Silent In The Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.99 You Save: $2.00 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Silent In The Grave
Book Review: A Worthy Debut for All
Summary: 4 Stars
Lady Julia Grey may have married into a family even more wealthy than her own, may have lived a sheltered life surrounded by servants, and may have been blind to the harsh world outside her front door but she carried the genes of her own eccentric family as well. The woman certainly had a sense of humor, and as first-person-narrator of Silent in the Grave she displays it immediately in the book's opening lines: "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 on the floor."
Set in 1886 Victorian England, Deanna Raybourn's irreverent novel combines elements of mysteries, romance novels and historical fiction in such a way that the book will appeal to a wide audience. I am not at all a fan of romance fiction, for instance, but despite the novel's obvious appeal to fans of that genre, I never considered it to be a romance novel and enjoyed it for the historical detail and social observations in which Raybourn cloaked her story of Edward's mysterious death.
Lady Julia married a man she had known since they were just children playing together and she believed that she knew everything about him. She certainly understood the fragility caused by a heart condition from which so many males in her husband's bloodline suffered, including his cousin Simon who was dying in their home from that very illness. So when Edward suddenly dropped to the floor and died during a formal gathering at their home she was not much surprised.
What did surprise her was Brisbane's revelation that her husband had hired him to investigate the mysterious death threats that he had been receiving in the mail for some time. Lady Julia may not at first have believed that there was anything mysterious about her husband's sudden death, but she felt an obligation to her deceased husband to find out one way or the other. And if a crime had been committed she was determined that the criminal would pay a heavy price.
Nicholas Brisbane, expecting to use Lady Julia as just another source in his investigation, soon found himself forced to accept her as a full partner and, despite their series of adventures resulting from the investigation itself, it is their relationship that is really the heart of Silent in the Grave. And their mutual attraction means that they will be working together in the sequels that will follow this fist book in what promises to be a successful series.
Deanna Raybourn has written a first-rate Victorian mystery with an atmosphere and period details that have an authentic feel about them. Lady Grey's sense of humor and the antics of her eccentric family keep the reader from becoming bogged down in the rather dark details of the mystery itself, a story involving deceptions, hidden sexual appetites, and disease that she could never have imagined before the death of her husband. All in all, this is an excellent debut novel despite the fact that it seemed to take forever for Lady Julia to finally make up her mind to investigate her husband's death, a rather sluggish beginning that could potentially cause some readers to mistakenly give up on the book before it really hits its stride. At times I felt like shaking Lady Grey and telling her to get on with it. When she finally did, I found that it had been worth the wait.
Book Review: Shows promise...
Summary: 3 Stars
London, England, 1886. Sir Edward Grey, a baronet with delicate health, dies during a party. Lady Julia Grey is upset with the passing of her husband, but not surprised. It was bound to happen sooner or later. So why was one of the guests, a Mr. Nicholas Brisbane, eyeing her as if she had been the one responsible for Sir Edward's death? It turns out that Brisbane is a private investigator. Sir Edward had hired him because he had received threatening letters and had feared for his life. Lady Julia refuses to believe Brisbane -- that is until she finds one of the threatening letters. It has been a year since her husband died. Will Brisbane want to help her solve the case? He has no choice but to accept, for Lady Julia is determined to find her husband's murderer at all cost.
This is a wonderful Victorian mystery with some gothic elements. Silent in the Grave is also the startup of a new murder mystery, with Julia and Nicholas as the sleuths. There are many twists and turns here. The mystery itself isn't surprising -- well, at least the murderer isn't, but the clues that gathered certainly are -- but the developments regarding Brisbane and some of the secondary characters are very fascinating. Lady Julia is a unique heroine and you truly feel the voice of a Victorian lady through her narrative. Brisbane is dark, brooding and mysterious -- no doubt inspired by gothic heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester -- which makes him quite appealing. The secondary characters are interesting and the whole gypsy thing impressed, especially that the author writes about actual gypsies -- the ones that speak Romany. However, there are things about this novel that will make you want to suspend disbelief.
I'll begin with Julia's family. An eccentric family is good and well in a Victorian gothic, but a father who not only approves of his daughter taking in a lover but actually suggests her to do so? I. Don't. Think. So. Also, there is little historical reference in this book. Raybourn makes no mention of the breakthroughs in technology during the 1880s. She never mentions a telephone or something that had been a recent discovery around that era. Of course, it isn't necessary to mention those things, but why set a novel during the 1870s or 1880s if you'll make no mention of all the wonderful things that transpired during those decades? I am also wondering about Julia's title. To my knowledge, every wife of a baronet has been addressed to as Lady Surname, not Lady First Name. I may be wrong, and if someone knows this for sure, they can leave a comment in the Comments area. It is fine for close family members to address Edward as simply Edward, but others, especially people beneath his rank, would address him as Sir Edward at all times. The book lags in some areas, making it longer than necessary. There is far too much space in between chapters and starting each chapter with "The First/Second/Third Chapter," etc struck me as somewhat silly and pretentious. Other than that, I very much enjoyed this book. Deanna Raybourn is a pretty good writer and this series, in spite of its shortcomings, has a lot of potential. I look forward to reading Silent in the Sanctuary.
Book Review: Not as much a mystery as a wonderful character study.
Summary: 4 Stars
I realize that this book is considered to be a Victorian mystery but I think anyone who buys it solely for that style of story will be disappointed. From my perspective Silent in the Grave is much more than that. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that the mystery aspect is only a thread used by the author to keep all the characters connected. I didn't find as much enjoyment from the mystery element as I did from the wonderfully comprehensive, detailed characters Ms Raybourn developed in this novel.
Yes, the novel is set within the Victorian period and this is one of the reasons so many of her plot extensions work so well. The subjects touched upon were still either commonly accepted folklore or subjects people were becoming more educated about during the reign of Queen Victoria. We are also given information regarding the strict code of conduct to be followed by the different social orders during these times. Ms Raybourn manages to hit upon quite a few subjects considered taboo during this time simply by having different members of Lady Julia's family, the Marches, exhibit so much eccentricity. It seemed as if each member we were introduced to had taken on a different aspect of individuality outside the limits of polite society. Ultimately, as truly good authors can do, all of these different societal upheavals were brought together for a satisfactory conclusion to both the mystery and the novel as a whole.
As a person who has been an avid reader of mystery stories for over forty years now, I do not consider this to be a mystery in the usual sense. Yes, Lady Julia was trying to find if her husband died of natural causes and if not, then who the person responsible for his death was. But along the way, this story turned from being a mystery to being a character study of each and every character introduced into this story. I must say that I give Ms Raybourn full credit for her extraordinary way with descriptive writing. She made all of the characters come alive for me and solving the question of who was responsible for the death of Sir Edward was not nearly as important as determining how Lady Julia would react as she learned more and more of the truth of what had been happening in her life for many, many years without her being the least bit suspicious.
Even though I had figured out who the responsible person was, I continued to read because this author had made me so interested in the situations and characters involved in this story. I would highly recommend this book, not so much as a mystery, but as a wonderful reading experience. And I really applaud this author for having the courage to end the book without the obligatory happily ever after ending. Sometimes, life just doesn't work out that way and books don't have to either. Now I need to read the second book in the series to find out what my "friends" are going to be up to next.
Book Review: Absolutely loved it - thoroughly engrossing from start to finish!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's taken me two years to finally read Deanna Raybourn's novels, and after finishing Silent in the Grave I can't believe I waited that long to lose myself in Lady Julia Grey's world. Thanks to every book blogger who¡¦s reviewed her work and inspired me to check it out. This book was just spectacular. It's been years since I've read a novel that hooked me so utterly and completely from the first page that I had to carry it with me everywhere I went, so I could read a few pages here and there every time a chance presented itself. Grave has the romance of Jane Eyre, the dark passions of Wuthering Heights, and the dangerous atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes's best adventures (think The Hound of the Baskervilles).
This isn't your typical mystery novel. Silent in the Grave is a little less about what killed Julia's husband (that investigation doesn't really kick into high gear until about three quarters of the way through the book) then it is more about Julia's growth from a traditional society wife to an independent, adventurous woman. Julia has always been the most "proper" member of a rather unorthodox, free-thinking family, and Edward's death and the subsequent investigation into its cause forces Julia to come to terms with unsavory truths that force her to decide the type of woman she wants to become. I absolutely loved Julia's voice - she's funny, sarcastic, and at times painfully honest - a unique heroine to spend time with.
Julia's partner in her investigation, the enigmatic Nicholas Brisbane, is an absolutely delicious character. He¡¦s dark, brooding, intense, mysterious, and totally and completely swoon-worthy. º A heady mix of classic figures such as Mr. Rochester, Heathcliff, and perhaps just a touch of Darcy-esque aloofness and control, Brisbane is the ideal character to rock Julia' perfectly proper world. I loved the way Raybourn builds Julia and Brisbane¡¦s relationship throughout the novel. The romantic tension unfolds at a maddeningly leisurely pace, but the fact that Raybourn always left me wanting more just goes to show how utterly and completely hooked her characters had me.
Silent in the Grave isn't for everyone as Raybourn definitely explores the seamy side of Victorian life. It's also a little overly long and occasionally meandering, but since I loved the world Raybourn created I can' really complain. But the mystery, and what brings Julia to the point of learning all sorts of unsavory details about her husband, isn¡¦t really the point of the book (it wasn't for me, anyway). It's the choices Julia must make, and how she rebuilds her life when everything she' known, or thought she knew, turns her world on end, that makes Raybourn's first novel a compulsive, unput-downable read. Silent in the Grave is a rich, meaty historical that's moody, atmospheric, romantic, and unforgettable. Raybourn is now on my must-read list.
Book Review: Death, Mourning and a Victorian Mystery: Murder Shrieks Out
Summary: 5 Stars
Deanna Raybourne's SILENT IN THE GRAVE, is a hard to put down Victorian mystery, both suspenseful and humorous in its details, that unmasks the consequences of that society's moral, gender and class codes upon individuals within society. As the narrator records the twisting hunt for clues to the identity of the killer, she also discovers her own identity.
Julia Grey's husband Sir Edward collapses, dying in front of her and a house full of guests. Victorian mourning customs come into play as new black clothing must be ordered along with black bordered stationery. The Ghoul, Aunt Hermia, comes to visit and partake in the latest society mourning rituals. When Nicholas Brisbane tells Julia of tales of threatening notes to her late husband and his fear of being murdered, Julia discounts his tale at first. When she finds a vicious threatening note herself while sorting through out her husband's things, Julia rethinks her position Now, Julia joins Nicholas in an investigation and search for clues to unmask the details behind her husband's death.
Julia's search for justice brings her head to head against some of the unspoken rules of morality and a woman's place in Victorian society. As she follows the path of clues, Julia steps out of her familiar world, exploring gypsy customs, brothels and even looks into the practices of medicine in her day. The dark enigmatic Nicolas encourages and challenges Julia, becoming an inspiration and even catalyst for her to confront her own ideas and move beyond herself. As Julia uncovers more and more layers of the thickening mystery, she also lays bare some foundations of Victorian society and morality. Before she can unmask the killer, Julia must put aside those notions of what is proper for a woman in her position and look into and unmask the unspoken the class divisions, the repressed sexuality, and a women's role in society. Deanna Raybourne locates the home as the structural and emotional as the center of this historical mystery as indeed it was in Victorian society. As Julia steps across some some of the boundaries prescribed to her as a woman of a certain class and away from the home, her character evolves and becomes more herself through an inner journey that follows her hunt for clues. At the end of this exquisite mystery, the reader cries and laughs and hopes alongside Julia.
SILENT IN THE GRAVE is a mystery rich in well-researched historical details but also a fast-paced read as each clue unmasks another mysterious layer. Infused with sadness, SILENT IN THE GRAVE provides humorous relief as the clues lead the reader into an ever increasing dark reality hidden by the masks of Victorian society. The unmasking of the villain leads to ever increasing shocking details. Murder will out, not only the deed but all the dark truths behind the deed. An exceptional emotional and riveting read!