A Treacherous Curse - Deanna Raybourn

    2018; 306 pages.  Book 3 (out of 10) in the “Veronica Speedwell Mystery” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Mystery; Crime Fiction; Victorian England.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

 

    It’s a curse, I tell you!  Sir Leicester Tiverton’s expedition to Egypt made the fabulous discovery of Princess Ankheset’s sarcophagus, but they should never have decided to bring it back to England.

 

    Do you want proof of the curse?!  The expedition’s photographer, John de Morgan, disappeared the minute he got back to Britain.  So did the crown jewel of the expedition’s finds—Princess Ankheset’s tiara.  The curse has struck!  Twice!

 

    Of course, there’s another more this-worldly possibility.  Maybe John de Morgan stole the tiara, and is hiding out as he tries to sell it and keep the money for himself.  His wife swears that isn’t true, but that probably just means she’s in on the skullduggery.

 

    Hmm.  It might be prudent to get someone to investigate this whole affair.  Because who knows, there might be other people who want John de Morgan dead.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Treacherous Curse is set in Victorian London in 1888, a year after the previous book in the series, A Perilous Undertaking, which is reviewed here.  The worldbuilding is fantastic, including a side-trip to Dover, England, and a flashback to 1882 Egypt.

 

    Once more, the investigation is a team effort: Veronica and her partner, Stoker Templeton-Vane.  Their relationship is complex.  Sometimes they work in smooth harmony; but just as often they get on each other’s nerves.

 

    Needless to say, the missing person/tiara case rapidly gets more complicated.  There are further killings, attempted killings, uncooperative witnesses, and mysterious persons who are following our dynamic duo.  Permeating it all is the “is it natural or supernatural” issue, which I always enjoy.  And each time Veronica, Stoker—and the reader—think they’ve figured things out, Deanna Raybourn drops a plot twist in the storyline, causing all parties to reassess their hypotheses.

 

    The ending is logical, twisty, and quite enlightening.  John de Morgan’s whereabouts is ascertained, Princess Ankheset’s tiara shows up, and all the other plot threads get tied up, except for Veronica and Stoker’s relationship, which I suspect will be a recurring storyline.  I love a well-constructed historical mystery, and thus far, this series is three-for-three in that regard.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 4,269 ratings and 236 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.15/5 based on 28,392 ratings and 2,865 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Philologist (n.) : an expert in the structure, historical development, and relationships in a language or languages.

Others: Froideur (n.); Congé (n.).

 

Excerpts...

    “I know you do not wish to discuss it,” I began.

    “Then why are you introducing the subject?” he countered through a mouthful of crumbs.

    “Because we must develop a strategy.  No good general goes into battle without a plan.” I said stoutly.  “Caesar wouldn’t have done so.”

    “Caesar was murdered by his friends,” he reminded me.

    “Because he didn’t listen to the woman in his life,” I countered.”  (pg. 34)

 

    I soon realized three things: 1. Our visitor was not bent upon harming us.  2. Our visitor was Mrs. Marshwood.  3. She was not actually being strangulated by a weasel in spite of her shriek and the fur at her throat.  It was meant to be decorative.

    She recovered herself quickly, putting a hand to her heart and fixing us with a repressive look.  “How dare you come upon me like ruffians!” she demanded.  “Is this any way to greet a caller?”  (pg. 211)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Kindle version of A Treacherous Curse costs $11.99 at Amazon at present.  The other books in the series range in price from $3.99 to $14.99.  Generally, the more recent the volume, the higher the price.

 

“What a delightfully old-fashioned notion of sin you have.”  (pg. 154)

    There’s only a smidgen if cussing in A Treacherous Curse.  I counted just seven instances in the first 50% of the book, and they were all of the milder variety.  Veronica does allude to some adult situations, but I don’t recall any lewd scenes.

 

    I didn’t note any typos at all, which was also true of the previous book.  Whoever is doing the editing did a marvelous job.

 

    A Treacherous Curse was my third read in this series (thus far, I’m reading them in order), and fully met my expectations in all aspects.  Both the Murder-Mystery and Historical Fiction were well done, and the banter betwixt Veronica and Stoker is both witty and snarky.  I’ve got most of the remaining books in the series on my Kindle, including the next one, A Dangerous Collaboration, and am looking forward to more of Stoker and Veronica's sleuthing.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  Deanna Raybourn also sprinkles a modicum of French into the tale, including “pets de nonnes”, which thoroughly stumped me, despite having taken three years of French in college.  We’ll list the translation in the comments section.