Deanna Raybourn's "Silent in the Grave" is a Victorian mystery set in London and featuring the newly widowed Lady Julia Grey. Julia's thirty-one year old husband, Sir Edward, has collapsed and died, apparently of an inherited heart ailment. Julia is shocked but not overly depressed about Edward's demise, since they had not shared a bed for some time. As the daughter of an earl, Julia has led a sheltered life, with servants at her beck and call and little to challenge or excite her. Her thus far boring existence is about to change, however.
A week after Sir Edward's funeral, a private inquiry agent named Nicholas Brisbane calls upon Lady Julia. It seems that Edward had engaged Brisbane to look into a series of threatening notes sent to him anonymously. Brisbane wants Lady Julia to consider the possibility that Edward may have been murdered. Julia angrily dismisses Brisbane with harsh words, but she eventually comes around to his way of thinking; they both embark on a search for Edward Grey's killer.
What makes "Silent in the Grave" eminently readable and entertaining is not the mystery itself, which proves to be a bit tepid (most mystery buffs will spot the killer long before Lady Julia). The novel shines because of its unusual and varied characters, sparkling and witty dialogue, and the author's sardonic look at the foibles of the upper classes in Victorian England. Lady Julia is a delightful heroine, who gradually changes from an unworldly and timid mouse into a daring and impulsive woman, willing to take risks to learn the truth. Brisbane is a cipher--a dark-eyed and mysterious stranger with a hidden past and a brooding demeanor. His virility and strength of character intrigue the love-starved Julia. Although she dislikes his rough manners, Julia feels an undeniable romantic attraction to him.
Enhancing the the book's colorful atmosphere are the motley group of servants, including Aquinas, a proud and dignified Italian butler, Morag, Julia's personal maid and a reformed prostitute, and Magda, a tormented gypsy whom Julia employs as her laundress. Other characters of note are Aunt Ursula, also known as the Ghoul, who moves into houses of mourning and often stays for as long as a year, and Fleur, a notorious courtesan and close friend of Nicholas Brisbane.
The author touches on such serious themes such as poverty, adultery, and prejudice, but for the most part, "Silent in the Grave" is lighthearted, humorous, and breezy fun. Raybourn satirizes the indolence and decadence of over-privileged Londoners with too much money and time on their hands. Such individuals become self-centered, cynical, and shallow. As Julia says of her late husband, "He liked things that came easily to him--his inheritance, money, me." Even Lady Julia, who is down-to-earth in most ways, is not entirely free of class prejudice, proclaiming, "We were charged with taking care of those to whom our money and our blood made us superior." At over five hundred pages, the book is a trifle long, but the story moves along rapidly and ends satisfyingly. After you finish this fine debut novel, you will be eager to read the second installment in the adventures of the enchanting and spirited Lady Julia Grey.
