Time to catch back up with everyone's favorite lepidopterist, Veronica Speedwell, and her cohort and fellow crime solving partner, Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (although he goes simply by Stoker - I mean, seriously, with a name like Revelstoke, I think I'd prefer Stoker, too!). It's been a while since I read A Treacherous Curse, and the fifth book has just come out in paperback, so I figured it was time to read the fourth mystery in this series and see where Veronica and Stoker find their latest murder to solve. And this time, author Deanna Raybourn finally plays heavily on Veronica's chosen vocation of studying and collecting butterflies (I mean, you did know what a lepidopterist was, didn't you?).
A Dangerous Collaboration opens with Veronica and Stoker having a difficult time facing the fact they almost revealed their true feelings to one another. As usual, though, their ability to express themselves gets thrust to the back-burner when the latest adventures falls into their laps. Or, rather, into Veronica's lap. Lord Tiberius Templeton-Vane, Stoker's brother, shows up at their doorstep with an invitation to Veronica that she simply cannot refuse - a trip to a secluded island with a castle to visit one of Lord Templeton-Vane's old friends - a friend who just so happens to have a garden where the once-thought-extinct Romilly Glasswing butterfly still flourishes and who is willing to allow Veronica bring back some larvae for her own vivarium in London. How could she possibly say no? Plus, this will give her the opportunity to be away from Stoker and sort out her feelings regarding the man. Stoker, of course, is none-too-thrilled with the idea of Veronica taking off to a secluded isle with his duplicitous brother, but Veronica chooses to go and nothing can change her mind. Not even learning, on the train, that Lord Templeton-Vane has announced to his old friend that Veronica is his fiance!
Stoker, of course, is not one to be left behind on any adventure, so, sure enough, he shows up at the boat that is set to take Veronica and Lord Templeton-Vane over to the Romillys' island paradise and joins his irritated brother and his faux fiance. It doesn't take long after their arrival to realize that something is amiss, and that Malcolm Romilly has an ulterior motive for inviting his oldest friend to the island. It seems that three years prior, Malcolm's bride disappeared without a trace on their wedding day, only moments after saying their vows! Rumors abound on the small island, and Malcolm has spent the last three years in turmoil, never knowing what really happened to his bride. There are secrets everywhere within the Romilly castle homestead, and despite their confused feelings for one another, Veronica and Stoker must work together to uncover all of the secrets and figure out once and for all what really happened to Rosamund Romilly!It's a fantastically written mystery, and like a good Agatha Christie tale, each one of the cast has a secret that could spell disaster if revealed, and many of them have strong motive for wanting Rosamund out of the way! Malcolm's sister, who wants her son to inherit the Romilly fortune ... Malcolm's nephew, who needs that family fortune to support his dreams of being on stage ... Malcolm's sister, whose garden of deadly plants was going to be taken away by Rosamund ... Malcolm himself, who has a bad temper that can flare at any time ... and Lord Templeton-Vane seems to be harboring some deep secrets of his own that could hold the key to uncovering the truth of it all!
The ultimate revelation of who was behind Rosamund's disappearance may come as quite a surprise! I had my suspicions about this person early on, but it wasn't until nearly three-fourths of the way through the book that I was able to confirm my suspicion as reality. Raybourn gives readers plenty of suspects and motives to keep you guessing right up until the end, and I think the only reason I was able to make the educated guess that I did is because from all the mysteries I have read over the years, I have learned that it is usually the least-likely person who turns out to be the culprit (although often-times it is the reasoning behind the crime that comes as a surprise!).
Raybourn provides a superbly-plotted tale that not only tells a creative mystery set in a spooky, hidden passage-filled castle, but also continues the budding relationship between Veronica and Stoker - will they? won't they? are they just friends? are they more than friends? There's a strong passion between those characters that reminds me of Remington Steele, Moonlighting, and other female/male detective stories where the sexual/romantic tension adds some intensity to the stories. Where will this passion lead? I am guessing Raybourn will keep teasing us with each book that comes out!
RATING: 10 crystal dishes of rose sorbet out of 10 for crafting a 19th century mystery filled with all the excitement, passion, and twists of a present-day crime!
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