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)

Good story, some weird narration

The book itself is a nice, long, juicy story.

Although the narrator is overall very good as far as pacing and such, she has a couple of strange tics as well as some pretty terrible accents (Scottish, cockney) and quite a few words pronounced the American rather than British way. It wasn’t enough to make me stop listening, but I did keep wondering why the director/author/narrator let them stay in there. I’m hoping those things get ironed out for future titles in the series.

Good for the Ride Home

I had this book on audio, and enjoyed listening to it every time I got into my car. But there was an element missing that kind of confounds me, actually. I didn't sense any suspense, and I was never sure if there was a developing romance or not between the two "main" characters. Although it was somewhat satisfying in that there was a real ending to the story, I didn't find it a rich story that I could get lost in. Nevertheless, it was worth staying with to the end.

Entertaining

Other reviewers have said it all, so I will mention:

Historical mystery with a hint of romance (might develop in the next few books in the series). I prefer this approach, rather than an emphasis on the romance aspect (other readers feel the opposite). Some good (and sometimes funny) observations of later Victorian customs, which made it so difficult for widowed women to emerge from mourning and claim a place in society.

I suspected that the reader was not English, but she did -- for the most part, I thought -- a pretty good job with accents and differentiating characters. I just had difficulty understanding how the publisher (or whoever is suposed to be in charge of quality) could allow a narrator to mispronounce things horribly, like saying VISS-count for viscount. There were a few other dandies, too. Other than those missteps, which were jarring during the listening process, I was engaged by the story.

I have the second book in the series, so I am going to try reading it instead of having it read to me.

Twisty plot with compelling characters

Love the strong females and enlightened males in this story. Raybourn is a gifted writer and I intend to read the rest of this series, and so shall you. For anyone who enjoys reading Victorian fiction.

Great fun !

If you could sum up Silent in the Grave in three words, what would they be?

entertaining, gripping, fun

What did you like best about this story?

the fact that it is set in other time is very interesting and educational.

Have you listened to any of Ellen Archer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

My first time and I loved her!

Who was the most memorable character of Silent in the Grave and why?

Lady Grey, of course, who goes through a journey to discover herself and be free of her time.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the sequel...

Meh

Read from July 16 to 30, 2014

Story: 2.5 stars
Narrator: 2 stars

This barely maintained my interest enough to keep me listening through to the end. Rather than being a true mystery novel, it's more of a "lifestyle of the rich and widowed in Victorian England" story, which is interrupted at the end by the climax of the minor plot of the murder mystery. I never grew to like Lady Julia---she's one step up from a typical Too Stupid to Live heroine. Anytime she's told: "DON'T DO THE THING," of course she has to immediately run out and do the thing. And because it's written in first-person, from her POV, I never grew to like Brisbane all that much, either, because I was so disconnected emotionally from her and from everything she did and thought.

So, at least I avoided getting sucked into yet another series.

The narrator, Ellen Archer, annoyed me with her fake British accent (repetitive mispronunciations and accent slippages made it VERY obvious) and pauses/breaks in odd places in the middle of sentences and paragraphs. I've heard samples of other books she does in a regular (generic American) accent, and she sounds much better--with a better rhythm--in those. (She also does commercial voiceovers, including a series for MetLife).

I'd actually purchased this audiobook back in 2008, before the audiobook boom, and before there was much information available about the narrators online. I might have enjoyed the book much more had it been narrated by Charlotte Parry, who did the other book of Raybourn's I've listened to twice and enjoyed both times: The Dead Travel Fast.

Wish I’d started here!

I happened to listen to a Julia Gray story further along in the series on a drive from MD to Maine. I loved it and it made the drive go by easily. I loved the characters and the tension between Julia and Brisbane. So upon finishing, i decided to start at the beginning. It was an interesting, imaginative and creative opening tale. Although I suspected the true culprit early on, it was a wonderfully woven tale and build up of characters that lay the foundation for the adventures to come. I thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to listening to the others. I’m a fan of the Veronica Speedwell series and this is equally intriguing and well crafted storylines. The romance is there but it’s deftly woven in to the larger story. Highly recommend!

Good story, bad narrator choice

The narrator isn't British and struggles with accents, as well as rampant mispronunciations. Entertaining, though.

Narrator’s Accent

I love this series. I am rereading, starting with the first which I didn’t read. This time around, I like to combine reading with listening depending on my own activities. This is not aided by the narrator. I think she is not British. Others have mentioned mispronunciations of words like the title viscount; I could overlook that. What continually distracts me is the vaguely American-southern accent that creeps in. As Lady Julia would most likely have a very drawing-room accent, I would rather the narrator have one as well. Or at least be better able to mimic one. I think this narrator has a very pleasant voice otherwise.

wonderful read

I was looking for a good mystery and the plot twist, I DID NOT SEE COMING! Although from the get go I kinda figured out who the killer was, but I did not know the motivation behind the killing so it was interesting how things turned out. The beginning was a bit slow and I did get bored but I kept listening on. I'm glad I did because it's a good read, some parts were a bit confusing to me like about Nicholas Brisbane but I'm not sure if it's because I wasnt paying close enough attention or not. Worth the read though.