2017 historical thriller, second of its series. After a planned
expedition has to be abandoned, Veronica Speedwell and her undeclared
beau Stoker are bored in London, and easily lured into investigating a
Bohemian murder…
It's a very public case, and indeed a suspect has already been
found guilty and sentenced to hang; which in turn means little help
from the police. But of course our heroes are up to the challenge.
In terms of progress in the series' overall plot, there's not much:
lots of sexual tension, of course, but it's so obvious that these
are a Destined Couple that it feels artificial to keep them apart.
Still, there's some genuine soul-sharing here, and if it's protracted
at least I can believe in these people having a sensible reluctance to
take steps that might well change the nature of their relationship.
On the other hand, they and several other characters are frank about
sex in a way which one does not associate with Victorian life. Yes,
they're speaking in private and not in public, and they are unusual
people; it all manages to avoid completely breaking my sense of
plausibility, but it is a constant slight itch, like the linguistic
infelicity:
The cheaper publications were predictably morbid with their endless
carping upon the gore-stained blood in which the victim had been
found[.]
There are mystery elements here, though it's not entirely challenging
to work out whodunnit. That plot is more of a frame on which to hang
stressful situations to force our protagonists to show their true
colours, so as with the first book I'd mostly call this an historical
thriller.
Disposable fun, certainly, but it does manage to be fun.