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 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. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer...

Set against the lush, exotic European colonial outposts of the 1920s, "New York Times" bestselling author Deanna Raybourn delivers the captivating tale of one woman who embarks upon a journey to see the world--and ends up finding intrigue, danger and a love beyond all reason.
Famed aviatrix Evangeline Starke never expected to see her husband, adventurer Gabriel Starke, ever again. They had been a golden couple, enjoying a whirlwind courtship amid the backdrop of a glittering social set in prewar London until his sudden death with the sinking of the Lusitania. Five years later, beginning to embrace life again, Evie embarks upon a flight around the world, collecting fame and admirers along the way. In the midst of her triumphant tour, she is shocked to receive a mysterious--and recent--photograph of Gabriel, which brings her ambitious stunt to a screeching halt.
With her eccentric aunt Dove in tow, Evie tracks the source of the photo to the ancient City of Jasmine, Damascus. There she discovers that nothing is as it seems. Danger lurks at every turn, and at stake is a priceless relic, an artifact once lost to time and so valuable that criminals will stop at nothing to acquire it--even murder. Leaving the jewelled city behind, Evie sets off across the punishing sands of the desert to unearth the truth of Gabriel's disappearance and retrieve a relic straight from the pages of history.
Along the way, Evie must come to terms with the deception that parted her from Gabriel and the passion that will change her destiny forever....

London, 1888. Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can't resist the allure of an exotic mystery particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess, just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition. In London, rumours abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets.

Sordid details emerge from Stoker's past, and caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats, Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...

After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica Speedwell intends 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.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. The baron offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker-a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can reveal his secrets, he is found murdered. Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run, wary partners in search of the villainous truth...

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. But now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates their real-world resourcefulness in an age of technology. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realise they've been marked for death. To get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman - and a killer - of a certain age.

"Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave."

These ominous words are the last threat that Sir Edward Grey receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, he collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.

Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that her husband was murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers damning evidence for herself, and realizes the truth.

Determined to bring the murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

A royal scandal's connection to a brutal serial killer threatens London in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from New York Times bestselling and Edgar(R) Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Autumn 1888. Veronica Speedwell and her colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to stop a potential scandal so explosive it threatens to rock the monarchy. Prince Albert Victor is a regular visitor to the most exclusive private club in London, and the proprietress, Madame Aurore, has received an expensive gift that can be traced back to the prince. Lady Wellie would like Veronica and Stoker to retrieve it from the club before scandal can break. Worse yet, London is being terrorized by what would become the most notorious and elusive serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper--and Lady Wellie suspects the prince may be responsible. Veronica and Stoker reluctantly agree to go undercover at Madame Aurore's high-class brothel, where a body soon turns up. Secrets are swirling around Veronica and the royal family--and it is up to Veronica and Stoker to find the truth, before it is too late for all of them.

"Chocolate for a Woman's Soul" for the Post-Millennium In Scribbling Women and the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them, twenty-eight romance fiction writers reveal their real-life stories of how they met, wed and love-and are loved and supported by-their spouses and life partners. At times whimsical and laugh-out-loud funny (Jacquie D'Alessandro's "Donny & Me?," Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick's "Soul Mates for a Thousand Lifetimes"), at others poignant and bittersweet (Elf Ahearn's "A Lost Friend, A Movie Star, A Man to Love Forever"), all unfailingly inspiring (Lisa Renee Jones's "Unexpected Treasures"; Deanna Raybourn's "Once in a Blue Moon"), each essay celebrates that most powerful and sacred of human bonds: love. Happily Ever After isn't only the stuff of romance novels and fairy tales. It is every woman's birthright. All net proceeds from sales of the anthology are donated to Win (www.winnyc.org).