Deanna Raybourn - An Impossible Imposter

Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau, Stoker, are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother the heir to Hathaway Hall, Jonathan, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before. But now a man matching Jonathan's description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership of the family's most valuable possessions-a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels? 

It's a delicate situation, and Veronica is Sir Hugo's only hope. Veronica and Stoker agree to go to Hathaway Hall to covertly investigate the mysterious amnesiac. Veronica is soon shocked to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past. To help Sir Hugo discover the truth, she must open doors to her own history that she long believed to be shut for good.

Comment: This is the 7th installment in the Veronica Speedwell series by author Deanna Raybourn, following the adventures and life of protagonist Veronica and of those around her.

In this new story, Veronica and Stoker are called by Sir Hugo Montgomery, a secondary character recurrent in the series who is often their connection to the royal family or the tasks they had performed for them. But now Sir Hugo is asking for a personal favor, he wants Veronica and Stoker to investigate the reappearance of Jonathan Hathaway, the heir of the family he is friends with, presumed dead for years and whom Veronica happened to have met. After convincing their employer the Hathaways are interesting in getting rid of things they might be interested in, the two travel to the Hathaway estate and, indeed, find interesting things, but also a mystery. Some elements of the family believe in this man among them, others can't properly remember, but is that man telling the truth or not? And if not, what does he want since the law has already given the estate and the control of the money to Charles, Jonathan's brother?

I must say I've found this installment to be more appealing to me than the previous one, in terms of plot. I was much more intrigued by the investigation of the mystery man, a possible impostor, than of the previous novel with the climbing element and such. It's not to say the quality is better or worse, but the themes sometimes aren't as appealing.

If there is one thing I can say about this book is that it really surprised me, because when I got to a certain chapter and a revelation is made, I was truly caught unaware. I think the author has talent for this style of story, where things are shared slowly and sometimes so suddenly that they are both surprising and a little out of nowhere, although when explained many things end up making sense. Veronica and Stoker have also led incredible lives and many things we know about them isn't the very last of what they have to offer so the reader can expect more things to come to light.

The plot in this book was quite interesting, there they go to investigate if a person is who he says he is or not and if not, what is going on? When Veronica - who knew Jonathan in the past, finally sees this person, she immediately recognizes the person but we, the reader, only discover if he is Jonathan or not a bit later. In one hand, this tactic is clever because it makes us think and still consider other possibilities, but on the other hand it can feel a little like too much drama... I suppose this scene would have be wonderful on film.

After we know what Veronica knows, things start to fall into place and the story didn't loose its interest, considering other situations that come with knowing if the man is Jonathan or not. I think some details were intriguing, such as Effy, the younger sister of the Hathaways and her love for astronomy although the family wanted her to stick to more feminine pursuits. The resolution for Effy's situation was quite suitable, actually, and it revealed yet another side of Veronica, which I liked.

Thinking on this, obviously part of the interest in these books is to see the development and "improving" of Veronica and Stoker as a couple and as themselves dealing with new challenges in life. They are now familiar to the reader and I like them both but I will repeat that I think Veronica could have reached another level of understanding who she is and what matters to her by now. I don't know how many books are planned for the series, but I think Veronica and Stoker could be much stronger together than just as they have been pictured so far, and if more books are coming, how long will this status last... if not, will it end this way?

The book ends with a interesting new situation, and I wonder how will it affect the next installments in terms of what it means for them together and for the possible secrets that might still exist about them as individuals and that the author might want to exploit. I suppose I'm saying this hoping the series can continue, the adventures and plots are often amazing, even the ones I like less, but the romance or the private lives of the main couple and their surrounding friends and family members could advance to a more... stable situation, I'd say.

Grade: 7/10