cover image A Treacherous Curse: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery

A Treacherous Curse: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery

Deanna Raybourn. Berkley, $26 (320p) ISBN 978-0-451-47617-3

Set in 1888, Raybourn’s exhilarating third mystery featuring Veronica Speedwell and her colleague, Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane (after A Perilous Undertaking), centers on the strange case of John de Morgan. De Morgan, the photo- grapher on an archeological dig in Egypt plagued with mishaps, and his wife secretly leave the dig at the same time that a jeweled diadem from the tomb of Princess Ankheset goes missing. De Morgan and his wife travel across Europe to Dover only for de Morgan to vanish from the hotel room where his wife last sees him. Did de Morgan steal the diadem and abandon his wife, or is he another victim of the curse that plagued the Egyptian expedition from the beginning? After discovering that Stoker has an unsavory connection to de Morgan, Veronica determines to uncover the truth behind the alleged curse and salvage her partner’s reputation. In audacious, decidedly un-Victorian Veronica, Raybourn has created a delightful cross between real-life reporter Nellie Bly and Phryne Fisher. [em]Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Associates. (Jan.) [/em]