A Ghastly Catastrophe: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery

Raybourn’s enjoyable latest case for 1890s lepidopterist Veronica Speedwell (after A Grave Robbery) sets the unlikely sleuth on the trail of a possible vampire. Though Veronica and her beau, taxidermist Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane, have been hired for a lucrative gig cataloging a nobleman’s estate, Veronica yearns for the excitement of crime solving. Her ears perk up when she learns that a young man named Maurice Quincey was found dead in a carriage near her local cemetery. Though the consulting physician theorized that Quincey died of natural causes, the two puncture marks in his neck convince Veronica he was killed by a bloodsucker. The mystery deepens when Veronica’s friend, Det. Insp. Mornaday, informs her that a week earlier, Quincey’s best friend, Jameson Harkness, died at home after falling off his balcony. Veronica ropes Stoker and his old friend, Lady Julia Grey—heroine of another Raybourn series—into her inquiry, which proves to be among the series’ most complex. The author’s fans will delight at the well-executed crossover, and armchair sleuths will have fun puzzling out the intricate whodunit plot. It’s a spooky good time. Agent: Pamela Hopkins, Hopkins Literary. (Mar.)