than others in the series, but the mystery was so intriguing that you don’t really notice that the characters are not being chased or almost killed at every turn.

Veronica and Stoker are such a fun couple. They totally get each other and they are very much soul mates. They have very much settled into their lives, and support each other even when things are crazy. Stoker will always be there to save Veronica, even when she is perfectly capable of saving herself and vice versa. There are many very tender moments between these two that I just loved.

This story, like many of the others, are populated by secondary characters that add so much to the story. We get to see a bit more of two of them in this one, JJ Butterworth and Inspector Mornaday. JJ is a journalist who idolizes Nellie Bly. Both she and Mornaday contribute much to the solving of this mystery and really deserve more credit than they are given by Veronica. I really hope we continue to see more of them in future books.

The mystery for this book was quite intriguing and a hard one to solve. I had never heard of these was figures called Anatomical Venus, that were used to teach anatomy. But I found the whole idea fascinating. I also found the Victorian fascination with resurrecting the dead to be a nice addition to this story. It totally gave off Frankenstein vibes. The villains in this story were also quite the duo, and certainly got what they deserved. There are a lot of twists and turns and unexpected surprises that will keep you guessing throughout the story.

This is an excellent addition to this series. For those of you who have not read any of the previous books, you can enjoy this one, but it will certainly make you want to go back to the beginning and read all of them. For the avid fans of the series, this one is just as delightful as all of the ones that have come before it.

In this installment to the Veronica Speepwell book series, she and Stoker have acknowledged their love for each other (finally!) and are back in London working on their ever expanding museum specimens. As a highly unusual lady in 1890’s England, Veronica is a noted and well travelled lepidopterist who is fiercely independent, sexually free and quite stubbborn. She also happens to be the secret, semi-legitimate oldest daughter of the Prince of Wales. Veronica also manages to become entangles in various murders and intrigues.
While working on their projects, their benefactor brings them an “anatomical Venus” - a wax figure once created by sculptors in Italy to be used as a teaching device in 17th century medical schools. Now just an oddity, and seen in Madame Trousaud’s Stoker is asked to make this one look like it’s breathing. When he begins his work, he finds that this wax figure isn’t all wax and is, in fact, a corpse of a young woman. Stoker and Veronica set out to identify the poor young woman and find out if she was murdered and by whom. Their adventure takes on dangerous and unbelievable twists and turns as they work together to solve their latest mystery.

Since being employed by Lord Rosemorran, Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau, Stoker, have seen many eccentric things while cataloging his vast collection of items. So, neither is very surprised when he brings them a large glass coffin with a wax figure of a woman inside. One of Lord Rosemorran's children is obsessed with the lifelike figures at Madame Tussaud’s and would like Stoker to create her own Sleeping Beauty-like figure by adding a mechanism to make the figure look alive. But when Stoker cuts into the figure he discovers that it's not a wax figure at all, but the preserved body of a young woman.

Unable to let this misdeed go unpunished, Veronica and Stoker set out to uncover who the woman was and what exactly led to her being in a glass coffin. Without any clues to work with, the pair seek help from their friends, the intrepid journalist J.J. Butterworth and the often put-out Detective Mornaday. The investigation brings them all over London, from underground laboratories to Stoker's old pals in the traveling circus. Despite their sleuthing, they seem to be one step behind their villain. When things start heating up, Veronica and Stoker must rush to uncover the killer before it's too late.

I will never get enough of this series. I would read a hundred more books about Veronica and Stoker's antics. I loved seeing their relationship grow over the series, but I thought it shone here. There were so many passages I highlighted because they were so swoony. Apart from their dynamic, which I could go on and on about, I enjoyed the mystery here. It felt darker and more morbid than any of the others. There was a Frankenstein vibe that captured my attention. It was slower-paced, but it didn't bother me, and I was satisfied with how everything played out. I loved seeing more of J.J. and Mornaday because I think they're so fun together. Also, I liked some new side characters and hope to see more of them. All in all, another solid addition to my favorite series!

I really enjoyed the latest installment of the Veronica Speedwell Series. I felt that the last two books were a bit of a let down compared to the rest of the series. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the witty banter between Veronica and Stoker that I loved in the earlier books was back with full force in this book!

Veronica Speedwell has not lost any of her sense of adventure and "pluckiness" even though she has finally admitted to loving Stoker (I think this was in book six or seven - it took quite some time!). Veronica and Stoker find themselves with a most unusual corpse, and are assisted by an enthusiastic but very simple mortician. The ending of this Speedwell mystery was not as exciting and did not contain quite as much of a twist as the previous stories had, but it still a good read.

I haven’t loved the last couple Veronica Speedwells, but this one’s banter delighted me. Made me laugh out loud several times!

Full review coming for Shelf Awareness.

Deanna Raybourne has written two historical mystery series as well as some standalone novels. A Grave Robbery is the ninth in her series featuring Speedwell and Stoker.

Veronica Speedwell is a lepidopterist and a free spirited woman who is ahead of her time. Stoker has been an adventurer. Both now live and work on an eccentric’s estate.

The relationship between these two is what I most enjoy; they are clever, witty, and more than willing to challenge one another. That is just what happens here.

Stoker’s employer wants him to install a mechanism in a waxwork. The idea is to make it seem as if the waxwork is breathing. There is a bit of difficulty because…this is no waxwork but a corpse! And so, the adventure begins and the protagonists are on the case.

Those who already know the series will be eager to read this. New fans will enjoy this one as well. They may find that a trip to the backlist is in order for the full experience.

Recommended to fans of slightly quirky historical mysteries.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Veronica Speedwell and her tattooed taxidermist are back, this time tracking the identity of an actual dead body hidden inside an Anatomical Venus sculpture. The mystery was well paced and interesting, leaning into the Victorian obsession with electricity and its possibilities for raising the dead. Veronica and Stoker seem to have reached a state of equilibrium in their relationship, which was a nice counterpoint to the rather tragic main narrative. Recommended for fans of Veronica and Stoker, as well as for readers who enjoyed C.E. McGill's Our Hideous Progeny.

Veronica and Stoker do not disappoint with this creepy adventure to bring justice to a victims demise. I enjoyed meeting two new characters that enhanced this mystery.

3.5 stars

One of my highly anticipated books of 2024 is this Deanna Raybourn's 9th installment in her Veronica Speedwell series.

Thrust into another murder mystery Veronica and Stoker search for who their Venus is and what happened 15 years ago. Yes that’s a long time in the past. The plot was unique, if a tad far fetched, but entertaining in true Veronica and Stoker fashion. There was the easy banter that is always fun along with some zany escapades and unsavory characters. Yes there is a monkey that has taken up residence also.

It is great getting back together with these two. However while it wasn't favorite, there just seemed to be something missing, but I can’t quite place my finger on what it was, or maybe my belief was suspended too much. But all in all still one of my favorite series, can’t wait to see what this duo is up to next.

My thanks to Berkley for a digital arc in exchange for honest review.

I am a huge fan of Deanna and am always happy to spend a day with Veronica. This entry had the duo staying really close to home and a distinct lack of the traditional escapades I have become used to. Still a great read but a little lackluster.

Stoker discovers a mannequin added to the Rosemorran collection is actually the preserved body of a young woman.

This was a straightforward murder mystery with no relationship drama, aside from their typical sparring. Veronica is independent as ever and Stoker a little less broody. The monkey adds nothing but the side characters sure do. Stoker’s brothers never disappoint (although I prefer Tiberius) and I wonder if JJ will get her own series. This is best for readers who have another book or two under their belts. Sure, the mystery stands alone, it had me guessing, but you might not care about Veronica and Stoker and where their relationship is right now if you haven’t read some of the previous installments. Not much adventure in this addition to a still enjoyable series

"Veronica and Stoker discover that not all fairy tales have happy endings, and some end in murder, in this latest historical mystery from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Lord Rosemorran has purchased a wax figure of a beautiful reclining woman and asks Stoker to incorporate a clockwork mechanism to give the Rosemorran Collection its own Sleeping Beauty in the style of Madame Tussaud's. But when Stoker goes to cut the mannequin open to insert the mechanism, he makes a gruesome discovery: this is no wax figure. The mannequin is the beautifully preserved body of a young woman who was once very much alive. But who would do such a dreadful thing, and why?

Sleuthing out the answer to this question sets Veronica and Stoker on their wildest adventure yet. From the underground laboratories of scientists experimenting with electricity to resurrect the dead in the vein of Frankenstein to the traveling show where Stoker once toured as an attraction, the gaslit atmosphere of London in October is the perfect setting for this investigation into the unknown. Through it all, the intrepid pair is always one step behind the latest villain - a man who has killed once and will stop at nothing to recover the body of the woman he loved. Will they unmask him in time to save his next victim? Or will they become the latest figures to be immortalized in his collection of horrors?"

I mean, the killer is Vincent Price right?

I wanted to try something different and the blurb of this one really tickled my fancy. The last time I read a historical mystery fiction book was when I went through an Amanda Quick phase (which was terribly great) and I was hoping for a similar experience. While this differed greatly from other works I read, I did find myself enchanted.

Stoker and Veronica were such an amusing pair. She was more delighted than he was to be embroiled in a murder plot and I liked being along for the ride. I could have done without the wordy prose—there are only so many costume changes I need to know the details of—but being in the midst of historical England was a pleasant ordeal.

With a cast of colorful secondary characters, there was a lot to like about this story. Stoker was my favourite and, for him alone, I'd read more of this series.