She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. 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. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia.

She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. 'Veronica Speedwell might just be one of the most endearing heroines in mysteries, period….She's smart, dashing, and entirely capable….Her sense of humor and chemistry with Stoker, her counterpart, just make this series even better.New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. 'A smart, plucky, way-ahead-of-her time heroine.' - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

'A fine combination of detective story and character study…sure to interest mystery lovers and Anglophiles alike.' - The Historical Novels Review One of the few writers who can make history feel immediate and exciting without losing a grasp of the period.' - Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Royal Spyness series 'Veronica Speedwell is sure to join the greats of mystery fiction.' - Alan Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce series 'I love this series! Veronica Speedwell is utterly unique.' - Amanda Quick, New York Timesbestselling author of The Other Lady Vanishes 'A ruthlessly intelligent heroine.' - NPR A real find.'-Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Virgin River series 'I love this book! Brings us the powerful Veronica Speedwell, who triumphs over adversity and danger with wit, charm, and uncanny determination. 'Creating strong character pairings, placing the action in unexpectedly unusual but actual historical settings, and folding it all into a clever mystery are hallmarks of this author's magical, signature style…This new series starts off with a bang.' - Library Journal (starred review) 'The eccentricities of Victorian England receive a rousing look in the highly entertaining A Curious Beginning…Energetic storytelling.' - South Florida Sun-Sentinel 'Wickedly clever and devilishly amusing…Veronica Speedwell is a joy-unflappable, unrepentant, and thoroughly delightful.' - Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn