Lady Julia Grey arrives unannounced at Grimsgrave estate to
confront Nicholas Brisbane and resolve their relationship.
Brisbane left London after purchasing Grimsgrave on the
Yorkshire moors. Julia knew the estate was in need of
restoration; however, she was not prepared to see an estate
bordering on ruin. Her arrival is met with mixed signals
from Brisbane. One moment he orders her to flee while
grasping her hand as if it is a lifeline to sanity.
The answer to his inner turmoil lies in Grimsgrave and its
inhabitants, the Allenbys. Lady Allenby and her two
daughters reside in the moldering ruin. The eldest is the
beautiful Ailith who is meek, but she leaves no doubt of
her distaste of Julia. Hilda, the youngest, is bitter about
the family's circumstances and eyes Brisbane as a potential
rescuer.
Julia sees the bleakness in Brisbane's eyes and resolves to
ferret out the secrets of Grimsgrave with the aid of a
gypsy witch. Her search leads her to a priest hole that
contains a ghastly find. The Egyptian treasures found
hoarded in a room hold more questions than answers for
Julia. The Allenby's wrap their Saxon royal heritage around
them like a shield, refusing to elaborate on the mysteries
within Grimsgrave.
Madness, death, evil and beauty hover over the Yorkshire
moors where Brisbane endures harrowing encounters from his
past. Julia confronts her fears and challenges the demons
that haunt Brisbane.
Ms. Raybourn channels Daphne du Maurier with her
rich characters living in a sinister house along the
dangerous and dark moors. Evil permeates the atmosphere in
the world Ms. Raybourn has created. This third chapter in
the Lady Julia Grey series stands independent, but reading
the other two greatly enhances the wonderful read.
Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia 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—the sort that keeps their bloodline pure
and their secrets close. 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….
A mystery unfolds from the rotten heart of Grimsgrave, one
Lady Julia may have to solve alone, as Brisbane appears
inextricably tangled in its heinous twists and turns. But
blood will out, and before spring touches the craggy
northern landscape, Lady Julia will have uncovered a Gypsy
witch, a dark rider and a long-buried legacy of malevolence
and evil.