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)

A Real Gem

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

I plan to listen again in the next week or two at work. I do data entry and this is the best way to tune out talking around me and helps the day go faster. I also pick up many things I missed the first time around.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Silent in the Sanctuary?

I liked Julia's first meeting in this book with Nicholas. It was funny and I can see this happening to someone in real life.

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

My favorite character is-of course-Nicholas

Any additional comments?

I am a big fan of the Sebastian St Cyr series by C.S.Harris too and plan on purchasing them.

Picks up steam in second half

I took of one star partly for the slow first half and partly for the appallingly poor casting of the narrator’s voicing of Portia which is painfully shrill and peevish. Sure, it’s nice there’s some ‘diversity’ in the family tree, but couldn’t Julia’s queer sister Portia have had a pleasing voice and amusingly quirky nature like Julia? I saw several reviews also mentioning giving up on the story cuz it was painful to listen to the character of Portia. I still found the story entertaining and will give the third book a listen as well.

Better than the first book

I was deeply torn about the first book. I think this book had a better rhythm than the first one in the series. The narrator was better this time around and the story flowed a little better to me. It is definitely a wordy book. Lots of descriptions to things but I think it really paints a picture of this old house and it’s many features. I will say, I’m not really sure how Julia and Brisbane’s relationship keeps moving forward. I don’t feel like their relationship, outside of interaction for the investigations, is developed very well but it is a light romance novel so I will just suspend that need for storyline and go with it. I will continue this series and see where it goes!

Perfectly satisfying

Like the first, great melodrama, mystery and sexual tension. Fascinating characters. Perfect performance except for Portia.

VERY enjoyable

Loved the story. Interesting twist within the plot. The narrator did a great job distinguishing the different people's voices. Looking forward to the next in the series

Enjoyable listen!

I enjoyed Silent in the Sanctuary very much! The author does a nice job with the series in terms of the main characters, delicious plots and murder mystery!! This is my second book in the series listening to.The narration was excellent! The narrator is perfect for this series of books.

A new favorite author

I binge-read (listened) to all the books in this series. They are all very good. There are a few minor issue with the narrator - words mispronounced for example - but I liked these a lot!

Solid Sequel

This second book in the Lady Julia Grey series opens up a scant few months after the conclusion of the first book. Julia is in Italy, with two of her artistic brothers - the musician Lysander and Plum, the painter. As the Christmas holiday approaches, all three March adult children are summoned home after the news of Lysander's elopement to a spirited Italian woman reaches their father. Their friend, Alessandro, joins them as they journey north to the March home that was once an abbey. Soon, it becomes apparent that Lord March and Portia have a more underhanded reason behind the summons - and Nicholas Brisbane is also a guest at the abbey... But what at first seems like a matchmaking plot quickly turns into something more nefarious - a Christmas locked room mystery when a body is found in the sanctuary!

Julia and Brisbane are thrust together once more to investigate. It's an entertaining listen - masterfully narrated to create suspense, humour and romantic tension in equal doses. There are multiple threads to the mystery and while they are all neatly handled, the book still ends with a nice set-up for the third volume in the series - it really such fun! I am so thankful that I was introduced to this series through my book club, because I know that it is something I never would have selected on my own!

it's a well-written story - excellently plotted with genuine surprises and perhaps even more importantly, peopled with characters - even the villainous ones - that are so completely likable. It's a genuine joy to listen to this series with the talented performance of Ellen Archer - and I am so looking forward to listening to the rest of the series! And I enjoy that Grimm is in the series, and with the addition of Florence, Julia seems to be collecting quite a menagerie. I can't wait for the third book!

Awful mispronunciation by the narrator

What made the experience of listening to Silent in the Sanctuary the most enjoyable?

The story

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Ellen Archer?

Someone that can pronounce viscount properly. The narrator's inability to speak with a credible English accent becomes really jarring after a while. I want to listen to the other stories in the series but I'm not sure I can stand the narrator anymore,

What an annoying narrator!

Any additional comments?

I do not know who read this book but it was NOT Ellen Archer! Ms. Archer's voice is more refined and she does the voices of the English characters with what could be her natural English accent.

Whoever read this book was American and her interpretation of Italian accents was laughable and terribly annoying! Count Fornacci sounds more like Count Dracula than a member of Italian nobility!

The story is fine but the characters are either stuffy or rebellious and the March heirs are all quite spoiled. Julia has flashes of depth and caring but she is still self absorbed. Understanding that these characters are probably a decent representation of gentility of the time, I understand that the time period shapes the personalities but there are moments when it's just too much.

Still the book is worth the listen but this series is not one of my favorites.