Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

***SPOILER WARNING: See, I hate to do this to you, but there is no way I can talk about what happens in Dark Road to Darjeeling without revealing a major, major detail from Silent on the Moor. So. If you haven't read this series yet (and why the heck not?!?) I am warning you now that spoilers be contained hereafter.

There, now that's done with. Let's get onto the good stuff. Yeah, that would be onto more Julia and Brisbane.

Having enjoyed a relaxing and calm honeymoon together for the last eight months, Lady Julia and Brisbane are unexpectedly brought back to the real world with the sudden arrival of Julia's sister Portia and brother Plum. Portia has arrived in a flurry, insistent that Julia and her detective husband accompany the pair to Darjeeling, India to help Portia's former partner Jane Cavendish. Ever since the death of Jane's husband, Portia has been worried about the vagueness of Jane's letters - worried for the impending birth of her first child and worried that someone might have killed Jane's husband. Naturally, Julia insists Brisbane takes the case and her help along with it but Brisbane is not about to thrust his wife into the middle of a possible murder investigation. Mad as a wet hen, Julia's continued determination to prove her usefulness to Brisbane in his work sparks a disagreement that lasts throughout much of the novel as both are too stubborn to compromise on the subject. As one hopes only to help while the other tries only to protect.

Upon their arrival in the Valley of Eden, Julia is struck by the eccentric qualities of almost all of Jane's new family and neighbors. A grieving doctor who cannot remain sober, a free-spirited American artist married to an English clergyman and even the White Rajah, a recluse who has adopted the native dress and customs. There amidst the lush and stark Indian landscape of the Cavendish's prosperous tea plantation, Julia finds herself quickly deducing a plausible motive for murder in every single person she has met. The trouble is sorting out who the killer is before he can strike again.

As the fourth installment in what has to be one of my favorite series out there (mystery or not), Dark Road to Darjeeling is a unique animal. As a Lady Julia mystery, some elements remain the same - like the previous novels, a murder is solved - although always drastically different than how you would have expected - but there is also a decided departure from some previous standards. Starting with the new cover image and title format and extending even to the landscape - no longer in traditional England but India. Both settings equally evocative while remaining worlds apart.

Once inside the story, the changes continue. As a married couple Julia and Brisbane are faced with the difficulty of striking a balance between their private and personal lives. The pair are both passionately driven individuals and it is only natural they would clash (if you don't believe me, just read their previous books - tension galore). I was so grateful that Deanna Raybourn did not sugar-coat this aspect of their marriage. Yes, they are honeymooners - utterly in love - but they are also very much strong individuals. Their disagreements have never been easily solved but that just makes for a more satisfying resolution in my opinion. Ms. Raybourn's characters have never failed to entrance me with their sharpness - I can easily imagine any of them alive and wandering around, sticking their noses in other people's business - and that remains to be true in Dark Road to Darjeeling. As always, Deanna Raybourn strikes the perfect balance between tension (oh the delicious tension!) and humor (especially where the Marches are concerned) and yet again I'm awed and more in love with Julia and Brisbane than ever. Ms. Raybourn hasn't steered them wrong yet.

series reading order:
~ Silent in the Grave
~ Silent in the Sanctuary
~ Silent on the Moor - my review
~ Dark Road to Darjeeling (October 1, 2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Allure of Books review 
And She Reads review
Angieville review

book source: review copy from the publicist

BBAW: Unexpected Treasure

Well, I for one have had an absolute blast with this years Book Blogger Appreication Week so far. I've discovered so many new interesting blogs - especially the wonderful Amy of Amy Reads, who I swapped interviews with yesterday. In keeping with their 'treasure' theme, today the BBAW committee asked us all to:

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger.  What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

Now I'll admit that this topic was a bit of a hard one for me. As far as genre reading goes, I'm pretty dang predictable of late. Lots of fantasy with good amounts of YA thrown in for good measure. Sure, I read books all the time that were recommended to me by other bloggers, but they generally tend to always fall within those two genres. Then I remembered a very, very dear series of books that were fortuitously recommended to me by another blogger -- Angie of Angieville. Angie's picks are, of course, legendary and these were no exception. But it took me a little prodding to finally make my way to their goodness because of the simple genre labeling stumbling block -- mystery. Otherwise known as immediately-not-interested to Michelle.

Curious yet?

Well, the books were the Lady Julia Grey mysteries by Deanna Raybourn and the rest, they say, is history. I adore Julia and her crazy family and I am also deeply smitten with one Nicholas Brisbane. This entire series about an unconventional woman of means who can coolly solve mysteries is utter perfection. Mystery has never really been my 'thing' before, but after adoring every single one of Deanna Raybourn's books, I'm starting to rethink that status.

series reading order:
~ Silent in the Grave
~ Silent in the Sanctuary
~ Silent on the Moor - my review 
~ Dark Road to Darjeeling (my review will be up next week - trust me, it's good)

What unexpected treasure have you discovered thanks to a fellow blogger?

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

With her Lady Julia Grey novels, Deanna Raybourn has proved herself a master at creating evocative, atmospheric settings and her decision to set her latest Gothic novel, The Dead Travel Fast, in a mysterious and darkly exotic, feudal Transylvania castle can only be labeled as perfectly brilliant.

The death of Miss Theodora LeStrange's grandfather and guardian has left her at a impasse. Never one to desire marriage and motherhood she can either move in with her sister - and her many children - or marry a man she likes but does not love. Neither option is particularly appealing to Theodora when her rescue from domesticity arrives in the form of a letter from her school-friend Cosmina, inviting her to come to Castle Dragulescu in Transylvania prior to her upcoming marriage. Convinced this is the opportunity she has been waiting for to write her long-dreamed of novel, Theodora convinces friends and family to let her travel halfway around the world to a place steeped in tradition and superstition. Upon her arrival at Castle Dragulescu, Theodora is delighted to discover more than enough inspiration for her novel - the crumbling, yet majestic castle, the superstitious villagers, howling wind and dangerous wolves, not to mention the enigmatic Count Andrei Dragulescu himself. A figure cut for the most dashing adventures surely. But when a strange, horrifying murder strikes at the castle and rumors of supernatural involvement begin to swirl round, Theodora finds her pragmatic intellectual ideals sorely tested as the chilling and diabolical sequence of events unfold.

It is with a heavy heart to say that I truly struggled with this novel - I must have picked it up only to set it down again about twenty different times in the course of a couple of weeks; each time succumbing to the temptation of other, more shiny books. And it makes it even harder to admit when I say I have truly, truly been looking forward to reading it. That's not to say I wasn't impressed with Ms. Raybourn's latest offering - oh no, I was quite enthralled in fact. Perhaps I just wasn't in the proper frame of mind for such a dramatic and chilling Gothic novel. Over the course of Theodora's narrative I seemed to come across each and every ingredient necessary in crafting a traditional Gothic tale as if I was reading with a checklist in hand: the dark, creepy castle; the mysterious and handsome feudal lord with a libertine past and hidden depths; superstitious townsfolk; the first person, diary-style narrative; the introduction of supernatural elements all combined to create a truly haunting narrative -- just not anything particularly unique. Except for the added twist of Theodora's sleuthing - very much reminiscent of Lady Julia's adventures in that just when you think you've got it all figured out, another shocking revelation comes to light. Still, Ms. Raybourn is one of those authors who I have come to trust implicitly and although I didn't *love* The Dead Travel Fast, I very much liked it. And if I say I'm seriously anticipating the next Julia and Brisbane adventure -- Dark Road to Darjeeling -- like wow and boy howdy, would you even hold that against me?

Because Everyone Loves a Second Opinion:
All About Romance reviews
Angieville review
Dear Author review
Garden in My Pocket review 
S. Krishna's Books review

book source: my local library

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Lady Julia Grey has had enough. Despite Brisbane's best efforts to keep her safely out of his path, she has decided to follow her sister Portia to his remote Yorkshire estate, Grimsgrave, on the pretext of helping him to outfit the place. Despite his strong feelings for her (and she for him) Brisbane decidedly does not want Julia to come to his new home but Julia convinces her reluctant family to let her go and force Brisbane to decide once and for all what is to become of their relationship. Upon arriving at the mysterious Grimsgrave, Julia finds things are not as calm as they appeared and she slowly unravel mystery after mystery surrounding the the previous owners of Grimsgrave and their connection to Brisbane. All my favorite elements from previous books are once again out in force - gypsies, the quirky Grim, servants who will happily spill gossip for a chance to chat with the lovely Lady Julia, and of course, bodies that keep popping up. Not to mention Julia's frequent interactions with her hilarious family - Julia and Portia's exchanges frequently had me in stitches.

This third installment of Raybourn's fantastic series is a real standout. I felt the mystery itself was much more unexpected yet entirely believable and for that reason all the more horrifying. Julia really comes into her own as well. Always outspoken, she finds herself for the first time on equal footing with Brisbane and adeptly holds her own. I loved it.

Lady Julia Grey is my hero. Not only is she smart and an extremely good dresser but she just so happens to expertly solve the most puzzling mysteries that normal people would run screaming away from. Her curiosity is one of her most intriguing characteristics - she is logical, methodical and can give one cutting remark. I love her. I want to be her. And I also want Brisbane. And Ms. Raybourne, just so you know, I sleep much better at night just thinking that a Brisbane could possibly be wandering around this earth. Thank you.

reading order:
~ Silent in the Grave
~ Silent in the Sanctuary
~ Silent on the Moor

Summer Reading Blitz update: 9/30