posted on December 5, 2019 by Deanna Raybourn

Murder Most Ladylike

This month I’m celebrating the release of an omnibus collection of the first three Julia Grey novels in digital—THE LADY JULIA GREY MYSTERY COLLECTION VOL. 1. While I have moved on to another Victorian series (hello, Veronica Speedwell!) the Julia books will always have a special place in my heart for being my very first published novels.

I had been writing for fourteen years without being published when I hit upon the idea of an aristocratic lady detective bent on solving her husband’s murder. (The notion of a particularly attractive half-Roma professional enquiry agent to lend a hand took a bit longer to come to me…)

I submitted the manuscript to my agent on March 13, 2003. It sold, after MANY rejections, in the summer of 2005 and made its debut in 2007. It was nominated for two RITAs–one of which it won–a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, an Agatha, a Last Laugh, and a Dilys Winn, and was featured in the “Book-a-Day” Calendar for 2007. It is best known for its first line:

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband’s dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.

To this day, that line is one of the things I am proudest of having written not just because it’s a good hook but because it sums up so succinctly who Julia Grey is as a narrator. She’s arch, she’s witty, and a Victorian woman with modern sensibilities.

Not familiar with the book? Here’s what you’ve been missing:

“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.”

These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests. Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a longstanding physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth. Determined to bring her husband’s murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward’s demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

Julia’s adventures with Nicholas Brisbane continue in SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY and SILENT ON THE MOOR, and now you can get all three in one handy digital bundle. I hope you enjoy Julia just as much as I have. Cheers!

You can find Deanna most days on Twitter (@deannaraybourn), occasionally on Instagram (@deannaraybourn), and every month in your inbox via her newsletter. Sign up at deannaraybourn.com. And you can read a free excerpt of SILENT IN THE GRAVE (the whole first chapter!) here: https://deannaraybourn.com/blog/in-which-today-we-have-excerpts.

     

Deanna Raybourn

Deanna Raybourn

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including the Edgar, the Macavity, and the Agatha. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica's third adventure, A TREACHEROUS CURSE, was published in 2018 and nominated for the Edgar Award. The eighth book in the series, A SINISTER REVENGE, published in March 2023, with further books to come. Deanna's first contemporary thriller, featuring four female assassins who must band together to take out their nemesis as they prepare for retirement---KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE---published in September of 2022 at #9 on the New York Times bestseller list. KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE won the 2022 Barry Award for Best Thriller.

https://www.deannaraybourn.com

Deanna Raybourn Contest

Deanna Raybourn is giving away a grab bag book club set! TWO winners will each receive twelve copies of a Veronica Speedwell title or KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE. Copies may be any combination of hardcover or trade paperback, but all will be signed.

Enter Here

One thought on “Murder Most Ladylike”

  1. flchen1 says:

    Bravo, Deanna–that is QUITE the line! How lovely that the bundle’s available now!

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