Silent in the Grave - Raybourn
Audio performance by Ellen Archer
4 stars

The first book of a series that I’ve already enjoyed at least once. There’s an agreeably twisty mystery. But it’s Lady Julia, her interesting family, and her chosen detective that tempted me to reread this series.
I own the audiobook, but 5 minutes of Ellen Archer’s voice for Julia’s sister was enough for me. I was happy that I held on to the paperback. ( )

I adored this book! i loved the characters.... i could not have predicted the ending and i loved the world that was created and can't wait to read more of this series in the future!
( )

I adored this book! i loved the characters.... i could not have predicted the ending and i loved the world that was created and can't wait to read more of this series in the future!
( )

If you hear about a book that takes place in the Victorian era featuring a female, amateur detective solving a murder mystery with a dash of romance from an extraordinary man, you would think YAY! So many genres, so much fun! This is going to be awesome and intense and fascinating and so many wonderful things. This is going to be the best book ever!

That is not this book. It's not the worst book ever, but it's definitely not good. I personally love historical mysteries with a little romance. Some people don't like the romance part, and that's cool. What's not cool is that Raybourn didn't seem to know which genre she was writing. The first third of the book is pretty much JUST historical fiction. If you wanted to learn about mourning in the Victorian era, this is a great resource for you. Very educational.

The next third of the book is a self-help book, specifically, how to help yourself from being a stupid chick. I'm so sick and tired of authors saying "my heroine is so intelligent" but the heroine almost dies 30 bajillion times because she can't listen to simple instructions. "Don't tell people about the investigation." "Don't go to the gypsy camp." "Don't confront the murderer alone." You can bet she does all of this and more. She even says, on multiple occasions, "how could I be so stupid?" I DON'T KNOW. I WISH YOU WEREN'T. There was no wit, no common sense, and no more $7 in my wallet from buying this at a used book store (thank heavens I didn't pay full price).

Then, the last third was the mystery, but it was such a boring mystery because it was slapped together in a "oh, we have a mystery to solve" kind of way. All of a sudden, the heroine finds all these clues, but even then, things don't pick up. Why? Because the hero has to do all the legwork of figuring out what the clues mean while the heroine JUST SITS AT HOME AND WHINES. "Ew, I have to take care of my sick relative." "Ew, there's a raven in my house." "Ew, my family's so annoying." "Is this dress too daring?" What's daring, is publishing this joke of a book.

Normally, I try to find a silver lining or something that other people might enjoy about this book, but I can't think of anything. Just avoid this book. Avoid this whole series. It is unsatisfying in every way imaginable. The only saving grace was it was well-written, but even that wasn't enough to get this book a mediocre rating. ( )

This book is just a whole lot of fun! Raybourn can instantly create characters that you feel you know, and like. Deadly witty dialogue. Can't wait to read the next one. ( )