Review: Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Title: Silent on the Moor (Lady Julia Grey #3)
& Midsummer Night (Lady Julia Grey #3.5)
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: March 1 2009 by Mira
ISBN: 1426829396 (ISBN13: 9781426829390)
Pages: 558 pages (3.5 novella 50 pages)
How We Read It: Amazon kindle ebook
Genre: historical fiction, romance, mystery
Our Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis: 
Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia arrives in Yorkshire to find Brisbane as remote and maddeningly attractive as ever. Cloistered together, they share the moldering house with the proud but impoverished remnants of an ancient family: the sort that keeps their bloodline pure and their secrets close. Lady Allenby and her daughters, dependent upon Brisbane and devastated by their fall in society, seem adrift on the moor winds, powerless to change their fortunes. But poison does not discriminate between classes.... 
 
A mystery unfolds from the rotten heart of Grimsgrave, one Lady Julia may have to solve alone, as Brisbane appears inextricably tangled in its heinous twists and turns. But blood will out, and before spring touches the craggy northern landscape, Lady Julia will have uncovered a Gypsy witch, a dark rider and a long-buried legacy of malevolence and evil. 

Our thoughts:

Deanna Raybourn provides a third installment in the wonderful story of Lady Julia Grey. Silent on the Moor is another interesting, mysterious, romantic tale. Julia risks traveling to the far reaches of Yorkshire to find what has become of the troubled Nicolas Brisbane. Julia is a woman not of her time (l9th century) and goes about breaking society's rules. She is intelligent, fallible, rich and loves a good mystery. Brisbane is the brooding hero, and set on the Yorkshire Moors, images of Heathcliff quickly come to mind.

Julia finds Nicholas in trouble and dealing with his past as this tale reveals more of his story, which we thought was great. The author continues to build solid characters that are not only multifaceted but exhibit real emotions, allowing you to become a part of not only the history of the time but also the growing connections that exist between them.

At the heart of each of book has been the growing relationship between Julia and Brisbane. This installment will not fail to deliver:

“I sagged against him in relief, and his arm came around to catch me close to him. I could feel the beat of his heart under my ear and it was the pulse of all the world to me”.

How will it all resolve itself? If you haven't read the first two books in the series, you'll want to do so as you become absorbed in the lives of these fascinating characters.

“I was the daughter of an earl…born to privilege and wealth most people could not even hope to imagine. And in that moment, I would have happily traded places with a little maid who had everything I did not”.

The novella - Midsummer Night - is short and well-paced tale of Brisbane and Julia’s wedding - inclusive of all the wonderful, colourful characters and historical details that we know and love from this series. We fully appreciate and approve of novellas in this series as it fills in the life gaps of the larger stories with incidentals that were not included in earlier books.  Fans will want to know about their wedding, and with all of the hilarious and eccentric March family involved in the day, the short story is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Our Rating:

Review: Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

Title:  Silent in the Sanctuary (Lady Julia Grey #2)

Series: Lady Julia Grey Mystery
Author: Deanna Raybourn

Publisher:  December 28 2007 by Mira

ISBN: 0778324923 (ISBN13: 9780778324928)

Pages:  552 pages

Source of Book: Amazon kindle ebook

Genre: historical fiction, romance, mystery

Synopsis:

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father's estate crowded with family and friends but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters.

Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget--the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane--is among her father's house guests; and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.

But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia's own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin's innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul.

Our Thoughts:

The second volume in this Victorian mystery series picks up several months after the end of the first. Lady Julia is on vacation in Italy recovering from the traumatic events of her investigation into her husband's death (mystery from the first novel).  At the summons of their father, Julia and her brothers return home to England for Christmas at the very gothic Bellmont Abbey. What follows next is a clever amalgamation of an Agatha Christie ‘whodunit’ with a good game of Cluedo – there’s even a candlestick! The plot twists and suspects keep coming as Julia and Brisbane once more work together on this murder case.

This read was light and fun, a nice break from the more serious reads. The mystery is intriguing and the twists and turns combined with a number of smaller intrigues help to keep the pace moving along nicely. Lady Julia's eccentric family is one of the main features in this book and are a delight to read about. Yet the heart of the book is the relationship between Lady Julia and Brisbane - the chemistry between the two is most engaging. One of Raybourn's major talents is creating characters that are easy to love and fun to spend time with – they make you smile.  Being the second in the series, there's also that feeling of familiarity right from the first few pages as the characters you know and love are back and facing another mystery. Her stories are full of humour – it’s laugh-out-loud stuff:

Morag, my maid, entered the drawing room to announce a visitor.

"The Count of Four-not-cheese".

I gave her an evil look…. "And his name is Fornacci," I hissed at her.

A few hours after a dinner:

"Aquinas, I am afraid the Reverend Mr Snow has died suddenly."

Aquinas was a superior servant; he betrayed little reaction to the news that there was a corpse in the chapel.

He merely blinked once, slowly, and then crossed himself.

"I do hope it was not the duck, my lady."

“I know what that is!” I cried suddenly. “It’s a hookah!”

“And you know this from your many nights spent in opium dens?”he inquired blandly.
“Alice in Wonderland, actually” I admitted. “The caterpillar”.

This was such a fun and entertaining read. We would highly recommend this series to everyone as it appears to be shaping up to be a 'go-to' read when you need to delve into familiar, friendly characters with a touch of the intrigue and romance.

Our Rating:

Review: Silent In The Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Title:  Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey #1)

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publisher:  MIRA Books
ASIN: 9781460302828

Pages:  348 pages

How I Read It: ebook

Genre: Historical - fiction, mystery and romance
Find it at Goodreads

Synopsis:

 "LET THE WICKED BE ASHAMED, AND LET THEM BE SILENT IN THE GRAVE."

These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.

Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggest that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.

Determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

Our thoughts:

It’s no secret we have loved Deanna Raybourn’s recent releases, A Spear of Summer Grass and City of Jasmine, so we thought we really should check out her popular Lady Julia Grey mystery series as well.

The first installment of this series, Silent in the Grave, thrust us right into the middle of the action with its dynamic opening lines and kept us turning the pages thereafter.

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

Eventually this shocking first meeting leads to Lady Julia partnering with private inquiry agent Brisbane to track down her husband’s murderer. Over the course of their investigation Lady Julia truly begins to come into her own. She transforms from a meek and quiet little “mouse” content with normalcy into a daring, self-assured and independent woman who is at times a little too impulsive for her own safety.

“I sat for a long time, uncomfortable both with the person I had been and the person I was finally becoming.  Caught between the two of them, I felt rather lonely, as one often does with a new acquaintance.”

As always, Raybourn’s writing is smart and flows beautifully. The main and secondary characters are unique, well drawn and interesting, and the dialogue is authentic and sharp. The mystery itself is cleverly done with lots of twists and turns.

There are plenty of amusing and colorful moments courtesy of the bold and eccentric members of the March clan and the widely varied household staff, and Julia’s first person narration provides many wry and humorous observations as well. We found ourselves not only smiling but literally laughing out loud on several occasions while reading this book.

The interactions between Julia and Brisbane are tempestuous and witty, with some definite (but largely unacknowledged) romantic sparks flying in the mix. This first book leaves the fate of their relationship unresolved, but we can’t wait to see how it evolves as the series progresses.

While this title might not satisfy hard-core mystery fans, if you are looking for a more lighthearted mystery with a bit of history, a bit of romance, and a bit of humor then this should fit the bill perfectly. We found it to be a quick and entertaining read!

Our Rating