I enjoyed Silent in the Grave so much, I promptly picked up its sequel, Silent in the Sanctuary, and devoured it within a couple of days. Lady Julia has taken a holiday with some of her family in Italy to recover from her husband’s murder, but she is called back to England early by her father. With her comes a young Italian man who seems to be quite taken with her. To Julia’s surprise, her father has invited Brisbane to stay at the family estate, and he has brought a fiancee.
The gathering at the estate is actually quite large, including several of Julia’s siblings, a couple cousins, a few friends, and a frightful aunt (of course). Several of the guests dislike one another (hilarious conversations are had due to this) and soon, a murder occurs. To everyone’s surprise, Julia’s cousin confesses, but Julia and Brisbane are unconvinced she is guilty. Naturally, they team up to uncover the truth.
I really enjoyed getting to know more of Julia’s immediate family. Their personalities are as colorful as their names (examples: Eglamore and Lysander), and they provide subplots that are nearly as interesting as the main mystery. Speaking of subplots, the best one here is Brisbane’s fiancee. Does he really love her? What about Julia? The explanation is interesting and surprising.
In Silent on the Moor, Brisbane has bought a property on the moor in Yorkshire and invited Julia’s sister, Portia, to stay to help him settle in. Despite the fact that he has explicitly told Julia not to come, she does, and there she finds that Brisbane is sharing the house with a strange family. The family has secrets to rival Brisbane’s, and Julia becomes caught up in both.
Silent on the Moor was a bit of a disappointment. In this third installment, Raybourn makes a pretty big shift in tone as well as plot. While the first two books had juicy, interesting mysteries as their centerpieces, Silent on the Moor forgoes a strong mystery entirely. In its place is a spooky tone and a few strange happenings that never add up to a true whodunnit. I read page after page, waiting for the mystery to present itself, and it never did.
Instead, Raybourn focuses on Brisbane’s tortured past and Lady Julia’s attempts to figure out if he wants her or not (and if she wants him or not), all set on the moody moor that Brisbane calls home. Those parts are interesting, but they’re not enough to sustain an entire novel. The style is very reminiscent of Wuthering Heights, a classic novel I don’t particularly care for. The main reason I dislike it is because the characters are so unlikeable, and Raybourn comes dangerously close to doing the same thing with Brisbane here. Raybourn’s trademark humor is also almost entirely missing, including the witty repartee between the two leads. Instead, they mope.
Will this less than stellar installment prevent me from reading the rest of the series? Probably not. I fell in love with the characters in the first two novels, and the end of the third seems to indicate a shift back to what I loved there. I can’t really fault an author for trying something a little different, maybe a little ambitious. It certainly worked for other readers. As for me, I’ll be glad to get back to Lady Julia and Brisbane exchanging barbs while getting into far too much trouble solving crimes.
I haven't read Silent on the Moor yet. But from your disappointment, I think I'll actually like it just as much. I like unrequited attractions and the "does she/he like me" plots quite a bit.
I found SILENT ON THE MOOR to be very slow & it did not live up to my expectations after reading & loving her first 2 Lady Grey mysteries. However, her follow up, Dark Raod to Darjeeling, was wonderful & even elicited a few tears! So, don't give up! I'm looking forward to reading her latest mystery, too, whenever I can get to it. My TBR pile is crazy!