Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.


Another great installment in the Lady Julia Grey series!

One of favorite things about this series is the mysteries surrounding Brisbane and one of my fears that with he and Julia married, that would end. Not so! I'm glad to say that Brisbane is as mysterious and as sneaky as ever.

Still on their honeymoon, Julia and Brisbane are surprised by a visit by Julia's siblings Portia and Plum. They are on their way to Darjeeling to visit Portia's now widowed ex-lover Jane, who is also pregnant. Portia has surmised from Jane's letters that her late husband was a victim of a murder and that Jane may be next. Portia convinces her sister and brother-in-law to travel with them to Darjeeling, but without revealing her true motive – helping to solve a possible murder.

Arriving on the tea plantation, Julia is introduced to the Cavendish family and the surrounding residents of the area, that includes a peculiar family, along with relatives of Julia's that may possibly have a motive for motive. Also lurking about is a man they call the White Rajah. Trying to solve a murder that may or may not have even happened is difficult for Julia, especially when there's a man-eating tiger on the loose! However, she weaves her way through all suspicious characters, finding that even with so few suspects, this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

Julia also has other motives, she wants to solve this possible murder on her own, in order to gain her husband's respect and prove to him that she's an asset in his investigations. Through doing this, she discovers things about herself that she was unaware of, things about herself that she does not like.

I was completely gripped by this book. I saw absolutely nothing coming. I thought I had a few things worked out only to be completely wrong. And that Brisbane, still pops up with the surprises. He did not disappoint. This is one mystery series that shows no signs of slowing down.

4 comments:

Marg said...

I read this one a couple of weeks ago and loved it too!

Joanne said...

Deanna Raybourn rarely disappoints! I love the hints she left at the end of the book about what's next for Lady Julia and Brisbane -- can't wait for the next adventure.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I've read several good reviews for this book/series. Do you think the series needs to be read in order?

Christy B said...

To see the progression of Julia and Brisbane's relationship, along with finding out about Brisbane's past, reading them in order helps.