#a curious beginning

[abookishshade]

If only his voice had not been quite so gentle; if only he had comprehended me just a little less. I would never have voiced my doubts. It is easy to stiffen one’s upper lip and carry on when you dare not share your cowardice for fear of being misunderstood. But it is a difficult thing to heft one’s burden alone when there is someone willing to share it.

- from A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

[im-a-mess-that-works]

I can’t decide what book to read next so I’d love some recommendations! Thanks in advance!

[the-veronica-speedwell-blog]

vsm moodboard eleven - veronica

“A lady scientist," he said in a tone of wonderment. "What will they think of next?"

- a curious beginning

[bookcoversonly]

Title: A Curious Beginning | Author: Deanna Raybourn | Publisher: Berkley (2016)

[butchjesus]

alright friends. you have to rename yourself using the NATO phonetic alphabet. which one are you choosing?

[brittanybwrites]

All day, all I read was A Curious Beginning, and I gave it a three-star. It was alright, nothing to run home and tell Grandmama about, tbh. It was slow and I felt myself going to sleep three times while reading this.

[lakecountylibrary]

Abby stopped in with some late recs just now! She seconds Her Royal Spyness and adds:

Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries by Tasha Alexander (a personal favorite!) Start with And Only to Deceive

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries by Carrie Bebris. Start with Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged

Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn (another personal favorite!) Start with A Curious Beginning

Rosalind Thorne Mysteries by Darcie Wilde. Start with A Useful Woman

Countess of Harleigh Mysteries by Dianne Freeman. Start with A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder

Can you recommend a cosy historical mystery series? I’d prefer a female protagonist if possible

We can! Historical cozies are a little harder to come by than ones set in modern day, but reader's advisor Susan has some suggestions!

Susan says:

You should try Rhys Bowen. She has two series that would be good; The Molly Murphy series and The Royal Spyness series. Start with Murphy's Law and Her Royal Spyness, respectively

Victoria Thompson writes the Gaslight Mysteries series about a detective midwife set about 1900 in New York City. Start with Murder on Astor Place.

Stephanie Barron has a series with Jane Austen as the detective. Start with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear might work for you, too. It is set in 1929. Book one is just called Maisie Dobbs.

You might try Mary Roberts Rhinehart. She was often called the American Agatha Christie, so if Agatha Christie is a winner for you then definitely give Rhinehart a try.

And finally, take a look at The Cadfael Chronicles about a mystery-solving monk from 12th-centruy England. If you like them, you're in luck: there are a lot. These were written by Ellis Peters (pen name of linguist Edith Pargeter). Start with A Morbid Taste for Bones.

--

I hope there's something on that list that works for you! We don't actually have many cozy mystery recs in our backlog so I don't have a tag link for you, but I invite others to share their own recs on this post as well!

[anwhitebooks]

A Curious Beginning: A romantic mystery

Spoiler-Free Review If you’re looking a romantic mystery with witty and clever characters who defy social norms, then you’ll like A Curious Beginning. What’s A Curious Beginning about? London, 1887. After a close call with an intruder, Veronica Speedwell is deposited with a curmudgeonly but handsome fellow scientist for safekeeping, where she must unravel the secrets of her lineage and find…

[cockroachesunite]

a ghost story

[angelcake10023]

Baby-Monkey Power Madness ✨

Being a single parent is hard lmaooo

[puppppppppy]

GUH

@chipper-smol

[meirimerens]

curious and curiouser

[drizzledrawings]

They are his dads ok

[agentc0rn]

I was meant to protect and nurture life, not destroy it.

[upsidedownsmore]

Huh

Interesting

I was watching Kengineer's 3rd solo playthrough episode last night when this quote from the Lotus popped up during the Once Awake quest, and it got me thinking about 1999.

1999 is when the Infestation pretty much shows up for the first time (at least as far as we know), which places the Radiation Wars after 1999 (of course).

...but how long after?

Now idk how old this Lotus quote is and whether it's in the devs' minds at all, but imagine that the Radiation Wars are directly after 1999, sparked by this recent apocolyptic infestation spreading all of a sudden.

Imagine the 1999 quest ends with nuclear armageddon, perhaps even on New Year's. We make that final New Year's kiss (or not), knowing that the people here are doomed to die (though they were probably doomed to die to the helminth strain inside them at some point anyways).

I imagine in this scenario that for the sake of replayable 1999 gameplay (and maybe even the opportunity to change romance routes) that this time fragment of 1999 we find ourselves in repeats indefinitely, always ending in the beginning of the Radiation Wars.

would be pretty funny i think

[brittanybwrites]

My next reads because I feel the need for a good mystery