A Ghastly Catastrophe

Veronica Speedwell #10

by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica and Stoker are practically dying for a new adventure but when their wish is granted, they find themselves up against a secret society and a darkly seductive duo in this landmark historical mystery from beloved New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronica’s interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide, and Veronica and her intrepid beau, Stoker, know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.

Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Roma boy may know more about their first victim, but the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stoker’s, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.

The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover they’ve gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance, Adult, Historical Mystery, Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 3, 2026

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including two RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, a Last Laugh, three du Mauriers, and most recently the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Novel. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica has returned in several more adventures, most recently AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTOR, book seven, which released in early 2022. Deanna's first contemporary novel, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, about four female assassins on the cusp of retirement publishes in September 2022. (Please note: Deanna is not active on GR.)

Reviews

[Paige]

WAIT, THE NEXT VERONICA SPEEDWELL IS A LADY JULIA CROSSOVER??!!

Guess I'll have some rereading to do next year!

[Jackie]

The next Veronica Speedwell mystery is going to be a crossover with Deanna Raybourn's previous historical mystery series? 👀 Iconic, guess it's finally time for me to discover her backlist

[nika.ex.libris]

OMG NEW BOOK, I NEED THIS!!!

[amp]

A Speedwell/Lady Julia crossover!

[Sarah]

I’m sat. They’re saying “it doesn’t come out for almost another year” but I’m simply too sat to hear it. I’m glued to the seat and I’m not leaving until it’s just me and this book. Nothing in my mind for another year until this book greets my eyes

[Heather Moll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m always glad to visit with Veronica and Stoker, and if I need to look up a word, all the better. Lady Julia fans will enjoy the brief crossover. I wouldn’t have minded a stronger connection between the two series, but it was fun to see Lady Julia and Nicholas. I also liked to see Veronica with a female friendship in JJ and watch Julia and Veronica compare notes.

I didn’t love the pacing. It sometimes seemed like there weren’t enough clues to follow. Finding a vampire took over finding the culprit, and I was surprised no one thought to ask who wanted the victim dead until the last quarter of the book. There was a “villain monologue” at the end and I would have liked more sleuthing rather than be told so much, but I was still entertained. The solution at the end was clever. Veronica is quick, confident, and likable, and I like that she’s had growth and is warmer now.

And don’t lie to me and tell me you didn’t google nineteenth century walrus taxidermy…

3.5/4 I received an arc from NetGalley

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great edition to the Veronica Speedwell series. I loved how the author incorporated Lady Julia Grey into the story. She was the protagonist in her own series and now Veronica and Julia have met. This is going to be marvelous. I can't wait for the next book!

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, Lady Julia and Brisbane do make a cameo appearance in this book, but it's a brief one. it may make the fan girls happy, but it really doesn't enhance the book.

About the rest of the book? Well, I've never been one for vampire stories. and more and more I find Veronica a pale imitation of Barbara Peters immortal Amelia Peabody, complete with the insufferable smugness and the way that she and Stoker make bets on solution for the mystery.

I re-read the last two books before this before reading this volume. and I don't think I'll ever feel the need again to re-read the whole series again the way that I do the Peters books.

[Allison]

Lady Julia and Brisbane??? This was written just for me.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica and Stoker are joined by their friends JJ and Mornaday as they investigate...vampires? V and S are on excellent terms and closer than ever as they run around London trying to find the truth behind some occult happenings involving bodies drained of blood and possible mesmerism. It seems like perhaps JJ will be a more permanent fixture around the Belvedere. Perhaps Veronica will sponsor her induction into the Curiosity Club? Readers who are looking forward to another installment of Veronica's adventures will be very pleased with this newest outing.

NetGalley provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Jessica Samuelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite series! Both Veronica and Stoker are unconventional for the Victorian era, but are also confident in their decisions to live on their own terms despite societal expectations. Veronica is brusque but passionate and loyal in her own way. Stoker is simultaneously brilliant, rugged, grumpy, and oddly refined. Their adventures are exciting and often incorporate historical events. I also love the references to natural science of that time.

This particular book explores the topics of vampirism and mesmerism. Certain parts of the story have more of a gothic novel vibe than the other books in the series. There is also a cross-over component with the Lady Julia series as Stoker and Julia are childhood acquaintances and Brisbane has a useful connection with a witness. Overall, I enjoyed this madcap addition to the Veronica Speedwell series.

Note: This is the tenth book in the Veronica Speedwell series. I would highly recommend reading at least the 1st book (A Curious Beginning) prior to this one. Truthfully, though, it’s best to just read them all in order. Additionally, this story incorporates characters from the Lady Julia Grey series. I didn’t read that series prior to this and didn’t have any trouble following along. However, I do plan to read the Lady Julia series now because I enjoyed those characters.

Romance Steam Rating: Gentle Simmer [1.5 out of 5] (Closed Door)

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for an Advanced Reader Copy.

[Cynde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 10th book in the Veronica Speedwell series , in which Veronica and Revelstoke (Stoker) Templeton-Vane find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery. Detective Mornaday comes by the Belvedere, where they work, to share some unusual findings at two recent murder scenes that he cannot look into. Knowing that the two will probably do some investigating of their own, he tells of a man found in a carriage at Highgate (cemetery) with two puncture marks on his neck and all the blood drained from his body. He also tells them of an apparent suicide of the first gentleman's best friend. both deaths have been ruled accidental and the cases closed. Veronica seizes on the clues leading to a death by vampire. Can they prove that the folklore of the vampire had nothing to do with these murders?
This was an enjoyable read. The book would be enjoyed by readers who like to read about Victorian times, mysteries and folklore.

[Kiaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another murder to solve for our intrepid Victoria Speedwell and her partner in life, love and adventure, Stoker. Set in 1889 London, Victoria and Stoker are visited by their friend from Scotland Yard Special Branch, Mornaday to tell them about two very odd deaths that have been hushed up by the powers that be and not declared murders. One finds the body of a young man of some means in an abandoned carriage with no blood in his body and two small puncture wounds on his neck. The other is the son of an aristocrat who, upon opening the mail and finding dried wolfsbane ( a known evil deterrent) get up from the breakfast table, go to a balcony in his house and jump to his death. Both young men were friends and members of a very secret society that dabbles in the occult and may be lead by a vampire. Let the quirky and entertaining investigation begin.
Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC of this book.

[bookishhaunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot believe that I was blessed with approval for an arc on netgalley. That's a wild feeling.

I'm torn between giving this 3 or 4 stars, since it feels like a 3.5. So, at least for now, I'm gonna give it a 3.

It's not my favorite one, but I do like the concept. I just feel like the execution didn't work as well as other stories.

I still need to read the Lady Julia books to appreciate it more, but the crossover felt like too much. I kinda expected them to be helping more throughout the book, but it really was only for one thing and just kinda felt more unnecessary. It could have been a new character and not made any difference. They also spent a long time just saying how similar they all were over and over. It felt very repetitive, to the point that it felt too much.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the right time of year for mysteries, so I enjoyed it more than I probably would have if it was a sunny day in July. These books wax and wane in quality, and this one was more on the waning side of things. I found I enjoyed it in spite of itself. The mystery was confusing, and I kept waiting for the story to get off the ground. Then there was the weirdly protracted narration of how it all went down. One thing that has annoyed me for many books is that the main characters stopped progressing or experiencing true obstacles. They just hang around acting out their roles, and the side characters have no purpose other than to be annoying. Still, I found the book engaging in the end. It’s not bad writing, but it was stagnant storytelling.

[❁ Emmy ❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for review. This was another wonderful addition to the Veronica Speedwell series! Vampires, crypts, and a web of deceit set the stage for another mystery for Veronica and Stoker in A Ghastly Catastrophe.
The resolution didn't feel quite as high stakes or complex as some of the other books in the series, and I was able to guess the ending quite early on, but that didn't take much away from the story because I just love reading about Veronica and Stoker so much. I'm excited for the next story in the series!

[Candie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica and Stoker are hot on the trail of a vampire in their 10th adventure. This has all the gothic elements- a secret occult society, a fortune teller, a witch, and of course a vampire, A corpse found exsanguinated with bite marks on his neck starts this adventure off. Can they capture the villains and not meet the same fate? I love these books. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC- my opinions are my own.

[Brenda Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book ten in this series and they are always entertaining. Veronica and Stoker have a relationship that most people don’t approve of, but they live their lives as they see fit. Once again they are pulled into a murder case by Stoker’s brother. One murder becomes two, but how are they related? Does it go back to when they were in school or is it more recent? Don’t worry, with Veronica and Stoker on the case the answers will be found.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Veronica Speedwell series is a cozy but of mystery and romance. The characters of Veronica and Stoker are quite unique and there are more interesting side characters in addition to Mornaday, the hapless policeman, and J.J., unemployed tabloid reporter. At times, it felt there were a few too many threads to the tale but it was still good fun. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable outing with Veronica and her inamorata Revelstoke Templeton-Vane, aka Stoker. There is a brief appearance of Lady Julia Grey and Nicholas Brisbane, the main characters in the author’s other historical mystery series. If you haven’t read that series, I highly recommend it. The first book is Silent in the Grave, which has one of the best opening lines I’ve read.

[Molly]

I need this book like I need oxygen.

[FV Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come at SmexyBooks.

[Emily Ross]

Just applied for a NetGalley arc and the declined email felt like a slap to the face 😭😭

You won this time NetGalley!!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always great to revisit old friends, especially when they bring along some even older friends. I hope the crossover continues in the future.

[Mandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fabulous installment of the Veronica Speedwell series. This time, Veronica and Stoker are investigating vampires! One of them vehemently denies their existence, while the other argues that they are scientists and should therefore remain open-minded about the existence of such beings. Who is right? And if there's no such thing as vampires, why are there so many bodies?

I think this one may have the highest body count in the series so far, and while it does have a few rather dark moments, the main characters remain true to their scientifically hilarious selves. Mornaday and J.J. also make appearances, as well as young George, whom Veronica is training in the detectival arts... much to Stoker's chagrin. Speedwell Templeton-Vane fans will definitely enjoy this one. It's a great historical cozy series for mystery readers.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was another great mystery, loved the Dracula references, and I loved seeing where it went!

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Typical fare for the series: enjoyable, suspenseful, and the fun characters we’ve grown to love in the past nine books. Although a murder mystery, this one wasn’t too dark and I think I enjoyed it just because I like Veronica and Stoker. This one is a play on Dracula. The characters who have been murdered and who are at the heart of the mystery have names based off of the main players in the classic Dracula.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another magical Veronica Speedwell journey! I did find the crossover to be a bit trite, but overall found this case to be just as engrossing as the others. Stoker and Veronica are as fine a team as ever, and I enjoy a good misdirect. I liked the familiar faces who come back, though JJ has been wearing a bit thin for me, I always love seeing Veronica with a close female friend.

When a series gets into double digits, you worry about how much more gas it has, but this is not the case with Veronica Speedwell. Each new volume opens up new avenues for inquiry, and brings in new characters to flesh out the Victorian world of Veronica and her accomplices. I'll be hungering for the next one!