Mini-Review: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

The fourth Lady Julia Grey mystery (following Silent on the Moor, 2009) finds Julia happily married to handsome, brooding detective Nicholas Brisbane. Their honeymoon is interrupted by her sister Portia and brother Plum, who want Julia and her new husband to come to India, where Portia’s former lover, Jane Cavendish, is living on the tea plantation her recently deceased husband, Freddie, inherited. Freddie died under mysterious circumstances, and Jane suspects he may have been murdered for his inheritance. Jane is pregnant, and she fears her child will be in danger if it proves to be a boy. Despite her husband’s objections, Julia decides to investigate Freddie’s murder, getting to know the potential suspects, including Freddie’s spinster aunt, his cousin Harry, several neighbors, and a mysterious man known as the White Rajah. As Julia closes in on the killer, she uncovers more than a few family secrets.

In this installment, I don’t feel that Julia or Brisbane advanced much as characters or in their marriage though there is still great chemistry in their exchanges. Many significant events happened with secondary characters, such as Jane, Portia and Plum and many new characters were introduced. There are the usual incidents of Julia’s curiosity getting her into trouble and Brisbane coming to the rescue. The setting of India gives an exotic underpinning and the cultural aspects were interesting. Somehow either because of the setting of India or maybe it was all the new characters, Dark Road to Darjeeling just did not work as well for me as the earlier instalments in the series. Raybourn does excellent character building though...maybe there was just too many extra characters for my personal tastes. The ending is a complete shocker and left me wanting more, so this series is still one of my favourites and I look forward to the next book.

The next instalment in the series, Book 5, is The Dark Enquiry. 

My Rating: 4.0

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Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Silk by Alessando Baricco

Silk by Alessandro Baricco is only a scant 132 pages and although the narrative is sparse and austere it is yet a very authentic story. It is simply the story of silk merchant, Herve Joncour, who is married. Herve exists through life quietly and routinely, always a follower never a leader. On a trip to Japan to smuggle silkworm eggs back to France he is struck by a girl who does not have oriental eyes, the mistress of the Hara Kei and the most invincible man in Japan. The girl stirs his soul and he hovers on the brink of change. He feels connected to the girl in Japan who does not have oriental eyes, the mistress of the Hara Kei and the most invincible man in Japan, and although he loves his wife he is tempted by the elusiveness her. Baricco is very skillful at building layer upon layer of emotional intensity. He uses repetition of words and parts of the plot in this way as well. A story of reality versus illusion. Recommended read. My Rating: 4.0 Chapters Amazon

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

A fascinating, detailed story of Empress Orchid and what her life may have been like as a concubine of Emperor Hsien Feng, and ultimately the last Empress of China. Orchid is a character with strong will, an inquiring, questioning mind and someone who desires to be loved and to give love but her destiny is to delicately and surreptitiously rule China after the death of the Emperor.

Some novels filled with considerable historical detail can become boring and slow but Anchee Min sets a brisk pace through the events of Orchid’s life, painting vivid descriptions and keeping you engaged without losing any meaning. I really liked this book but did not love it as much as Memoirs of a Geisha, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love. I would read more from this Author.

My Rating: 4.0

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Peony in Love by Lisa See

Peony in Love was just as enjoyable and maybe even more so, than Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I thought Lisa See was more focused on telling the story of Peony in the context of that time in Chinese history, rather than intricately detailing historical facts of the time, as in Snow Flower.

Peony, a much loved daughter, is obsessed with an opera called The Peony Pavilion and longs to be in love and in charge of her destiny, although she is to be wed to someone she has never met. Though forbidden she meets a young man and the choices she makes afterwards determines her destiny. 

Read this book if you want a love story with a twist and a sprinkling of the supernatural. Both a heartbreaking and lovely read. You will not be disappointed!!

My Rating: 4.5

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