Twelfth Night (A Lady Julia Grey Mystery)

Another great bit of writing by Ms. Raybourn. Having read all her writings so far, I most prefer the Lady Julia family scenarios. This novella had it all: a mystery, romance, eccentric family dynamics and a link to past books in this series and to a later book, City of Jasmine.

Deanna Raybourn is an author I have followed for many years. When she has a new book out I am thrilled! Twelfth Night was a fun read. I inhaled the book and when finished, wanted more!!! Oh, well, just have to wait for the next adventure of Lady Julia!

I should have reviewed this book when it was first released. I certainly was anxious to read it at the time. Unfortunately, I procrastinated and then forgot to write the review. The silver lining to that is that it forced me to re-read the book in order to finally review it. I enjoyed it even more the second time around.

Twelfth Night is a short story, not a novella, in the Lady Julia Grey universe. If you are not familiar with these books, you have a treat in store for you. You don’t want to start with this one because it is full of spoilers from the previous novels.

I am glad I re-read it at this time because it is definitely a Christmas holiday book, although it does not take place exactly at Christmas. It is a family book as is appropriate for the holidays with family members we love and those we only tolerate, as well as one or two that we would rather avoid altogether.

The best thing about re-reading this book now is that I am once again excited about the Lady Julia Grey books. I see a re-read of the entire series in my near future. If you are new to the series, the author appears to have finished writing them, so you will be able to read them as quickly as you can without having to wait for the next book to be published. I assure you it was hard to wait. They are so good.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I love husband and wife detective teams particularly those set in historical times. Quite addicted really! This short novella is from one of my all-time favorite series, Lady Jane Grey, in which married pair Brisbane and Julia work their way through many a dark, gritty story. This particular installment in the series however, is of the lighter variety. Like other books in the series, this one needs to be read in order as many aspects of the storyline and the characters are ongoing in their development. In fact, the novella refers back to four previous storylines and the reader would probably feel off kilter several times when references are made.

It is a short piece and it takes place at the tail end of the holiday season just as the title suggests. The events are a continuation of the previous novella, Silent Night. Julia and Brisbane have spent the holidays at the Abbey with her huge eccentric family gathering for the Twelfth Night Revels play and celebration that take place every decade at the family seat performed by the March family for the people from the surrounding area. Dropped into the preparations are two mysteries to tantalize the detecting couple. First, a newborn baby is found out in the stable and then a ghost is spotted near an old empty cottage on the edge of the cemetery. With the help of a precocious niece, the mysteries are solved, but the answers will lead to a profound change for Brisbane and Julia.

Food poisoning, scandalous guests, mysterious newborn baby, a ghost, unique pets, hints at future twists, and just the fun of the holidays when the March family gathers are enough to leave me very pleased with this short piece. I am always eager for scenes with Brisbane and Julia together and I was not disappointed. Married life has not altered their need for each other or to track down the answers to a mystery and for this I am glad. Julia's family gathering was another huge plus and I was particularly happy to get to know her niece and nephew who have a penchant toward mysteries too.

The length of the story pushes it to set up the mystery and solve it quickly, but I was pleased that it never felt rushed. As I noted above, there were many other events and characters developed further and deeper. It was an all around satisfying read that fans of the series will definitely enjoy, but also gather some great tidbits about the future direction of the story for Brisbane and Julia.

My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review thoughts.

Nice return to the March family antics. Somewhat. I felt everything was way too abbreviated. I should clarify that my favorite moments in the Lady Julia books are the interactions she has with her family and the nicely idealized Victorian aristocratic eccentricities and drawing room graces. So it did give me that.

I do think this was a bit better than the last little scene we got last year. While I like Julia and Nicholas I do think they are getting a bit too treaclely for my tastes. I know that goes against the genre the books are published in but I always felt that the strength of this series was Raybourn's ability to balance and even buck the romantic trends and expectations.

Count me in as someone longing for another full length entry in this series. Her other books are entertaining but are way too much romance for me to really sink my teeth into. Sweet and syrupy. But I know that is the type of book most of her readers crave.

Twelfth Night, by Deanna Raybourn, gives us a tidbit of what is now happening in the lives of Lady Julia and her husband, Brisbane.
To celebrate the passing of another decade, the admired (and often eccentric) March family have gathered together to perform the Twelfth Night Revels for their rather dull English village. Before Lady Julia and Brisbane can perform their attention is drawn elsewhere when a newborn baby is found abandoned in the stable and a ghost shows itself near an old cottage on the edge of the cemetery.
The best part of this novella was being able to, once again, visit with all of the characters I have become quite attached to.
The mysteries are solved and this was a wonderful addition to the Lady Julia Grey series.

Another wonderful addition to the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn. The book features Julia's zany family as they ready for the Twelfth Night celebrations. This family makes me think of the Keystone Cops or Lucy. You'll love the book just for the antics of the family -- then -- you add in the mystery to be solved by Julia and Brisbane and you have a few hours of great entertainment for the reader. It is a novella, so it is a quick read.

Usually I would categorize this series as a mystery, but it was more a small romantic snippet of Julia and Brisbaine's relationship and some changes that have happened. I have no idea why I stopped reading this series - well I have an idea but I won't mention it here - but now I'm back. Really good short story.

Julia and Brisbane return. The same wonderful cast of eccentric characters in action over the annual March Twelfth night festivities. A mystery surrounding an abandoned child adds atmosphere to the story. Ms Raybourn is a wonderful author. Vivid characters, sparkling dialogue that flows through a well constructed plot and such understatement. A treat from a masterful author.

As always Deanna Raybourn tosses so many emotions, characters, and events to and fro within her story to have the reader utterly spellbound and tossing the book or Kindle when they reach the end of the story. This novella is no exception. What happens next?! A plea to the publishers... for heavens sake please take us out of this misery of bleakness, allow us once again to revel in the scent of a real novel featuring Lady Julia. The novellas are wonderful, but truly no real substitute for a full length story.

I am always happy to read about Julia and Brisbane. Their dialogue is witty and their story continues to be interesting. As much as I try, I can't seem to engage with the characters in Raybourns newer novels. If you have not already, I recommend that you go back and read all the books in the series. I will continue to hope that Ms. Raybourn will give us another full length installment of Lady Julia soon.

Picks right up after the Christmas-time novella, Silent Night, left off. Again, a lot is happening around Christmas-time, New Years in Lady Julia's life ... a lot ... and all captured in such a short novella. I totally loved the fact that all the cast of characters from previous books was either mentioned or made an appearance. A sweet short story. However, I am definitely awaiting the next Lady Julia full-length mystery - we've been given lots of tidbits on what is to come.

I have been hooked on this series since the first which I read in 2 days - it was about 500 pages! I do not, as a rule, like period fiction - that's how good this series is. I hope this author will write more books in this series. The short stories are just teasers.

lady Julia's family at Christmas time. how fun. these short stories by Ms. Raybourn are fun and well written but often not with out the "meat" of her novels featuring these characters. I look forward to a longer more involved plot.