Ames’ review of Silent in the Sanctuary
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 houseguests… 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.
Six months after the events of Silent in the Grave, we find Lady Julia Grey in Italy with two of her brothers and a young Italian count, who is very attentive. Their father has summoned them home for Christmas and so everyone is bundled up and headed home, with the young count joining them.
Back in England, Julia discovers that the infuriating Nicholas Brisbane is to join her family at their estate for the Christmas holidays. She believes that it’s her family’s attempt at matchmaking and this annoys her. She’s annoyed with herself even further when Nicholas is there with his fiancée, and she has to admit, she’s jealous. Her bestest sister Portia urges her to make Nicholas jealous with the young Italian stud. It’s a true testament to Julia’s character that she thinks about it for a second, but doesn’t actively try to do it. As much as I have to admire the writer keeping the character true to herself, this romance reader would have liked some more jealousy on Brisbane’s part.
Once back at home, there are some new characters on the scene. More of Julia’s family makes an appearance, there’s Brisbane’s fiancée, and there’s also some locals. With this mix of people, it’s only a matter of time until a body shows up…which it does, during a game of hide and seek.
Despite Julia wanting to keep away from Nicholas, her curiousity and her inability to turn away from a good mystery keeps her in close contact with the mysterious and frustrating man.
Silent in the Sanctuary takes the parts of what I truly enjoyed from the previous books and improves on it. The characters are the driving force of these books. At the heart lies Julia, a woman who enjoys her freedom but is still irresistibly drawn to Nicholas. Nicholas continues to be a mystery but more of his past is coming to the forefront, and each nugget of truth makes us more curious. It makes Julia more curious too. The pleasant surprise here was Julia’s family – there are a fun bunch and I’m glad she has so many relatives. Portia is a definite favorite of mine. Portia is a lesbian and has been living openly and at the edges of society since her husband died. In fact, she is living with her husband’s cousin. Portia is a strong character that urges Julia to step outside her comfort zone and pushes Julia and Nicholas together.
There were two mysteries in this book and it took me forever to figure them both out. I’m so clueless and I’m one of those readers that totally misses the themes that the author is showing us throughout the narrative. So Silent in the Sanctuary was a good mystery.
Great characters, strong mystery and an intense connection between our two lead characters leaves us with another enjoyable read from Deanna Raybourn. I definitely recommend this series. 4 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I’ve enjoyed the mysteries and different settings in each book. I have solved the mysteries in most of the books, but I think I have an eye for picking up small clues.
I’m definitely going to be on the lookout from now on. Now that I’m getting to know her writing style.