Andy P. rated A Sinister Revenge: 4 stars

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn (Veronica Speedwell, #8)
Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this …
I mostly listen to sci-fi and fantasy audiobooks. Lots and lots of audiobooks. Also on Mastodon as @otterlove@mastodon.art
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7% complete! Andy P. has read 5 of 70 books.

Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this …

Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this …

While investigating a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a noble family, Veronica Speedwell gets the surprise of …
How to review this without spoilers for things that it is definitely worth encountering at the speed they're written?
I found this a hard book to read, because so much of the plot is driven by the protagonist making decisions that are clearly bad in the moment they are made. I felt a bit like the stereotypical moviegoer wanting to shout "no, don't do it" at the screen. But I ultimately came to see it as a classic tragedy: a whole series of painful events driven by the hero's fatal flaw. And it is all aspects of the same flaw, and the flaw is one that's very recognisable looking around at society.
It's also a story of the right size for the novella format. Sometimes I get frustrated that novellas feel incomplete, rushing to an ending and/or leaving too few characters fleshed out. This one just felt tightly …
How to review this without spoilers for things that it is definitely worth encountering at the speed they're written?
I found this a hard book to read, because so much of the plot is driven by the protagonist making decisions that are clearly bad in the moment they are made. I felt a bit like the stereotypical moviegoer wanting to shout "no, don't do it" at the screen. But I ultimately came to see it as a classic tragedy: a whole series of painful events driven by the hero's fatal flaw. And it is all aspects of the same flaw, and the flaw is one that's very recognisable looking around at society.
It's also a story of the right size for the novella format. Sometimes I get frustrated that novellas feel incomplete, rushing to an ending and/or leaving too few characters fleshed out. This one just felt tightly focussed.
And it has one of the best closing sentences of anything I've read, up there with The Dispossessed for how perfectly it recapitulates the whole story, and how little it will mean prior to having read the story.

While investigating a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a noble family, Veronica Speedwell gets the surprise of …

princess is missing, and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from …

In 1920s California, two people in need of healing find strange refuge in a house with a mind of its …

princess is missing, and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from …

Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal …

Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal …

Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian …

Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian …

"Veronica Speedwell returns in an adventure filled with betrayal and deception from Deanna Raybourn, the New York Times bestselling author …