Mini-Review: The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn

Partners now in marriage and in trade, Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane's private enquiry business.

Among the more unlikely clients: Julia's very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved—if eccentric—family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.

It leads to the exclusive Ghost Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances…and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of dark deeds, whose tendrils crush reputations and throttle trust.

Shocked to find their investigation spun into salacious newspaper headlines, bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont's sakeâ € “ and moreâ € “ they'll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets, the kind men kill to keep….

The Dark Enquiry is the fifth book in the Lady Julia Grey series. First of all I’m not sure the title of the fifth book really reflects the content. I would have liked something more impactful. I absolutely LOVED this installment to the series. There is much protectiveness, tenderness and growth between Julia and Brisbane. Their marriage is put front and center, although Brisbane is still hiding many secrets. Julia has taken up a new hobby, or rather Brisbane has channeled Julia's energy into a hobby so he doesn't have to rescue her from getting into trouble all the time.

Even though the antagonist’s and their motivations can be worked out with some thought, there are still quite a few surprises. The part of the story with Julia confronting the antagonist is a bit too coincidental for my liking but this does not detract too much from the story as a whole. There is a particular sentence that struck me deeply, although I’m not going to give any backstory, as it may lean too much toward a spoiler, but I love the way Deanna Raybourn uses metaphors.

"I was wandering through a garden, a beautiful place, with the most exquisite blossoms. And as I put a hand to smell one, it closed, furling its petals tightly against me. I moved to the next flower, and it did the same, and it happened again and again until I reached the garden gate. I passed through and closed the gate, looking back to see the sea of blossoms, nodding sleepily on their stems. I locked the gate firmly behind me and walked on. I did not look back again."

Now you'll just have to read the story to understand what that quote means! I recommend reading the series in order...The Dark Inquiry is not really a standalone. Raybourn is working on a sixth instalment to the series.

My Rating: 5.0

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Related Posts:
Mini-Review: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

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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Related Posts:
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Winners of the Gothic Fiction Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered my Gothic Fiction Giveaway. According to List Randomizer the winners are:

Enna has won The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

A Bookshelf Monstrosity has won Perfume: The Story of a Murder by Patrick Suskind

Brizmus has won The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

It was great hearing about all of your gothic fiction favourites and now I have a few more books I must add to my tbr list.

Happy Halloween to All!!!

There was a bit of a mix-up and so Brizmus will be receiving another copy of Perfume: The Story of a Murder rather than The Shadow of the Wind, which means Raspberry is now the winner of Shadow of the Wind!

Gothic Fiction Giveaway

Originally Posted October 1, 2009

It has been a year of blogging at Obsessed With Books and to celebrate I will be giving away the following Gothic fiction 'modern classics' to three lucky winners. I read all three before I started blogging but the memory of them has stayed with me since, each being a distintictive work of fiction. All three novels are new, never been opened!

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (Trade Paperback) In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille''s genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Mass Market Paperback) To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father''s library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father''s past and her mother''s mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself-to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions-and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad''s ancient powers-one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil.

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Trade Paperback) Barcelona, 1945?A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called "The Shadow of the Wind," by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax''s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that "The Shadow of the Wind" is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author''s identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

I recently posted about my love of Gothic fiction, as well as historical and timeslip novels with Gothic elements, and I thought what better way to highlight the genre than to hold a contest!  

One entry per person. Open to entries worldwide. Entry Deadline: October 30th  
Winners Announced: October 31st  

What to Do: Comment on this blog post naming your favourite Gothic fiction novel or novel containing Gothic elements. Please include your email address in the comment and your book of choice out the three in the giveaway (pick one). Earn an additional entry by linking to this post on your blog. Don't forget to let me know!
 
Related Posts:
Gothic Fiction - Historical and Timeslip Favourites

Fourth Novel in the Mistress of the Art of Death Series

A Murderous Procession looks to be the next novel, book four, in the Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin (Putnam). There is some conflicting information as ChaptersIndigo shows the book to be released in trade paperback February 2, 2010 and Amazon.com is showing hardcover in April 10, 2010.

Summary from Chapters:

Joanna, the youngest of King Henry's daughters, is on her way to marry William II, king of Sicily. The journey will be long and dangerous, so Henry sends the only doctor he trusts-Adelia Aquilar, who is just as gifted with the living as she is with the dead. Usually, Adelia would be eager to visit her homeland, but Henry insists she leave her daughter in England as insurance she'll return. Adelia takes out her bitterness on Rowley, her former lover and Henry's most loyal man. Rowley is along for protection because a princess travelling with a fortune in jewels and gold is a tempting target, especially when among the treasures is the great sword Excalibur. Henry has decided to give it to his future son-in-law and greatest ally-to keep it from his ambitious sons. But the scheming of princes is nothing compared to a madman who seeks revenge because he blames Adelia for his lover's death...

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Related Posts:

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

Gothic Fiction - Historical and Timeslip Favourites

I just wanted to highlight the excellent Die, Gothic, Die post by Special Guest Emily Ryan Davis from Scorched Sheets posting at Romancing The Blog, in which she poses the question to readers whether the Gothic romance novel is real and truly, dead. I completely agree with Emily that this category of novel is still firmly alive, albeit I think it has been repackaged and hidden within other categories like timeslip, historical fiction, paranormal romance and fantasy romance.

Wikipedia has a great summary about exactly what Gothic fiction/Gothic romance is and its historical roots. My first experience with Gothic romance fiction was reading Victoria Holt as a teenager...her books totally suited my mind frame at the time...depressed, moody and overly dramatic. After reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott I looked into her backlist and realized that she wrote a collection of Gothic short stories anonymously called A Whisper in the Dark. If you want to read pure Gothic fiction I highly recommend this collection. I am very fond of historical fiction and timeslip novels that incorporate gothic elements and if you are looking for further reading in these genres I would recommend: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

A Great and Terribble Beauty by Libby Bray (YA)

Rebel Angels by Libby Bray (YA)

The Sweet Far Thing by Libby Bray (YA)

Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley Sepulchre by Kate Mosse Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn Silent in the Santuary by Deanna Raybourn Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Perfume by Patrick Suskind Dracula by Bram Stoker Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Here's a list of Gothic fiction from LibraryThing based on tag cloud popularity. Here's a list of Gothic romance fiction from LibraryThing based on tag cloud popularity.

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse

I have to admit I am a bit overwhelmed writing my review of Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. Luckily I am on vacation so I have all the time I need to give it a go. Sepulchre is over 735 pages long not including the Reader's Notes and Sepulchre Tour pages. Very daunting number of pages to any reader I should imagine...and then writing a credible review that encompasses all the themes...well you can see why I'm daunted! The book was very seductive though and breezed by on a tense plot, shortish chapters and intrepid characters. Sepulchre blends mystery and crime with gothic drama and a hint of romance.

I'm a big fan of timeslip novels...although usually I find a character from one period is more interesting or stronger in voice than the character in the other time period. I thought the main characters from the past and present were equally as strong in Sepulchre, though more of the story is given over to the past. Leonie Vernier is our heroine from the late 1900s, a young girl of seventeen who demonstrates a naive willfulness that causes death and harm to those she loves. Eventually she triumphs over evil at great cost to herself...unable to rest peacefully in death as her story remains untold, she begins to haunt her distant relative Meredith Martin, after Meredith indulges in an impulsive tarot reading while researching Debussy on her long awaited trip to Paris. 2007 - Meredith Martin is come to Paris to finalize her research on Claude Debussy, although this is not her only motive for visiting France... she is determined to discover her ancestral legacy using a lone photograph she has been given of a sepia soldier. After a strange tarot card reading she begins to have frightening dreams, echos from the past, which only become more intense while visiting a mysterious hotel in southern France called the Domaine de le Cade.

Sepulchre is the second book in Mosse's Languedoc Trilogy, very loosely connected to the first in the trilogy, Labyrinth, although focusing on different time periods and events, as well as varying in tone and storyline. Sepulchre relies more upon dramatic gothic and supernatural elements to create tension, while Labyrinth trends more to the spiritual and mythical. The books have entirely different cast of characters. If you do not care for heavy gothic overtones (a malignant oppressiveness), nor have an interest in the symbolism of tarot or suggestion of supernatural patterns, repetition in music, then this is probably not the book for you...but I very much enjoy dark, mysterious novels and really was captivated by this one!! I would venture to say I preferred Sepulchre over Labyrinth, much more drawn to the features and tone of this more recent read. Reading Sepulchre was like putting together pieces of a complex puzzle, knowledge revealed little by little.

Mosse does not give more weight to the research than the characters or plot and this is an impressive feat. There was so much description given about the areas in France that the book is set in, Rennes-les-Bains, Paris, as well as Carcassonne, and patterns in music, symbolism of tarot but these do not distract from the plot which flows along seamlessly in parallel with all the details. I can't imagine the amount of research Mosse must have put together...but you can get an idea of her sources by perusing the Sepulchre Tour inclusion at the back of the novel. This is a book to savour...to put down and ponder before greedily snatching up again.

The third book in the Languedoc trilogy is The Winter Ghosts to be released in hardcover this fall.

My Rating: 4.5

Chapters

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Suggested Recommendations for Related Reading with Gothic Elements:

Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Eight by Katherine Neville

Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin

Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

Silent in the Sanctuary…in one word, delightful! This second installment in the Lady Julia Grey novels by Deanna Raybourn takes a very gothic turn compared to the first book, Silent in the Grave, adding a dramatic element and keeping the storyline fresh. 

I’m not going to go into great detail about the novel…not wanting to spoil the story. After the murder of her husband and almost losing her own life in the subsequent investigation of the murder with private inquiry agent, Nicholas Brisbane, Lady Julia Grey is recovering in Italy with her brothers Plum and Lysander.  At the summons of their father, they return home to England for Christmas and the seat of the March family, the very gothic Bellmont Abbey. Accompanying them on the journey is the young Count Alessandro Fornacci, who has developed a passion for Julia but does Julia return the sentiment?  Her relationship with Brisbane complex and disturbing, Julia is not quite sure of her regard for him and in the four months she has been in Italy she has not heard one word from him…no sooner have the Marches arrived at the Abbey and Julia is introduced to Brisbane, now Lord Wargrave, and his fiancé Mrs. Charlotte King.  Of course then there is murder and Julia and Brisbane are thrown together again to investigate.  

There are not many characters I have encountered in novels that have the taut chemistry that Raybourn has created with Nicholas Brisbane and Lady Julia Grey…they are individuals in their own right and we get to learn many fascinating facets of their personalities. Raybourn as well has a talent for dialogue…varying at times biting, witty, playful, sarcastic, emotional, etc., each character having their own distinct voice.  

I am confused about the switching of formats and cover art between Silent in the Grave HC/MMP and Silent in the Sanctuary HC to the change in the MMP version. Now SITS MMP has a similar cover to the upcoming TP release of Silent on the Moor (March 1, 2009). I wish cover art for series books could be kept consistent…they look so much nicer on your shelves! I suppose the publisher is trying to attract romance fans but I don’t think the series can be classified as romance (yet), so why change the covers?  

You can find my review of Silent in the Grave here. This is a great series and next I will be reading Silent on the Moor, an ARC given to me by Marcia at The Printed Page.  If you like Victorian or Regency mysteries, I would also recommend Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily Ashton series (And Only to Deceive, A Poisoned Season and A Fatal Waltz).  Try A Whisper in the Dark by Louise May Alcott and The Thirteen Tale by Diane Setterfield for gothic overtones.

My Rating: 4.5

Chapters

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