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I’m kicking myself over this book.

I bought a copy of this book nearly two years ago, when it was on sale at Audible.com. It sounded good (British historical fiction is one of my genres!), but I had a bunch of books on my To Be Read (TBR) pile, and it got shuffled down the list until I kind of forgot about it.

But then I was going through my Audible library to find a good book, and this was just sitting there – unread. I downloaded it, started it, and was immediately hooked! As soon as I finished it, I went to the site and used a full credit to buy the next one – because I so wanted to know what happened next!

Don’t make my mistake! If smart, independent women who kick ass, and who find equally smart, independent men to work with to solve mysteries in 1887 London is your thing – grab this! (If you are a butterfly collector, or a fan of science – that’s only going to help.)

A Curious Beginning (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery) “London, 1887. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England now gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron with ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker—a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant, wary partners in search of the villainous truth. “