**WARNING** The Official Blurb and review for this book both contain spoilers for the previous books in the series.
Expected Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Mira
Author’s Website: deannaraybourn.com
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 5, Lady Julia Grey Series
Series Best Read In Order: Yes.
Steam Level: Warm
Official Blurb:
The Spirits Speak of Secrets…
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 sake–and more–they’ll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets, the kind men kill to keep….
I have been a fan of the series since I picked up the first Lady Julia Grey book, SILENT IN THE GRAVE back when it first came out, so when I saw The Dark Enquiry available on Netgalley, I immediately snagged it.
Julia and Brisbane have returned to London following their year-long wedding trip and latest adventure in India. Brisbane has (very) reluctantly agreed to allow Julia to assist him in his work, provided she work with him to gain skills such as sneaking, disguise, lockpicking, weapons, and fighting. She gladly agrees, and before long, Brisbane finally allows Julia to accompany her brother Plum on an investigation in the country.
When Julia’s incredibly proper brother secretly approaches Brisbane for assistance in a private matter, Julia simply cannot keep out of things, and of course, she and Brisbane both fall easily back into old habits of his lying to her and keeping secrets, and of her sneaking about behind his back, putting herself into danger, and generally mucking everything up.
When the two of them witness a murder, however, it becomes apparent that this is far more serious an issue than the simple matter brought forth by her brother, and soon they are plunged into a miasma of blackmail, revenge, and murder.
It soon becomes apparent that if they are going to make this marriage work as well as keep each other safe, they are both going to have to truly compromise, and for the first time in their relationship, Brisbane begins to trust Julia with the seedier and more dangerous side of the private investigation business, and Julia actually begins to temper her curiosity and own up to the fact that she’s a babe in the woods when it comes to investigating.
What Worked For Me:
- I know it’s considered bad form to mention, but I can’t help it — how gorgeous is that cover?! I simply love it and had to mention it in my review.
- Brisbane and Julia finally, finally, actually freaking talk to one another instead of keeping mountains of secrets from one another. Granted, Brisbane hasn’t come 100% clean to Julia about his past, but then again if he did, we the readers would be disgruntled because there wouldn’t be as much incentive to read the next one
Still, I could’ve shouted with glee when Brisbane finally let Julia in on just how dangerous and ugly and horrible his job really is. Up until this point, she’s understood it more as an abstract concept but still deep down viewed it as simply an exciting hobby, despite the fact she keeps almost getting killed. They finally sit down and actually discuss like adults how they feel about one another, about how the secrets are affecting them, and how both of them feel obscenely protective of the other, and while they still have some kinks to work out, it was a beautiful thing to see.
- In the same note, I was thrilled to see Julia actually mature some. Of course, she’s just as impulsive and reckless as ever, but now she actually stops to see thing from Brisbane’s point of view, and does try to communicate with him like an adult. She still retains everything we love about “Julia”, but without as much frustrating selfishness and childish sulking. This was a very welcome thing to see.
- I love catching up on the rest of the March family, especially Portia, as I’d worried extensively about her after the last novel. It was fun to see Plum in his element as an investigator as well, though I admit I felt a sense of perverse satisfaction to find that Brisbane kept secrets from him just as he did from Julia, because to me that showed that it was simply how his mind worked, rather than his obnoxious desire to shelter and cosset Julia as though she were a precious doll on a shelf.
- I also enjoyed the new technology of the telephone in this story (especially the bit about the maid who quit because she felt they were ungodly or something for having a telephone).
- The mystery was just as fun as ever, with multiple layers of intrigues, deception, and red herrings, though I admit I did figure out at least one of the mysteries simply because I’ve read enough of Ms. Raybourn’s novels to know how her delightfully devious mind works.
- When I first started this series, I was concerned that the lack of descriptive romance would put me off. However, I have to say that I actually found it surprisingly refreshing to have the fade-to-black lovemaking instead of descriptive scenes, especially since they were.. er.. frequent. Had Ms. Raybourn gone the “traditional romance” route and actually written out the love scenes, the novel would’ve been at least twice as long as it was and readers probably would’ve ended up skimming before all was said and done As Julia herself says on page 339, “Really, Brisbane, you have the stamina of a domesticated farm animal.”
What Didn’t Work For Me:
- This is a spoiler. In fact, this is a major spoiler. Please think hard before you click, because I don’t want to ruin things for anyone, but I did have to mention it because I was so unhappy with it.
| SPOILER ALERT |
SelectShow Spoiler |
|---|
I was devastated that Julia lost the baby. More than that, however, was the fact that there was absolutely no hint or sign really that she was pregnant until all of a sudden in the final chapters she’s injured and worried about the baby. Granted, the thought did occur to me that just because Edward could never sire a child with her didn’t make her barren, and that she and Brisbane were quite enthusiastic in their marital relations, and of course Julia’s appetite being off could’ve been contributed to either an early pregnancy or simply to the disagreements she’d been having with Brisbane, but I’d really hoped that if Ms. Raybourn decided to go the route of unplanned pregnancy between the two, that she’d make it a thing of joy rather than a thing of misery. In the same vein, I’m highly disappointed that she went out of her way to make the point that this miscarriage means that Julia will never conceive again. I can’t help but feel that Ms. Raybourn should’ve left that avenue open, and simply had the two take preventative measures, especially since all of the love scenes are merely implied rather than illustrated, so it would be little work to include a mention that they were careful not to conceive a child.
|
- There is a Too Stupid To Live moment. I literally *facepalm*’ed when I read what she was about to do, because really, you’d think by now she’d know better, hmmm?
- A very minor thing, but as always, the “that’s a story for another time” teaser for the next book made me scowl lol
I do think think that this book would best be read after at least one or two of the previous novels in the series (preferably the entire bunch), simply because there are so many factors from previous books that come into play. Brisbane and Julia’s relationship, his visions and headaches, Brisbane’s family, the gypsies, Portia’s child, Fleur, and of course, the March family in general, could all be overwhelming to new readers.
My favorite thing about this novel, hands down, was the fact that Brisbane has finally begun to allow Julia to work with him without trying to shelter her (as much). My favorite quote regarding this has to be from page 222, where Brisbane is speaking to Julia:
“A normal, rational, sane man who cares about the safety of his wife would lock her in the house before setting off for Highgate Cemetery. But, thanks to my long association with you and your family, I am no longer normal or rational or sane. I am composed of desperation and instinct and nothing more.”
As much as I like Julia, I actually feel a bit sorry for Brisbane. She’s so stubborn and rash and impulsive and gives so little forethought to the consequences of her own actions that it must feel like dealing with a 4 year old many times. Words truly cannot express how happy I was that they truly seemed to come to an understanding in this novel. She finally realized just how dangerous Brisbane’s occupation was, and just how her actions were affecting him, and in turn, he finally accepted that she loves him so deeply that she feels the exact same protective instincts towards him as he does towards her. His life has been so bereft of true love and affection that it’s really very hard for him to accept that Julia loves him as deeply as he loves her, but in the end I was left with a feeling he’s truly accepted her as his equal. Even though he would die to protect her, I think her actions in the end really drove the point home that he’s not alone in those feelings, and I have great hopes for their relationship in the future.
Recommended for fans of the series, of complicated murder schemes, a heroine with a quirky family, a brilliant mind and very little instinct for self-preservation, and a delicious half-gypsy hero who must finally come to terms with what it means to have a partner in marriage. 4.5/5 Stars
