Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 2/28/2010 + 2307 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

First Line: To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate.


London, 1886. Unbeknownest to his wife, Julia, Sir Edward Grey has received death threats and hired private enquiry agent Nicholas Brisbane to protect him. It was action undertaken too late.

Lady Julia believes that her husband's death is due to a longstanding illness, and she's outraged when Brisbane calls with the information that her husband was probably poisoned. However, after reflection, Julia sees the truth behind Brisbane's assertions, and she's determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice.

When Silent in the Grave was first published, I heard raves about it. As usual when a book receives so much praise, I decided to wait a while before reading it. Three years have passed, and I've read it with mixed reactions.

I enjoyed Raybourn's depiction of Victorian England and her characterizations-- particularly of Julia and Brisbane. I enjoyed watching Julia decide to use her widowhood to spread her wings a bit and find out who she really was. I applauded her choice to use her background of belonging to an eccentric family to go against the status quo.

What I didn't enjoy was the plot and the book's length. From certain characters' behavior, it was all too easy to deduce the identity of the killer. I came within an eyelash of skipping to the end to see if I was right, but I didn't. It took over 500 pages to tell this story when no more than 300 would have done a proper job of it.

I would like to see how Julia and Brisbane get along in the other books in the series, but I have to admit that I'm not in any real hurry to do so. I don't care how long a book is if it holds my interest. Julia and Brisbane just weren't enough to make Silent in the Grave a completely satisfying cup of tea.

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