The Seventh Veronica Speedwell Mystery - A Sinister Revenge

It seems like it has been a LONG time since the last Veronica Speedwell mystery was published, but looking back, it's only been a year since I read the sixth book in the series.  So, I guess it hasn't been as long as I thought.  Perhaps it is simply because I love these characters so much, I wish author Deanna Raybourn could provide me with their adventures more often!  But, alas, I will have to suffice with one book a year, and treasure each story until the next one hits the shelves.  Veronica and her paramour, Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (or, as we all know and love him - "Stoker") truly come to life under Raybourn's penmanship - both strong-willed, stubborn, determined, dedicated, and, above all else, loyal to a fault.  And after the ending of the last book, with Stoker taking off for parts unknown after finding out Veronica kept a prior marriage a secret from him ... well, let's just say, I was anxious to see where this mystery would take us!

A Sinister Revenge picks up months after Stoker left.  Veronica has filled her time by joining Stoker's brother, the Viscount Tiberius Templeton-Vane, on a traveling jaunt through Italy, enjoying an opportunity to capture and send home literally boxes of beautiful butterflies - after all, besides solving murders, Veronica is first and foremost a lepidopterist!  Veronica is determined not to reach out to Stoker, taking his long silence as a message that he does not wish to see her.  But her decision gets taken away from her when Tiberius approaches her one morning with the simple request:  "I wish to find Stoker ... I need him."

Of course, anyone who has been reading this series knows that the Templeton-Vane brothers are very independent and most certainly would never admit a weakness or a need for one another.  So, Tiberius' request throws Veronica off-guard.  Needless to say, the two head off to Bavaria, where they find Stoker (who has assumed the role of a werewolf of sorts, frightening the villagers as a means to be left alone).  It is here where the mystery really begins, as readers learn that Tiberius is concerned he may be the target of a killer, someone who wants revenge for something that happened two decades prior at the Templeton-Vane homestead when one of his friends fell to his death off the cliffs behind the grand house.  It had always been thought to have been an accident; after all, it had been a horribly stormy night, and Lorenzo d'Ambrogio had gone to the unstable cliff in an effort to try and save the dinosaur bones he had uncovered there.  But now, twenty years later, Tiberius has received a threat that makes him believe otherwise.  Two of his other friends from that same night have both died, and the message says he is next!

In true Agatha Christie style, a new dinner party is thrown, where Tiberius invites back everyone who had been at the house that fateful night - the remaining two members of Tiberius's group (the Seven Sinners), along with their spouses, and the Templeton-Vanes' neighbors, who had also been unfortunate enough to have attended the party all those years ago.  Tiberius is certain one of them is the killer, and he wants Veronica and Stoker to not only protect him, but also uncover the true identity of the killer.  Thus, despite the tension between them, Stoker and Veronica must put aside their personal problems and help Stoker's brother uncover the truth about what happened that night so long ago and stop a killer from striking again.

Raybourn weaves a truly intricate web of secrets and lies, as every guest has something he or she is hiding.  And just to keep things interesting (and keep Veronica hopping!), readers get treated to the return of J.J. Butterworth, that spunky female journalist who somehow seems to weasel her way into Veronica and Stoker's investigations.  This time, she's posing as a maid, having come to the Templeton-Vane residence with the foreign cook Tiberius has hired to prepare the elaborate meal for the dinner party.  Veronica is not pleased at all, but she knows J.J. could find out information only the staff of a grand house such as this would know, so she strikes a deal to work together with the journalist in the hope of uncovering the truth.  But one of the guests has a heart condition, and when she dies at the dinner party, Veronica and Stoker are left not only with a grieving husband, but with a ticking clock to determine who killed her and why, since she had not been present all those years ago - so why kill her now?  Trust me when I saw, Raybourn is a crafty one - just when you think you have it figured out, she pulls the rug out from underneath you, and you find you were following the wrong trail of clues all along!  I must applaud Raybourn for the excellent twists and turns - and for providing readers with an all-too-real cliffhanger for poor Veronica!

As always, we get some absolutely wonderful characters to enjoy as we make our way through this latest mystery.  We get treated to Stoker's youngest brother, Merryweather, who proves he can be up to any challenge where necessary.  We meet Stoker's Nanny, who takes an instant dislike to Veronica and gives rise to some wonderfully fun tete-a-tete between the two of them!  We have the chance to once again see Collins, the Templeton-Vane's butler who normally attends to Tiberius in his London residence - ever stoic, yet always caring.  And we mustn't forget Dr. Timothy Gresham and his wife, Elspeth - the not-quite-in-the-same-class neighbors who seem relatively out of place, and yet, they play such a pivotal role in the story.  Finally, we have the remaining members of the Seven Sinners - Pietro, the Conte di Salviati and his American wife, Beatrice, as well as Sir James and Lady Augusta MacIver, described as "the very picture of Scottish aristocracy."  The secrets these four hold ... well, let's just say, Raybourn is an expert at surprising her readers!

Overall, another wonderful adventure of Veronica and Stoker - and if you are wondering whether the two make up before the end of the book well ... you didn't really think I'd give that away, did you?  The only negative thing I can say about this book is that once it's read, it's going to be a whole 'nother year before you can read their next mystery!  (Unless, of course, you're willing to go out and purchase the hardcover version of the book - and being someone who is a stickler for conformity, I will patiently await the paperback, since all of the books in the series I have so far are all paperback.)  Thus, we must bid a fond farewell to our favorite sleuthing couple - until next time!

RATING:  10 bottles of heart tonic out of 10 for yet another engaging, well-written murder mystery that further proves Deanna Raybourn's expertise as a writer!