Silent Night: A Lady Julia Christmas Novella

By Deanna Raybourn

After a year of marriage–and numerous adventures–Lady Julia and Brisbane hope for a quiet, intimate Christmas together–until they find themselves at her father's ancestral estate, Bellmont Abbey, with her eccentric family and a menagerie of animals.

Nevertheless, Julia looks forward to a lively family gathering–but amongst the celebrations, a mystery stirs. There are missing jewels, new faces at the Abbey, and a prowling ghost that brings back unwelcome memories from a previous holiday–one that turned deadly. Is a new culprit recreating crimes of the past? And will Brisbane let Julia investigate?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781460888261

Deanna Raybourn

New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a double major in English and history and an emphasis on Shakespearean studies. She taught high school English for three years in San Antonio before leaving education to pursue a career as a novelist. Deanna makes her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband and daughter and is hard at work on her next novel.

Reviews for Silent Night

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novella takes place at Christmas at Bellmont Abbey. Julia has been looking forward to spending time with her new husband in the Rookery, a dower house given to her by her father, but a fallen tree means they are housed in the Abbey. With only half of his children able to attend and a romantic disappointment, the Earl is a picture of gloom. Throw in missing jewels and a return of the ghost from an earlier mystery and Julia and Brisbane have a number of things to investigate.

[jlapac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was nice that nobody died in this book. I was sad that the Rookery was demolished. I hope they build another house and do a story there.

[mickyfine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lady Julia and Brisbane are summoned once more to her family estate for Christmas. However, Julia's expectations of a quiet and warm familial Christmas are dashed when she discovers that half the household staff are sick with colds, her father is a terrible humour, and the house isn't even decorated for Christmas. Plus, much to everyone's dismay it appears there is once more a jewelry thief in their midst during the festive season.Thoroughly delightful Christmas novella. The writing is just as enjoyable as one of the full novels and while the mystery is on the fluffy side, it's exactly right for a book set at Christmas. Does contain mild spoilers for the previous books in the series so should not be picked up out of order.

[ktleyed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this Christmas Novella in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series. Not much of a mystery in it, but I enjoyed this glimpse of the mad March's at Yuletide with many familiar faces at Bellmont Abbey. Short and sweet - quick read.

[flightsafancy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Julia and Brisbane spend another Christmas at her family's home (originally visited in Silent in the Sanctuary. Once again, ghosts are at play, only this time less murderous. The mystery is pretty thin, but Julia's family is as wonderfully eccentric as before, making for a delightful read. A fun choice for the holidays.

[jean_sexton-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This little novella isn't really a mystery at all; there's no murder to solve. There are odd goings on and of course we have Julia and Brisbane and Julia's family. It does take place at Christmas, so there is the draw of the holiday.Overall, it was a gentle story that let me spend time with a couple of my favorite characters. It's really only for series fans, though.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

These have been sitting in my TBR on my iPad for … years? And after my recent re-read binge of all the novels, I thought I’d knock these out too.They’re all about what you’d expect from a novella; too short to get into any character development or conflict, just short, happy little mysteries with tidy endings, but they’re fun to read and one or two loose ends from the main body of the series are wrapped up.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good set of holiday-themed short stories.