I read five books back in April. Let’s get to them:

A Dangerous Collaboration, by Deanna Raybourn

The fourth book in the Veronica Speedwell series was the weakest so far in my mind. While the Victorian setting was fascinating — a castle on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall with a poison garden on the estate — it felt like scientist and detective Veronica seemed a little off her game. Asked by her partner Stoker’s older brother, Tiberius, to accompany him to the island to collect some rare butterflies for her museum (and under the pretense of his fiancee), Veronica finds herself tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to the bride of the manor who disappeared three years earlier on her wedding day — and who now seems to be haunting the castle. The problem? Everyone present seems to have had a reason to wish her ill — including Tiberius. Will Veronica be able to solve the mystery before she (and Stoker, who follows his brother and the woman we all know he loves) suffers a similar fate?

Of all the gender-bending Sherlock variations I read, Veronica and Stoker come closest to being a true partnership of equal skill and intellect. That aside, though, the reason I read them is because the woman takes the backseat to no one. Does Sherlock need Watson? Absolutely! Is Watson more capable than Sherlock at solving a mystery? Absolutely not! So it rankled a bit that in this mystery the advantage at solving the mystery seemed to favor Stoker. And I get that that may be necessary for overall character development for Stoker to get to take the lead in order for Veronica to truly see him as her equal (and therefore someone she should be willing to enter into a romantic partnership with), but it was irritating that in order for Stoker to get to take the lead in this, Veronica had to be willing to consider the fact that the castle was truly being haunted by a spirit. The author may have cloaked it as scientific open-mindedness, but it felt decidedly out of character for Veronica and led to a disappointing three-star review. Raybourn has announced that the Veronica contract has been extended to include at least another two books, so I’m hopeful they will right the ship. (The next one should focus on Jack the Ripper, since his murder spree was alluded to in this book.)

Pages: 323. Library copy.

Gin and Panic, by Maia Chance

In the third in the Discreet Retrieval Agency series, former socialite Lola and former cook Berta have been asked to reclaim the stuffed head of a rhinoceros from a mansion near New London, Connecticut. While the two women are on the premises, Rudy, their host (and target) and a big game hunter, kills himself from inside his locked bedroom. As they are attempting to salvage the situation, find the right stuffed rhino, and fulfill their duties to their client, they make a discovery about why that particular trophy may have been so valuable. Unfortunately, this also makes them a target (both of the new owner of the estate, who wants what he says is his property back) and the person responsible for Rudy’s death. Throw in complications from Lola’s gumshoe suitor (who is then hired to follow them) and a New York mobster, and you’ve got the gist of it.

This series is always fun: Prohibition Era Roaring Twenties parties take place at mansions across the Northeast are common and Lola has a fondness for sweets — particularly at the Automat, where she can eat her dessert first. Since much of this particular story occurs near where I went to college, I had an especially vivid picture in my mind of this book’s setting. Recommended to everyone who loves historical mysteries.

Pages: 288. Library copy.

The Last of August, by Britanny Cavallaro

It’s just before Christmas when Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes head to Charlotte’s family estate for a few days. When Charlotte’s uncle Leander (Jamie’s dad’s BFF) disappears and Charlotte’s mother takes ill, the pair head to Berlin, where Charlotte’s brother runs his international black-ops spy agency and where Leander had been working undercover earlier in the fall. It is also where August Moriarty, Charlotte’s ex-flame lives, and the two teens will need to work with — and trust — the young twenty-something if any of their mysteries are going to be solved in time.

The second in a fast-paced, modern-day series peopled with teenaged descendents of the literary duo, this story rarely stays put long enough for you to focus on any one fact before it’s reeling off to the next plot point and convoluted clue. You will enjoy the series more if you don’t spend too much time puzzling over how’s and why’s and instead just sit back with Jamie and enjoy the ride. There is no salvation in trying to keep pace with a Sherlockian mind, after all.

Pages: 317. Library copy.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow is cursed through an accident of birth and blamed for every ill event that happens in the area around her, from broken legs to poor performances in spelling bees. But it’s okay, everyone thinks, because she’s also destined to die on her 11th birthday, which is nearly upon them. So when, just prior to that fateful day, she receives a number of invitations for apprenticeships, people, including Morrigan and her family, are nonplussed. And even more so when a gentleman, Jupiter North, arrives at her birthday/deathday supper and whisks her away just ahead of the hellhounds and hunters sent to kill her. In the magical city of Nevermoor, she finds a new life as Jupiter’s protegée in a Triwizard Tournament-like contest to become the next member of the Wundrous Society and as the friend of several other contestants. Yet, a lifetime of being blamed — and of blaming yourself — for everything bad is hard to overcome, and Morrigan may find that her biggest challenge is not one set by the Society — or the person looking to topple it — but in trusting others — and herself.

This is the first book in a charming middle-grade fantasy series that won the Cybil Award for children’s speculative fiction last year. If you’ve ever wanted to travel by umbrella or wake up in a sentient hotel that’s intent on creating your favorite room ever, this is the series for you.

Pages: 465. Library copy.

The Talented Ribkins, by Ladee Hubbard

Like all the members of his family, septugenarian Johnny Ribkins has a gift. His is that he makes maps — detailed maps of places he hasn’t always been. He hasn’t had to use his gift in a long while, not since his younger half-brother, whose gift was an ability to climb any surface, died. But when Johnny gets an ultimatum from a mobster he crossed to quickly replace all the money he stole, he finds himself having to follow a series of these maps into his past. At the first stop, where he should have found enough money to settle the debt, he instead finds a teenage girl, his niece, who’s exploring the limits of her own gift. Eloise will become his traveling companion as he digs a series of holes in important personal sites across Florida where The Justice League — the 1960s vigilante group that protected the Civil Rights heroes of the time — lived, including the family homes of his closest friends and family members. As they travel, Johnny relates the story of group — and their family — to better help Eloise understand her place in history and how she can use her gifts for good.

Riffing on concepts from W.E.B. Du Bois’ essay about The Talented Tenth, this novel examines the roles family, community, race, class, and destiny play in shaping a person through magical realism. I haven’t read Du Bois’ essay, although I’d now like to. Hubbard’s prose was solid and her storytelling went places I wasn’t expecting (and didn’t go the places I did, much to my delight), and the audiobook reader’s Southern accent lent a level of authenticity to the story I appreciated. Recommended.

Pages: 292. Library audio copy.

April stats:

Total number of books read: 5.
Total pages read: 1,685.
Intended audience: 3 adult; 1 young adult; 1 middle-grade.
Source: all from the library.
Format: 4 in paper, 1 in audiobook.
Classification: all fiction.
Diversity of authors: 4 Americans, 1 Australian. 1 author of color (Black). All women.