Silent in the Sanctuary

By: Deanna Raybourn

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father's estate crowded with family and friends: but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters.

Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget, the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane, is among her father's houseguests...and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.

But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia's own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin's innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul.

Silent in the Sanctuary is the sequel to Silent in the Grave.

©2008 Deanna Raybourn (P)2008 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

"A sassy heroine and a masterful, secretive hero. Fans of romantic mystery could ask no more." ( Kirkus)
"Fans and new readers alike will welcome this sparkling sequel to Raybourn's debut Victorian mystery, Silent in the Grave....The complex mystery, a delightfully odd collection of characters, and deft period details produce a rich and funny read." ( Publishers Weekly)

Very good

What did you love best about Silent in the Sanctuary?

I am wondering about the confusion of the narrator, other reviews say it isn't Ellen Archer. She is the narrator of the book I purchased, and was very good.

What other book might you compare Silent in the Sanctuary to and why?

Moves a little slow at first.

Which character – as performed by Ellen Archer – was your favorite?

I like all of Ellen Archer's voices.

Fun series, amazing performance.

This series is great and this second installment sees the heroine truly come into herself.
The performance is just great. I bought it on my kindle as well and find I miss the voices so much I want to listen instead. I highly recommend any book read by Ellen Archer.

Excellent performance

Really top quality narration and quite a good story, better than I expected when I was just looking for some light escapism.

Kept me guessing till the end.

This one was even better than the last. What a great bunch of characters, and great detail. It makes you feel like you are really there, you can almost feel the coolness of the Abbey.

Multiple Mysteries

I do like the narrator. This one seemed to meander more than the first, but I enjoyed the multiple mysteries. All the ends tied up nicely with good twists.

Good read

Throughly enjoyed the story , characters and presentation. Nice to read an author who can actually write. I'll read her again.

Better in the second half

This was a great book. However it did take a while to get in to it. And as with all of Deanna Raybourn’s books the ending was definitely a surprise!! It was nice to have a majority of Julia’s family around this time!!

Learn the words!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Silent in the Sanctuary to be better than the print version?

No, specifically because while the narrator is good overall, this is yet another book where words are painfully mispronounced. Please, please, please get the directors or producers to ensure that the readers know how to pronounce the words in the books they read. Nothing ruins a story more quickly than mangled language.There's just no excuse. If they review before the performance they can look up unfamiliar words on the Internet and even hear audio to check their pronounciation. It's easy.

Fun sequel (Archer narrating!)

I read the previous Raybourn-Silent novel and enjoyed it, and this one as well. I waited until it came out narrated by Ellen Archer, who does an excellent job narrating (listening to it narrated in an American accent would be irritating, I think). These are light, fun novels that keep your attention while you read them and provide a fun time.

great story telling

There is just something about this series that I love. The pacing is slow and methodical, but it captures my attention, none-the-less. The writing style is very reminiscent of Jane Austen, yet without the wordiness.

In this book, Lady Julia has returned home for the holidays, only to find a rather large house party and whole lot of intrigue. Among the house guests is Brisbane and his finance. When a murder is discovered, Julia once again partners with Brisbane to try to discover the killer.

Part of what makes this series so interesting is the wonderful cast of character. Like Ms. Austen, Raybourn follows the tradition of poking at the limitations of class and gender from the time period. However, she has created the March family, who is deliciously quirky and non-traditional. In addition, the tension and longing between Julia and Brisbane is palpable, yet it doesn't overpower the mystery of the book.