Twelfth Night

This series features one of my favourite detective couples so any addition to their story is welcome. This is a shortie along the lines of "Silent Night" & "Midsummer Night".
The whole clan has been summoned to Belmont Abbey by Julia's father for a special performance over the holidays. Given that her family members share the crazy gene, the chances of it going off without at least one disaster are slim to nil. And when an abandoned newborn is found, Julia & Brisbane are tasked with finding the mother.
They have to deal with precocious nieces & nephews, nosy relative, Portia's possessed daughter, a local "witch" & bad oysters. Naturally, loud & continuous mayhem quickly ensues.
But the real pleasure comes from catching up with the happy show more couple. If you've read since the beginning, you've watched their relationship evolve from one of mutual suspicion into a passionate partnership. Brisbane in particular has changed. Gone is the brooding, taciturn man of mystery. Because of repeated exposure to Julia's eccentric family, he's been forced out of his shell in order to survive. His lines are frequently the funniest, delivered with a dry wit.
The author has a way of portraying scenes between them that are sexy & romantic. No graphic language, no detailed descriptions of naked body parts. Other writers might take note that what you leave to your readers' imaginations can be a bigger turn on than what is painstakingly dissected on the page.
The ending makes it clear big changes are in store for the Brisbane's in terms of lifestyle & careers and I can't wait for the next full length book.
If you enjoy Imogen Robertson's series, give this a try. show less

...delightful eccentricity lives on!

It's Christmas time and a baby has been left in the stables at Bellmont Abbey. Lady Julia is determined to solve the mystery. Julia's family is together for the annual Twelfth Night Revels performance and annual event for the villagers of Blessingstoke Hamlet. Julia's siblings and spouses are all there. Some glowering, some frenetic, others resigned. As always everything is in an uproar. We are treated to the usual eccentricity from her family, and hints of dark evilness from Brisbane's. Benedick's children play a part in solving the mystery of the abandoned baby and a further mystery of the poisoned oysters. Oh those children! So knowing! I loved it when they talked about Aunt Hermia's home for show more reformed prostitutes. Perdita is a quaint, intelligently serious child. As Brisbane said, she is a perfectly exceptional child, probably like Julia when Julia was of that age. We meet Quentin Harkness, from A Spear of Summer Grass, as a child. And of course there is our's and Julia's love, the dark and mysterious Brisbane, whose gorgeousness is humourlessly dwelt upon at the beginning of this story. Brisbane is off doing his own sleuthing.
This novella, as ever captures our attention through Raeburn's whimsically and witty writing.
A lively short story that also serves as an introduction to times to come. Julia hints to this at the very end. Hurrah! New events and happenings are waiting in the wings.

A NetGalley ARC show less

1890 has just begun and already Lady Julia and Brisbane find themselves in the midst of a mystery. While still at her father's home in Sussex the entire March clan is preparing for the annual Twelfth Night revels as the family performs the St. George play every ten years. However, in the midst of preparations the household is thrown into further uproar when a baby is discovered abandoned in the stables. While Julia and Brisbane work to determine to whom the baby belongs, what they discover may alter their lives permanently.

The events of this novella follow hard on the heels of [Silent Night] and pick up shortly after that previous novella left off. While there were few surprises in the outcome of the plot, any time spent with Julia, her show more eccentric family, and Brisbane is always worthwhile. show less

The March family is all present at Bellmont Abbey for the traditional Twelfth Night mummers play. Every ten years the family gets together to perform the play written by Shakespeare. This year's performance has the addition of a foundling baby which opens an investigation by Brisbane and Julia to find out who he is. Julia is also dealing with some of her sibling's attitudes toward her new half-gypsy, private inquiry agent husband who is not their kind of people. This was has returning characters from earlier books in the series who bring their problems home with them and with Julia and Belmont winding up with a child when they never expected to have one.

This short "in-between" story surprised me. Usually the author stays away from any major changes happening in these short stories, but this one contained a major life change for the main characters. Because of this I'm very glad I read this. Although I enjoyed reading about Lady Julia's family again, the mystery itself was not really very good and was quickly solved.

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.

Well written, as usual, but way too short.