An Unexpected Peril cover art

An Unexpected Peril

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

An Unexpected Peril

By: Deanna Raybourn
Narrated by: Angèle Masters
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

A princess is missing and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

January 1889. As the newest member of the Curiosity Club--an elite society of brilliant, intrepid women--Veronica Speedwell is excited to put her many skills to good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica and her natural historian beau, Stoker, tell the patron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, of their findings. With Europe on the verge of war, Gisela's chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to make waves--and before Veronica and Stoker can figure out their next move, the princess disappears.

Having noted Veronica's resemblance to the princess, von Rechstein begs her to pose as Gisela for the sake of the peace treaty that brought the princess to England. Veronica reluctantly agrees to the scheme. She and Stoker must work together to keep the treaty intact while navigating unwelcome advances, assassination attempts, and Veronica's own family--the royalty who has never claimed her.
Detective Fiction Historical Mystery Royalty Victorian Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Romance

Listeners also enjoyed...

Guilty Pleasures cover art
Murder in the Crypt cover art
Pestilence cover art
The Guise of a Gentleman cover art
When a Duke Loves a Governess cover art
Bookshop Cinderella cover art
Who's That Earl cover art
City of the Lost cover art
Finding Lady Enderly cover art
And Then He Kissed Her cover art
Wyoming Wild cover art
The Truth About Love and Dukes cover art
What a Gentleman Wants cover art
Aurora's Angel cover art
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter cover art
A Quiet Life in the Country cover art

Critic reviews

Praise for An Unexpected Peril

“Oodles of diverse characters add extra interest to a knotty mystery.”--Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of feisty Victorian heroines will hope Veronica has a long career.”--Publishers Weekly

“Raybourn has again crafted a delightful mystery that balances Veronica’s growth and maturity with her undeterrable, adventurous spirit.”--Booklist

“The perfect blend of action, romance and mystery.”--BookPage

Praise for the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries


"[A] ruthlessly intelligent heroine....You'll be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series."--NPR

"Intelligent, highly adventurous and independent, Speedwell challenges the conventions of the Victorian era, and her curiosity and charm make her a unique and highly likeable heroine."--She Reads

"A smart, plucky, way-ahead-of-her time heroine."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"I love this series! Veronica Speedwell is utterly unique....The plots are clever and fast-paced."--Amanda Quick, New York Times bestselling author of Close Up

"Veronica Speedwell is sure to join the greats of mystery fiction."--Alan Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce series
"Lively and adventurous....Positively excellent."--Booklist (starred review)

"Veronica Speedwell might just be one of the most endearing heroines in mysteries, period....Her sense of humor and chemistry with Stoker, her counterpart, just make this series even better."--Bustle
All stars
Most relevant
I have read all of the books in this series so far, this is my first audio version and I think I will go back to the kindle edition. I love the writing and the characters but unfortunately the way this narrator has chosen to read this made me unable to listen. In particular Stoker sounds really terrible, like a senile old man rather than the leading man. I gave up at chapter 4. Having come straight to this from the Invisible Library series by Genevive Cogman where the performance by the narrator is absolutely magnificent, this was a terrible disappointment.

Let down by narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The narrator's voice for Veronica is fine, but Stoker is AWFUL and she makes him sound like a boring idiot. I couldn't finish chapter 1 it was so bad.

Awful narrator ruined the story!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.