A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

"London, 1887. Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman's noose in a week's time if Veronica cannot find the real killer. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover."--

Review product. Keeper shelf and digital copy purchased as well.

Years ago from one of my favorite authors Michelle Moran, I was introduce to Lady Julia Grey and the writing of Deanna Raybourn. I haven't missed a single novel of hers since. While not my normal Christian Historical Fiction genre, these are authors I will venture out into the general market for again and again. This is, however, one of the more risque and not necessarily the one I would recommend to my normal reading buddies. Mature audiences only, I'd say.

Veronica Speedwell is such an incredible creature and I love her introduction in 5h e first novel and enjoy her continued adventure in this second novel. And I can tell you as this review is late (had a baby last year and lost track of all tasks and to do lists!) indeed her journey in her third story is even better.

This one is artistic and in the realm of the artistry folk of the era. The continuing characters are finding a fond place in my novel memory banks and I look forward to more. Deanna is doing an entertaining job of providing enough details to keep me entertained and invested in the story without giving away so much as to having the mystery figured out immediately.

As always with reading one of Deanna Raybourn's novels I want more and I continue to grow my digital and physical shelves with her stories. I cannot wait to get the fourth novel.

This review will be posted through the avenue of www.CreativeMadnessMama.com and @CherryBlossomMJ places online. Review copy provided but worthy of the purchased digital copy also.

Well, A Perilous Undertaking quite unexpectedly I liked even more, than the first book in the series. Maybe that was because it is not the first book in the series and we were already acquainted with half of the characters. Therefore, this time around, the plot was more concentrated on the mystery itself. I can't say, that it was something extraordinary in terms of investigation, but it was certainly knotted very well. Actually, I had my doubts about the killer almost until the last page.

However, the mystery is not exactly the reason that made me fall in love with the series. Of course, it is an important part of the charm of this cycle. But it would be worth exactly nothing without the main characters. It is a balm for my soul when the grown-up characters behave themselves as adults and not like over-hormonal teenagers. Not all the time but we all allowed certain flaws from time to time.

But the best thing - their relationship. They are friends first of all, before anything else. The can argue over a lot of things, they don't see eye to eye on even more things, but they trust each other with their lives nonetheless. What I appreciate even more is that they didn't hurry to engage in romantic relationships when none of them is quite ready for it. They still need to get over demons of their past and both of them know it.