Ames’ review of Silent on the Moor (Lady Julie Grey, Book 3) by Deanna Raybourn.

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.

I’ve tried to remain non-spoilerish about the central couple in this series, but that all ends here. LOL

Nicholas and Julia want each other. She’s not afraid of it, but he is, and at the end of the first two books, he’s pushed her away. But not anymore. Julia is going after Nicholas and we know she’s stubborn and she’s going to put this thing to rest between them once and for all.

Nicholas has purchased a property up in Yorkshire.  It’s a crumbling down estate and in Silent in the Sanctuary, he had extended an invitation to Portia to come help him set up his home.  Julia invites herself along, which pleases none of the occupants at Grimsgrave.

As much as I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t perfect.  I thought the mystery was a bit slow to gain momentum.  Until some bodies are found, Silent on the Moor just comes across as a dark read.  Which is fine, but again, a bit slow.

Fortunately, that didn’t bother me too much because of two things.  The increasing intensity between Nicholas and Julia and the descriptive setting.  The moor is practically a character the way it’s so richly described.  I felt like I was there in that desolate country, avoiding bogs and foggy patches.  The moor is a dangerous place and it almost felt like there was a presence there trying to catch an wandering traveler.

Now, Nicholas and Julia.  He is still trying to push her away, but a gypsy friend told Julia to listen to what people say but also to pay attention to what they’re body is trying to tell you.  And Nicholas is definitely sending out mixed signals.

But what I remembered most vivdly was that even as his right hand had gripped my chin so cruelly, forcing me to face him as he raged at me, his left hand had stolen into mine, clasping it with all the desperation of a drowning man.

I loved the push and pull between these two characters.  And Nicholas is just so intense!  I liked how Julia is the one who is goes after what she wants.  Compared to the Julia we met at the very beginning of this series, this shows how far she’s come along.  She’s taking control of her life.

Portia is in this book too, and things are not going well for her.  I can’t wait to read book 4, the Dark Road to Darjeeling, to see how things work out for her.  4 out of 5.  The mystery though, would get a 3.5 out of 5.

The series:

This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Ames’ review of Silent in the Sanctuary (Lady Julie Grey, Book 2) by Deanna Raybourn.

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.

Ames’ review of Silent in the Grave (Lady Julie Gray, Book 1) by Deanna Raybourn.

“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.”
These ominous words are the last threat that 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, he 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 suggests that her husband was murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers damning evidence for herself, and realizes the truth.

Determined to bring the 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.

I consider myself new to the mystery genre. I never liked to read mysteries because I would get so frustrated when I couldn’t figure them out. LOL But I have to admit I’m not the most observant person around and I just need to accept the fact that I do enjoy reading mysteries and I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. Deanna Raybourn’s Silent in the Grave gives us such a great story that I wasn’t hard on myself for not solving things until almost the main character, Lady Julia Grey, did.

First, Silent in the Grave starts off with one whopper of an opening line:

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.

As a beginning, doesn’t that just grab you?  It definitely had me hooked!

Julia Grey is hosting a dinner party at her home when her husband starts to have an attack.  Everyone assumes it is his weak heart, a family trait, and Julia assumes the same.  But when Nicholas Brisbane has another idea, murder, Julia is furious and refuses to consider the notion. It isn’t until a year later when she’s going through Edward’s things that Julia begins to reconsider.  There are mysterious papers in Edward’s desk and Julia recalls that Brisbane told her Edward had hired him to find out who was threatening him.  Intrigued, Julia engages Nicholas’ services to find her husband’s killer.

That’s the most basic summary I can give you.  What you find between the covers is so much more rich and interesting.  First of all, there are the characters.  Lady Julia Grey is the heroine of this series and the book is told from her point of view.  So we the reader are in her shoes and see how she grows as a character and we discover what she discovers.  It’s up to the reader to piece together what is happening.  Something I’m not good at, but the author gets us to our final destination – no worries on that score.

So Julia at the beginning is the perfect wife.  She’s a great hostess, there’s no scandal (except for her family’s foibles and follies) and she didn’t necessarily love her husband, not passionate love anyway.  She loved him as a friend since they had grown up together.  But after she engages Nicholas and she begins to participate, to have a purpose again, Julia slowly comes out of her shell and a strong, stubborn woman takes her place.  I really liked this character growth.

I found Nicholas an intriguing character but I don’t want to go on about him too much, just that he’s a mysterious fellow who knows that Julia can do better than him but these two are drawn to each other anyway.  

Aside from the rich characters, we have a very interesting mystery.  It took me a while to figure things out and there were a few red herrings thrown in there that definitely threw me off!  I found Deanna’s style of writing very engaging and I couldn’t put the book down.    I definitely recommend Silent in the Grave.  4 out of 5.

The series:

This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.