Dark Road to Darjeeling: Lady Julia Grey, #4 -- Deanna Raybourn

SPOILERS ABOUT THE EARLIER BOOKS!

Ah, the troubles of marrying a heroine off: It messes with the series name. I stuck with her first husband's name to avoid confusion. And to avoid spoilers right in the title, which I do occasionally try to avoid.

Speaking of the title, I approve of dropping the "Silent" and going with a new format -- it gives the first three books (which chronicle the beginnings of the Lady Julia/Brisbane romance) a Mini-Arc Within The Series feel. Which is nice.

So. Where was Lady Julia at the end of Book Three? Ah, YES: Engaged to Brisbane. So all was well in THAT department. BUT! Jane had LEFT Portia, and gone off to India with SOME GUY!

If you're feeling confused, you really shouldn't be reading this. You should be running off to find the first book in the series. Assuming that you like swoony historical mysteries, that is.

Anyway, Dark Road to Darjeeling. After an eight month honeymoon, Lady Julia and Brisbane are both Feeling the Itch*. The adventurous detecting itch. But Brisbane doesn't want Lady Julia endangering herself, and Our Headstrong Lady Julia wants to prove that she's Up To Any Challenge, so you can probably predict where the conflicts will arise. When Plum and Portia arrive in Cairo and demand that the Brisbanes accompany them to British colonial India to investigate the sudden death of Jane's new husband on a tea plantation (got that?), Lady Julia is overjoyed.

But then Brisbane refuses to go.

Murder, small town intrigue, a leprous soothsayer, a man-eating (well, lady-face-eating) tiger, secret romances and illegitimate children, a nudist, lots of griping from Morag (even Portia is scared of her), some real working-through-the-issues between Brisbane and Lady Julia and a surprising conclusion to the mystery EVEN WITH the Titus Andronicus hints = Good Fun**, a strong installment in the series, and a good start to what I hope will be another three-book arc in Lady Julia's story.

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*No, not THAT itch. They've been scratching THAT itch plenty. And I DO mean PLENTY. So much so that hotel managers have complained.

**Assuming that stories about Brits swanning around colonial India don't immediately put your back up.

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Previously:

1. Silent in the Grave
2. Silent in the Sanctuary
3. Silent on the Moor

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Book source: My local library.

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Read for the 2011 Historical Fiction Challenge.

Comments

[Angie]

Hotel managers have complained . . . *snicker*

I loved this installment and agree with you on the title change and the "real-working-through-issues." It was maturely and entertainingly done.

[RTBoyce]

I was keenly anticipating this book - maybe that was a mistake. Because unlike with the similarly-anticipated Silent on the Moor, I was really disappointed. Lady Julia completely fails to "make note" of everything she must do later, Portia isn't smug and hilarious (she's somber and resolved?!?), we can't see Portia and Julia meet Jane's husband (in yet another of Raybourne's awkward social scenarios with conversational sparring and veiled insults) because he's ALREADY DEAD, and the supporting characters fail to be interesting or historical. The writing itself seems crude (rushed?) and the plot's twists rely on absurd revelations. Like, really? Brisbane's dad happens to have set up his latest gambling scam right up the road from Jane?

Call me a whiner if you like, but go back and read the first three chapters of Silent in the Sanctuary to compare the previous Raybourne standard to this mess.

[Apaperbackwriter.blogspot.com]

I refuse to read anything that has a faux-Twilight cover.

[Theresa]

I hadn't noticed that this book was available but will now look forward to reading it.

[Ladys]

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