A Dangerous Collaboration: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery

In March 1888, Veronica Speedwell agrees to accompany Tiberius, Viscount Templeton-Vane, to a windswept Cornish isle, the home of a rare butterfly, in Raybourn’s deliciously gothic fourth mystery featuring the adventurous lepidopterist (after 2018’s A Treacherous Curse). Incidentally, Veronica hopes to sort out her disturbing feelings for Tiberius’s brother, Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane—a plan that’s complicated when Stoker invites himself along. St. Maddern’s Isle is owned by Tiberius’s oldest friend, Malcolm Romilly, whose bride, Rosamund, disappeared three years earlier, on their wedding day. In order to finally discover what has become of Rosamund, Malcolm has gathered everyone who was present on the day she went missing: his estranged family, his long-time staff, and Tiberius, who harbored a secret passion for the mysterious Rosamund. Over several stormy days, Veronica and Stoker discover that everyone is concealing painful secrets and ulterior motives. A brooding castle, rain-lashed windows, hidden passages, and a séance all contribute to a delightfully creepy tale with twists that would make Daphne Du Maurier proud. [em]Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Assoc. (Mar.) [/em]