Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourne: A Victorian Mystery

Death, Mourning and a Victorian Mystery

Julia Grey's husband Sir Edward collapses and dies in front of her and a house full of guests.  Victorian mounrning cuzstoms 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 her of tales of threatening notes to her late husband and his fear, Julia joins him in an investigation and search for suspects.  Her 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 and discovers herself.  The dark enigmatic Nicolas encourages and challenges Julia.  As Julia uncovers more and more layers of clues, she also lays bare some foudations of Victorian society and morality.  Class divisions, repressed sexuality, women's role in society and a focus on the home as the center of all all enter into Deanna Raybourne's finely structured and researched historical mystery.  Lots of twists and even shockers as the trail of clues narrows.

Debiw and I read this one together and have had the luxury of discussing it together and not worrying about spoilers.  Silent in the Grave would make a great choice for a buddy read or a bookclub read.  This book seems to gather in richness the more we talked about it.  Definitely some shockers here and some sadness as Julia discovers the truth.  An emotional read.  Laying bare some of the unpleasant details of society behind Victorian serves this mystery well.  It is some comfort for the mystery reader to know that the murder victim is not a saint.  Great read...be ready to be surprised if not shocked at some of the details.  Not a book for children or younger readers.  Can't wait to read the next one by this author!

 I very much like the 1st person narrative voice here.  Although the details and genres are different, the voice of this book reminds me in a wonderful way of the voice of the narrator in Barbara Quick's Vivaldi's Virgins, oone of my top reads last year.  I very much like historical fiction in the first voice.

 Alongside Debiw and my reading this book, my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus was reading this in audiobook.  He is still not finished yet.

Mini-Challenge: One Thing Leads To Another: 

This book relates to all books I have been reading lately.  To Margaret Way for the focus on the  family from the aristocratic cattle barons to the Victorian family here, each with a certain darkness beneath, though much greater in the Victorian family.  Originally to Amanda Stevens In The Devil's Footprints because through the psychological darkness within.  To No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane because in both books justice cries out to be done.  My next read is an Amy Andrews Medical Romance read because I am not ready to switch from suspense and this mystery to a fun, light contemporary in a back to back book read.  I picked Amy Andrews, thinking I just had to read something emotional but in a different tone than my past reads.  I had no idea how Silent in the Grave could lead to Amy Andrews but I said I would make it work somehow.  Lo and behold.... Amy Andrews' romance has a heroine dressed in a gypsy looking outfit so I can get away with the switch on the basis of gypsies!

AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus