The Dark Enquiry

The Dark Enquiry
By Deanna Raybourn (387 pages)
Published by MIRA
Bookish rating: 3.5

Should I be PROUD or ASHAMED that I have now concluded the FIFTH book in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series? I wouldn't go so far as to call it reading bubble gum, but there's definitely a guilty indulgence factor here.

I don't know if Raybourn has any plans to write a sixth Lady Julia book, but I get the sense our fair author is crapping out. This was my least favorite of the series (Silent on the Moor was my fav). The plot and mystery were fine, though the political stuff was a wee too intricate for my brain expecting Bubble Yum, but what bugged me most was the dynamic between our heroine, who now wants to become Super Sleuth, and her detective now-husband, Brisbane, who spends most of the 387 pages reprimanding her. She comes across too eager-beaver and innocently idiotic, and he's always the steadfast, intelligent one, either annoyed or amused by his little protégé. Sometimes almost violent, and the feminist in me just doesn't think that's the best way to illustrate a male character's hotness. (And yes, we have our bodice-busting moments here and there.) It kind of reminded me of an argument I read in grad school that suggested the most damaging thing women could do to themselves was read romance novels. (Fear not, this is NOT a romance novel. I don't think. Wait . . .)

At times, I sensed Raybourn herself was annoyed with Julia's character and aware she had written herself into a pickle of character likability (something, by the way, that I don't believe is crucial, but in commercial fiction, it DOES matter).

There are charming moments of wit, and the book is written with a delightful, light, faux British tone (Raybourn is Virginian by way of Texas) and thus was fun and entertaining to read. Should a sixth book come out, I will read it, partially in hopes some of these marital dynamics get less obnoxious.