The Dead Travel Fast [Paperback]

Deanna Raybourn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2010

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Rumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute—Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

Before her sojourn is ended—or her novel completed—Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal…and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Excitement, danger, and romance await independent, headstrong writer Theodora Lestrange when she flees 1858 Scotland and miserable spinsterhood for the wilds of Transylvania, joining a childhood friend who will soon be wed. Ensconced in a crumbling castle steeped in sinister legend, Theodora finds herself drawn equally to its gloomy atmosphere and its rakish master, Count Andrei Dragulescu. Rita Award–winning author Raybourn (the Lady Julia Grey series) delightfully evokes the language, tension, and sweeping grandeur of 19th-century gothic novels. Theodora is a delightful heroine, so much so that cruel, petty, misogynistic Andrei never really seems worthy of her. The book unfortunately drags during the middle, and its leading man's motives are confused throughout, but Raybourn's intriguing treatment of vampire legends will delight fans of the genre. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Author Theodora LeStrange leaves Victorian Scotland for a castle in Transylvania to visit her childhood friend Cosmina, and work on her new novel. Arriving in Transylvania, Theodora finds herself drawn to the handsome Count Andrei Dragulescu, Cosmina’s cousin and her intended. But Andrei has now refused to marry Cosmina, to Cosmina’s relief, allowing Theodora to indulge her attraction to him. The shocking murder of a servant girl shatters the idyllic peace, and the two bite marks on her neck lead Andrei and his mother to fear that his cruel father has returned from the dead as a vampire. As Theodora learns more about the superstitions of the region from a Hungarian doctor who tends to the family, the countess urges Andrei to perform a ritual that will guarantee his father will never rise again, a step Andrei is reluctant to take. Atmospheric and lush, this appealing gothic romance offers more than a few surprising twists and turns. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778327655
• ISBN-13: 978-0778327653
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Travel > Europe > Romania & Moldova

More About the Author

A sixth-generation native Texan, New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn grew up in San Antonio, where she met her college sweetheart. She married him on her graduation day and went on to teach high school English and history. During summer vacation at the age of twenty-three, she wrote her first novel. After three years as a teacher, Deanna left education to have a baby and pursue writing full-time. Fourteen years and many, many rejections after her first novel, she signed two three-book deals with MIRA Books.

"Sex, lies and awesome clothing descriptions" is how one reader described Deanna's debut novel, Silent in the Grave, published in January 2007. The first in the Silent series, the book follows Lady Julia Grey as she investigates the mysterious death of her husband with the help of the enigmatic private inquiry agent Nicholas Brisbane. From the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to a Gypsy camp on Hampstead Heath, Silent in the Grave deftly captures the lush ambience of Victorian London.

The series continues with the second book, Silent in the Sanctuary (January 2008), a classic English country house murder mystery with a few twists and turns for Brisbane and Lady Julia along the way. Silent on the Moor (March 2009), set in a grim manor house on the Yorkshire moors, is the third adventure for Lady Julia and the mysterious Brisbane.

March 2010 saw a departure from the series with the release of The Dead Travel Fast, a mid-Victorian Gothic thriller that chronicles the adventures of novelist Theodora Lestrange as she leaves the safety and security of her Edinburgh home for the dark woods and haunted castles of Transylvania. Deanna turned once more to Lady Julia and her companions with Dark Road to Darjeeling (October 2010). With an exotic setting in the foothills of the Himalayas and the introduction of an arch-villain, Dark Road to Darjeeling is the most thrilling installment yet. The fifth book in the series, The Dark Enquiry, sees the return of Lady Julia and Brisbane to London for their most puzzling adventure and will be available in stores in June 2011.

Deanna plots her books from her home in Virginia. After one too many hot Texas summers, Deanna and her husband packed up their daughter and moved to the mid-Atlantic state, where they enjoy the fall leaves but deeply miss good Tex-Mex cooking.

Still Virginia has been good to this author. Deanna's novel Silent in the Grave won the 2008 RITA® Award for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery. The Lady Julia Grey series has been nominated for several other awards, including an Agatha, a Daphne du Maurier, a Last Laugh, two more RITAs, and two Dilys Winns. Her latest novel, Dark Road to Darjeeling, was a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Historical Mystery and has also been nominated for a RITA.

You can find her blogging five days a week at www.deannaraybourn.com/blog, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter, check out her contests and book trailer videos, and catch her latest appearances at www.deannaraybourn.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whoops. This was a big surprise., February 21, 2010

By 

Old Latin teacher (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast (Paperback)

So, a big fan of the three Lady Julia Grey novels by Deanna Raybourn, I preordered this book long ago, assuming it was the fourth Lady Julia book (I guess we know what that makes me) and forgot about it. It arrives this week and turns out to be a Gothic/vampire/werewolf plot, not my favorite genre. But I read it anyway, having paid for it and also being, as said, a big fan of Raybourn's other novels. And, to my surprise, I liked it. I found it to be well written, perhaps the characters not as well developed and three-dimensional as they could be, but the plot was fun, had a couple of unexpected things that happened, and, in general, the book could be read by someone who does not like the paranormal and prefers things that happen in the world to not be otherworldly. It has romance, mystery and murder. Could you ask for more?

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shades of (Lady Julia) Grey, February 17, 2010

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast (Paperback)

Theodora Lestrange is a budding author who receives an invitation from her friend, Cosmina, to stay in her fiancee's castle in Transylvania. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to gain inspiration for the novel she's always wanted to write, Theodora goes to Transylvania--and finds herself immediately attracted to the castle's owner, count Andrei Dragulescu.

I'm not quite as fond of this novel as I am of Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, and I'll tell you why. Theodora Lestrange is a pale copy of Lady Julia, I'm afraid, unrestrainedly modern and not quite as interesting. There's not quite the same amount of wittiness that Lady Julia gave us time after time. There are also a lot of discrepancies in her character, especially when it came to her friendship with Cosmina.

I can't help but compare this romance to the one between Lady Julia and Brisbane in Raybourn's Silent series. I think the problem lies in the fact that, whereas the Lady Julia-Brisbane romance had time to evolve over a few novels, here the romance aspect simply seems rushed, and based more upon physical chemistry rather than emotional or mental (how many times are we told about how physically attractive the count is?). We're told over and over that there's a mental connection, but I'd rather see it firsthand.

I loved the premise of the book, and I wish that there had been more of the supernatural in it. Theodora is the ultimate skeptic, I know, but I would have liked to have seen more vampires, werewolves, strigoi, or whatever. This book had the potential to be extremely scary, but I thought it fell down in that aspect. Also (and this is a minor point but it annoyed me all the same), the author is very selective about the British spellings she uses (why "faery," for example, and not "mediaeval?").

Deanna Raybourn is a talented writer, and she knows her Victorian period extremely well. She's obviously put a lot of time and energy into the research and writing of this book, but I for one can't wait until she returns to the Lady Julia Grey series. If you're a newcomer to Deanna Rayboun's novels, this is probably not the place to start.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Lady Julia I Fear, February 17, 2010

By 

Sarah Ziegler "sazall" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dead Travel Fast (Paperback)

Theodora Lestrange has just lost her adored grandfather and is left with a handful of unappealing yet sensible choices for her near future, when an old school friend extends an invitation to visit her in Transylvania. The independence of the journey and the exoticism of the destination beckon to this young writer and she departs for the myths and mysteries of Eastern Europe with scarcely a thought for her safety and well-being. Once there, she meets with the requisite assortment of intriguing characters, including the reclusive and mysterious Count Andrei.

Sadly, the characterizations in this novel, unlike in the Lady Julia series, are not particularly well developed. The attraction between the main characters seems inexplicable or unbelievable. I personally love the Lady Julia series (in spite of the unfortunate cover art in the more recent editions) but this is a pale shadow of that richly developed world. The