I discovered author Deanna Raybourn many years ago. I love all her books. She has written some wonderful historical mystery series that I will forever cherish, this series being at the top of that list. Veronica is such a wonderful character and I have loved watching her and Stoker grow together as a couple and in their friendship throughout the course of the series.
Naturally this was on the TOP of my TBR list for this year. There have been times though where I have felt like maybe this series could have wrapped up but it is hard to say good bye to characters that you have become attached to. I do think that once a series goes past about 5-6 books it gets to be a little much—not always but occasionally. I definitely felt that way when I read book 8 in this series. But I love the characters so much that I felt compelled to come back to this series for another installment.
If you are finding this series for the first time with this book, I HIGHLY suggest going back to read the books from beginning to end as this book especially would be a challenge to jump into as there are other threads from previous books in this one. I am excited that this isn’t the last book in the series yet, I think there is still more to be had in the narratives—-plus I love this series and even if I feel like it could wrap up, that doesn’t mean I want it to!
Summary
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? (summary from Goodreads)
Review
I really liked how this one started off with a bang as it were. This book didn’t do a lot of entry build up and reminder about where we are in the series. There was SOME but the author is clearly assuming that readers at this point are familiar with the characters and backstory so the focus then becomes BOOM the mystery right out of the gate and I really liked that about this book. I also loved how this one was a little more morbid than in previous books. It wasn’t overly morbid but there was definitely a darker tone in this book and I really thought it made things more interesting for example, I liked the wax figure exhibit as a catalyst to the murder. It gave this kind of darker tone with the discovery of the body.
The atmosphere in this book and series as a whole is always top shelf. I love the moody gaslight, it really sets the tone for the murder mystery. I only wish I had been reading this one on a cold foggy night instead of in the spring but overall I felt transported and immersed in the story and the setting. Along with the setting, I enjoy the prose. While not for everyone, I feel like the thickness of the prose works for this time period and the nature of the characters. Both of them are clearly a little ‘over the top’ in their own charming ways, and I think that the thick prose adds to that sense of ‘extra-ness’ that one comes to expect from these lovely characters!
Personally I liked this book more than I liked previous books in the series. I feel like the first five were AMAZING then thing started to wan a little bit for me but with this book things started picking up again. Plus the murder mystery was fantastic and I loved discovering the who and why of this one! I thought the story flowed well and of course I love the characters, but I also loved that there were some call backs to previous books and story threads that I had forgotten about until rediscovering them here. I really love how the author is drawing everything together and I am excited to see where this series goes from here!
Book Info and Rating
Format 326 pages, Hardcover
Published March 12, 2024 by Berkley
ISBN 9780593545959 (ISBN10: 0593545958)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: historical fiction, mystery, cozy mystery
The Lit Bitch 