Silent on the Moor

Nicholas Brisbane has secluded himself in his newly acquired country estate – one that needs a lot of work, and when Lady Julia discovers that he doesn’t want her there she is, of course, determined to go. At this point it’s obvious what follows. Dead bodies, attempts at murder, general March craziness, fun with gypsies, and, of course, a Lady Julia book wouldn’t be a Lady Julia book if she and Brisbane weren’t butting heads.

The third Lady Julia novel, Silent on the Moor has proven to be yet another fantastic read from the pen (or keyboard) of Deanna Raybourn.

Silent on the Moor actually qualifies as my favorite of the first four Lady Julia novels for a few reasons, but the big one – all the answers that are FINALLY, GLORIOUSLY supplied regarding Brisbane. Up to virtually the end of Silent on the Moor, Brisbane has been built up as a half-breed, stubborn, talented man who has survived the unbelievable and made himself out of virtually nothing. As I’ve read, question after question about him has bounced through my mind and all those answers I mentioned make it possible to understand Brisbane on a whole new level. His motivations, why he is the way he is and why he makes the decisions he does – it was truly amazing to finally gain more insight than I was working with. It also endears me to his character all the more.

Another major plus, after 1,000-some-odd pages of tension, of dancing around each other like hormone-riddled teenagers who are fumbling to figure things out – well, let’s just say that part of Lady Julia and Brisbane’s relationship gets nipped in the bud and leave it at that.

If you asked me, I would say that each of these books are something more than just historical fiction, or just a mystery to be solved. Silent on the Moor holds true to that and then some. The history and the mystery do intrigue me. I was completely involved in this from the first to the last page and Raybourn certainly kept me guessing. It is more though, it’s a look at human nature, at how we see, feel, and do.

All that being said, there are two things that bummed me out while reading Silent on the Moor, and that would be the sudden disappearance of Monk and Aquinas who are two of my favorite characters and who are only mentioned in passing throughout the entirety of the book. There’s also the curve ball with Jane towards the end, but I’ll get into that whole situation during my review of book four. All in all, none of this took away from my overall enjoyment of the books, it was just sad to not see them in the same capacity as the first two books. While I’m on the subject of minor characters, can I also just say how much I loved Morag’s constantly increasing dedication to Brisbane?

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again: Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia novels are fantastic, and Silent on the Moor is no exception. Still highly recommended.

Lady Julia Grey Series:
1. Silent in the Grave
2. Silent in the Sanctuary
3. Silent on the Moor
4. Dark Road to Darjeeling
5. The Dark Enquiry (To be released July, 2011)