Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Curious Beginning

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

16 reviews

ablaine's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A light read I picked up for a break from heavier book covering challenging subject. The audiobook was delightful. I found I could keep up with the story even if I accidentally tuned out because major plot points were restated often. That may be a drawback for someone who dislikes repetition or reader hand-holding. I found the characters charming and plan to read the next book in the series. An important criticism to raise is that diverse characters are portrayed as “exotic” sexual exploits, which is not cool. This story definitely romanticizes British colonization.

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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I found the pages and pages of witty dialogue, though enjoyable at first, they became incredibly tedious. I found myself skimming the majority of the end until the twist/revelation around the 70% mark. From there, the story gets interesting! But all the meandering side plots before then really weighed the story down, in my opinion

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dlrosebyh's review

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

1887, London. Orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her global travels in search of scientific inquiry—and the odd amorous dalliance—after burying her spinster aunt. Veronica is as comfortable hunting butterflies as she is fighting off suitors, and she plans to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

But fate has other ideas for Veronica when she foils her own kidnapping with the assistance of an intriguing German aristocrat who gives her refuge in the hands of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can tell what he knows about the conspiracy against her, he is assassinated, leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an enigmatic assailant as hesitant companions in quest of the wicked truth.

This was given to me by a friend since I was seeking for historical fiction mysteries after reading so many modern ones. As a mystery reader, I believe the storyline might have been thickened. The finale was also quite predictable. By 35% of the way through the book, I knew what the finale would be, which is always a bad sign in mystery books. I'm not sure whether I like or dislike Veronica, but I also don't want to read six more novels only to learn more about her, so I'm not sure how I feel about this book.

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