Silent in the Grave

By: Deanna Raybourn

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

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. 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.

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. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.

Determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. 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.

©2007 Deanna Raybourn (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Critic reviews

"Riveting." (Bookreporter.com)
"Fans of British historical thrillers will welcome Raybourn's perfectly executed debut." (Publishers Weekly)

There should be a quiz

Very enjoyable book with lots of twists and turns. A first person voice is hard to sustain but the author managed it well. However, the reader was another matter! There should be a basic vocabulary test for narrators to be sure they can actually pronounce words commonly used in books of this genre. VIZcount indeed!

Just okay

I bought this title with high hopes for a witty mystery following the many good reviews. It was just okay nothing compelling. The story was fair, the narration okay once I put it at 1.25 speed, overall an okay listen.

Very good!

Great read! I was guessing all the way to the end. I can't wait to see what else is in store for these characters.

EXCELLENT

I am glad I decided to pick this one. The plot was very interesting and I could not guess who the murderer was. The narrator, Ellen Archer was very good. I will be following the series.

wonderful book

beautiful narration to go with a great story full of intrigue and amusement. I will be following both author and narrators in their future works.

Excellent!

I loved this book! The historical details are very well-researched and the characters were surprisingly funny. The narrator was great-I also own a physical copy of the book but opted to listen to it mostly on audio because I liked the narrator so much.

Awful narrator!

The Scottish accents in this book go beyond awful to being actually insulting. The narrator has no ear for English accents either. Her vowels are all over the place with an almost Minnesotan "o". She has nograsp on regional a cents in England either. The book was torture to listen to. Place names were butchered and even titles like "viscount" were mispronounced. It was so embarrassing, frustrating, and insulting, I couldn't finish the book. It was so grating, I actually found myself shouting at the narrator, whilst listening to it on a long drive.

Pretty good book, bad narrator

This is a pretty good historical suspese/romance with apparently fairly accurate depiction of life in the Victorian age. Unfortunately, the brightness of the story is dimmed by the narrator. Clearly not British, it's hard not to notice the lapses into American and/or the stilted supposed British accent - sometimes, it works, sometimes, it definitely doesn't. Also, the narrator has a tendency to read. In a very. Staccato. Way. which is infuriating and just about murdered my enjoyment of the book.

Good enough that I'll keep an eye out for the sequeal, but only if it's read by someone else.

I Loved this Book

I just recently re-read it as a matter of fact. And not for the first time. I thought everything about it was pretty close to perfection. The author did a wonderful job of creating fully formed and fascinating characters. Julia, the main character was almost the least developed, but that fit well with the plot of this first book in the series and her character was the perfect foil to the eccentric family she tolerates to varying degrees, her dysfunctional long term relationship with her husband and his family and most importantly, to the brilliance of Brisbane. He quickly became one of my very favorite "heroes", using that word quite loosely, of all time. I love every quirk, tic and unlikeable aspect of his character. And Julia slowly emerges as the book progresses and in the other books that follow in the series.

This is one of the best parings of narrator to book. Everything about the crisp, clear, reserved and concise voice of the narrator worked. The way she pronounced "Brisbane" perfectly defined Julia's personality.

The quality of this book alone made me rethink some long held prejudices about its publisher.

I have now read all 5 of these books ...

Would you listen to Silent in the Grave again? Why?

Yes, at some point, I may go back over the entire series again. They are all wonderful, light, easy cozy mysteries with a little romance. No graphic violence or boring sex scenes. They go down so smoothly -- like a whole box of chocolates.