Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

In 1887, Lady Julia is recuperating in Italy after the events in Silent in the Grave (the first book in the series) when her father calls her and her brothers, Plum and Lysander, home to England for Christmas. Also travelling with them is Alessandro, a friend of Julia's brothers whom she is fond of. Christmas in the eccentric March household is full of activity and lots of guests including Julia's cousins Emma and Lucy, her sister Portia, Aunt Dorcas, Lucy's fiancée Sir Cedric Eastley, the curate Lucian Snow and Nicholas Brisbane and his fiancée, Mrs. King. The presence of Brisbane has Julia quite unsettled since she still has feelings for him after a shared kiss in the previous book. Julia also feels that Mrs. King is wrong for him. When one of the guests is murdered, Julia and Brisbane work together to uncover the killer. Their task is complicated by someone confessing to the crime even though they're not guilty, a disappearance, poisonings, and a ghost seen about the abbey. Silent in the Sanctuary, while longer than most mysteries, was a quick read. I throughly enjoy the character of Julia and the environment that Raybourn creates around her. With Julia having nine brothers and sisters, I'm sure there's lots of material for the author to write about in the future.