Another character, said to be Italian, sounded more like a Scotsman. One of the servants was supposed to be Scottish, but the accent used sounded so artificial, with words really stretched out of shape, that it was hard to listen to.

This narrator did a fairly good job with different voices, but different accents did not come out well. At first, the voice itself bothered me because of a rather saccharine tone, but I got used to that and it fitted the story fairly well. My problem with this book was the narrator. All in all, it turned out to be a satisfying story with an interesting ending. Thank god it never developed into the bodice-ripper I was dreading. I had a little trouble getting into it at the beginning, but I think that was because it started out sounding a lot like many a Victorian or Regency romance.

I liked the characters, minor ones as well as major. The period detail was good, and the plot was interesting, although the author did sometimes telegraph what was going to happen next. I bought this book as a mystery, not as a romance, so I was happy to have the story pretty light on the romance side - more a tantalizingly slow build up of romantic tension. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.ĭetermined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests. These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

Silent in the grave by deanna raybourn