Silent on the Moor

Silent on the Moor (2009) Deanna Raybourn

Lady Julia Grey and her sister–against the wishes of both their father and older brother–are headed to Yorkshire, the Grimsgrave estate, where Brisbane has taken up residence and is attempting to rehabilitate the manor.

There is a lot of work ahead of him.

Although I guessed relatively quickly who the “bad guy” was, as well as several other salient points, it didn’t bother me, since the likelihood of Lady Julia guessing these things was very unlikely. After all, despite her eccentricities, she is a lady of her time, and wouldn’t assume the worst.

I also guessed several of the twists, but again it didn’t quite matter since Lady Julia wouldn’t have been likely to guess the depths of human depravity (and although her father railed against it, the dangers of inbreeding weren’t as commonly known).

However, I still find Brisbane irritating, and really don’t get what Lady Julia sees in him. Yes, he doesn’t want to lead her on, since he has no fortune or name to offer her, and their connection would cause her far more harm than any societal rise he might get (which would be somewhat unlikely, considering his heritage).

But that doesn’t mean he had to be such an asshole.

So, I enjoyed the mystery, and was glad to see the romance resolved, so hopefully we won’t have to see Brisbane being a complete jerk in the future.

At least we can hope.

There were plenty of other things to enjoy however, such as her brother’s fascinating with medicine and public health.

Valerius busied himself each day in the village, sitting in the public room of The Hanged Man and attempting to win the villagers’ confidence. When I asked him why, he would only say, “ I have thoughts I wish to share with them regarding public hygiene.”

That and his thoughts on public drains endeared me to him, despite the fact he was a bit of a dolt. But to cut him some slack, it is fascinating how his sister in some ways had an easier time breaking some societal conventions than he did, in his desire to be a doctor.

And this passage amused me.

“If you had mummy babies, would you advertise the fact?”
“But that is precisely the point. If I were the type of person to keep mummy babies lying about, I shouldn’t think I would mind if people actually knew it,” she pointed out.

I can totally see myself saying something like that.
So interesting, although in no way perfect. I still want to read more of the series, so that probably says more than my feelings about specific parts of this story.

Rating: 6.5/10

Published by Mira

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