Veronica Speedwell is a very unusual woman. Even if it wasn’t 1887, I’m not sure people would know what to make of the adventurous, butterfly-hunting, occasionally exasperating heroine of Deanna Reybourn’s entertaining novel, A Curious Beginning. The novel opens at the funeral of Veronica’s guardian before it becomes a murder mystery and a race across parts of England. This book only slows down to indulge in hilarious arguments between Veronica and her grumpy bodyguard, Stoker. I loved every minute of this book.
Veronica plans, now that her “aunt” has passed away, to go on another butterfly-hunting expedition abroad. Unfortunately for her, plans are set into motion that might lead to her death as soon as her guardian died. Her cottage is broken into and it’s only through the help of a convenient baron-on-the-spot that she manages to fight off the intruder. The baron takes her to London and drops her off with the formidable Stoker, an impoverished taxidermist and natural historian, before being murdered himself by persons unknown.
Veronica and Stoker then go to ground, before reemerging with a plan to find out what on earth is going on. The mystery plot hums along, but what really made this book for me was the relationship between Veronica and Stoker. Both of them are head-strong, used to getting their own by being the logical person in any given situation. Veronica is better at keeping her head than Stoker, which exasperates him no end. They bicker and needle each other (which any savvy reader knows means they like each other quite a lot) for most of the book. They are hilarious.
I enjoyed A Curious Beginning so much that I bought it and its sequel so that I can spend more time with Veronica and Stoker. I would recommend this cracking read to people looking for irrepressible heroines in the mold of Amelia Peabody and Alexia Tarabotti. Feisty ladies can be hard to find, after all.
Yay for feisty heroines! This sounds like a fun read-I’ll have to check it out sometime.