Lady Julia Grey Books in Order: How to read Deanna Raybourn’s series?

Written by American author of historical fiction and historical mysteries Deanna Raybourn, the Lady Julia Grey series takes us back to the Victorian era in England.

Everything began when Lady Julia Grey became a widow. When she realized that the death of her husband was not natural, she entered the world of Nicholas Brisbane, a private inquiry agent. Together, they lead an investigation, then another…

How to read the Lady Julia Grey Series in Order?

Every entry in the Lady Julia Grey book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. Silent in the Grave – These ominous words are the last threat that 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, he collapses and dies at his London home. Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia Grey is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that her husband was murdered…
2. Silent in the Sanctuary – Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia Grey returns home to Sussex to find her father’s estate crowded with family and friends. Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget-the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane-is among her father’s houseguests…and he is not alone. But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel.
3. Silent on the Moor – Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia Grey arrives in Yorkshire to find Brisbane as remote and maddeningly attractive as ever. Cloistered together, they share the moldering house with the proud but impoverished remnants of an ancient family. Lady Allenby and her daughters, dependent upon Brisbane and devastated by their fall in society, seem adrift on the moor winds, powerless to change their fortunes. But poison does not discriminate between classes….
4. Midsummer Night (short story) – Midsummer in England-an auspicious time for a wedding. Brisbane has taken charge of the music. Julia has authorized her sisters to choose the dress. And Belmont Abbey is overflowing with guests awaiting the blessed day. What could go wrong?

5. Dark Road to Darjeeling – After eight idyllic months in the Mediterranean, Lady Julia Grey and her detective husband are ready to put their investigative talents to work once more. At the urging of Julia’s eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly widowed Jane Cavendish. Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband’s family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child-and with discovering the truth about her husband’s death.
6. The Dark Enquiry – Lady Julia Grey and Nicholas Brisbane have returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane’s private enquiry business. Among the more unlikely clients: Julia’s very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved-if eccentric-family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.
7. Silent Night (short story) – After a year of marriage-and numerous adventures-Lady Julia Grey 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.
8. Twelfth Night (short story) – To mark the passing of another decade, the esteemed-and eccentric-March family have assembled at Bellmont Abbey to perform the Twelfth Night Revels for their sleepy English village. But before Lady Julia Grey and Brisbane can take to the stage, a ruckus in the stable yard demands their attention. An abandoned infant is found nestled in the steel helm of St. George…
9. Bonfire Night (short story) – It’s the autumn of 1890, and almost a year has passed since Lady Julia Grey and Brisbane became parents. Just as the couple begins to adapt, a solicitor arrives with a strange bequest. Nicholas, it seems, has inherited a country house-but only if he and his family are in residence from All Hallows’ Eve through Bonfire Night.

Note: The Novellas are now collected in one volume called A Mysterious Season (published in 2020)

If you like the Lady Julia Grey reading order, you may also want to check out the Veronica Speedwell books. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.