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ssejig 's review for:
Silent in the Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
What a wonderful story. Raybourn grabbed me from the beginning with the death of Lady Julia's husband and kept me (mostly) enthralled until the end of the book. There were some slow moving places and I didn't love the villain or how... missish Julia was sometimes, but overall, I really enjoyed this book.
The book opens when Lady Julia's (LJ) husband dies of an apoplexy at her party. She's not stunned, he's had heart problems since he was a child. But when Nicholas Brisbane (private investigattor to the haute ton) suggests it may have been murder, LJ is aghast. She sends him away with a flea in his ear. Until she finds a blackmail note a year later and begins to think there might be something to this story. So she hires Brisbane, who is a very charismatic man, to look into the death, even though he tries to refuse her.
A fun caper where Julia isn't a know-it-all detective but rather just getting her feet wet so she makes some mistakes.
Readalikes: Tasha Alexander, Elizabeth Peters (Peabody series, for the strong female protagonist in this time period)
Some notes for my own memory:
Loved when Lady Julia is giving the doctor what-for when he didn't tell her about her husband's syphilis. "But you're a lady and you didn't need to know." Such a Victorian attitude.
Didn't love that the murderer ended up being Edward's male cousin. Why do the bad guys have to be gay?
Interesting note on brother Val's wish to become a surgeon being so looked down upon by their father.
Brisbane is Romany (the lowest of the low) and has the second sight? Might be interesting in future books.
The book opens when Lady Julia's (LJ) husband dies of an apoplexy at her party. She's not stunned, he's had heart problems since he was a child. But when Nicholas Brisbane (private investigattor to the haute ton) suggests it may have been murder, LJ is aghast. She sends him away with a flea in his ear. Until she finds a blackmail note a year later and begins to think there might be something to this story. So she hires Brisbane, who is a very charismatic man, to look into the death, even though he tries to refuse her.
A fun caper where Julia isn't a know-it-all detective but rather just getting her feet wet so she makes some mistakes.
Readalikes: Tasha Alexander, Elizabeth Peters (Peabody series, for the strong female protagonist in this time period)
Some notes for my own memory:
Spoiler
Loved when Lady Julia is giving the doctor what-for when he didn't tell her about her husband's syphilis. "But you're a lady and you didn't need to know." Such a Victorian attitude.
Didn't love that the murderer ended up being Edward's male cousin. Why do the bad guys have to be gay?
Interesting note on brother Val's wish to become a surgeon being so looked down upon by their father.
Brisbane is Romany (the lowest of the low) and has the second sight? Might be interesting in future books.