I found this installment quite similar to the last one. It’s funny and engaging and I am constantly rooting for the two main characters. I had hoped for a few more sappy relationship scenes, but I enjoyed it just as I have the previous books.

4 out of 5 stars - I'll tell you to read it, if you ask me

Veronica Speedwell is at it again! Another mystery to solve and another possible chance encounter with her estranged family.

Veronica and Stoker are asked to help set up a display of artifacts at the Curiosity Club for the late Alice Baker-Greene, a world renowned hiker who had recently fallen to her death while climbing in Alpenwald (a tiny, fake country between France and Germany). While unpacking crates, they come across a few clues that make them feel that the fall may not have been an accident.

Loved the twists and turns of the story, and, as always, I didn't see the solution to the mystery until it was upon me.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy.

While better than the previous volume, this series has provided ever diminishing returns since at least the fourth installment. And, if I’m being precise, I’d go back to the third book to find the source of where the narrative began to show cracks. This book, while entertaining, was probably the coziest entry in the series, and that did not exactly make for thrilling reading. More focused on “humor,” not many pages, if any, were devoted to the peril mentioned in the title. My opinion is that Deanna Raybourn thinks she’s very funny, but unfortunately her quips barely pass as clever. Moreover, I’m not sure I want to read mysteries that are funny rather than thrilling. Part of the problem is that the main character is very much like Diane from Cheers, and while that can work in limited doses, that kind of self-satisfied, know-it-all personality grates after a while. At times, that veneer does slip, but Veronica never has enough room to fully get out from under her own pluck. I also feel this book had gaps. It’s as if the characters had conversations the readers aren’t privy to, but we are expected to possess full context when none is given. I’m hoping some real ground is covered in future. Lately, these have been more entertaining for a rainy day than compelling, and they could be if the author put in a bit more effort.

I would make any excuse to spend time with Veronica and Stoker and was excited to get a preview of this latest installment. Now that the tension of 'will they/won't they' is over I wondered how Raybourn would continue to keep their relationship interesting. I would love to see even more of that explored, but I appreciate how she keeps the characters true to their bones. The mystery was well played and overall it was a good read.

Veronica is back, along with Stoker, for another adventure involving royalty, treaties, newspaper reporters, delicate sweets, banter, and chemistry. Oh yeah, and Veronica has to impersonate a princess lest an important treaty fall through, all while solving an apparent murder no relevant authority seems interested in solving.