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Undercover - An Austen Noir
It’s November 1952 in New York City where mysterious denizens linger in smoky bars and darkened alleys. The second Red Scare is dredging up a new swarm of "Commies"; “duck and cover” is the lingo of the day. And hard-boiled private eyes aren’t always men.
One audacious dame, Elizabeth Bennet, is undercover in a case of suspected murder: her best friend, Mary King, has been missing for eighteen months. Determined to find the man she believes did the girl in—one George Wickham—her investigation collides with an enigmatic bachelor, Fitzwilliam Darcy and his socialite sister, Georgiana.
Darcy is loaded, from a high-society family with all the money and the right connections for a future in politics. Elizabeth’s a career girl from the wrong side of the East River, but the sexual chemistry between them cannot be denied. She is focused on finding Slick Wick and Darcy is hell-bent on stopping her investigation. But why? He’s hiding something, but she’ll use almost every weapon in her H-bomb arsenal to get his lips flapping.
Murder, kidnapping, and a brainy broad with a body for sin are just enough to break Darcy’s stone-cold reserve. She’s so provocative that maybe he’ll even be taking a trip down the aisle despite where she's from, what she does, and the fact that she knows George Wickham.
Be advised: mature sexual content
One audacious dame, Elizabeth Bennet, is undercover in a case of suspected murder: her best friend, Mary King, has been missing for eighteen months. Determined to find the man she believes did the girl in—one George Wickham—her investigation collides with an enigmatic bachelor, Fitzwilliam Darcy and his socialite sister, Georgiana.
Darcy is loaded, from a high-society family with all the money and the right connections for a future in politics. Elizabeth’s a career girl from the wrong side of the East River, but the sexual chemistry between them cannot be denied. She is focused on finding Slick Wick and Darcy is hell-bent on stopping her investigation. But why? He’s hiding something, but she’ll use almost every weapon in her H-bomb arsenal to get his lips flapping.
Murder, kidnapping, and a brainy broad with a body for sin are just enough to break Darcy’s stone-cold reserve. She’s so provocative that maybe he’ll even be taking a trip down the aisle despite where she's from, what she does, and the fact that she knows George Wickham.
Be advised: mature sexual content
252 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2016
7 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Cat Gardiner
21 books139 followersCat Gardiner loves romance and happy endings, history, and comedy. A member of the esteemed National League of American Pen Women, she enjoys writing across the spectrum of the romance genre from Contemporary to Chick-Lit Romantic Comedy, 20th Century Historical Fiction, and Pride and Prejudice-inspired.
Apart from her husband, her greatest passion is writing Historical Fiction, WWII-era. Her debut novel in this genre, A Moment Forever, was a 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award Romance Finalist. "Flying with the Swallows" WWII Historical Fiction Romance released on April 2, 2024 into Kindle Unlimited. Readers can find the riveting duology on Amazon in Kindle Unlimited and paperback.
Between writing and WWII home front re-enacting, Cat takes her readers on a swell 1940s journey at The 1940s Experience blog and gallery at cgardiner1940s.com
Connect with Cat here:
cgardiner1940s.com
facebook.com/cat.t.gardiner
facebook.com/DenialofConscience/
https://www.facebook.com/CatTGardiner...
amazon.com/author/catgardiner
https://payhip.com/CatGardinerBooks
Apart from her husband, her greatest passion is writing Historical Fiction, WWII-era. Her debut novel in this genre, A Moment Forever, was a 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award Romance Finalist. "Flying with the Swallows" WWII Historical Fiction Romance released on April 2, 2024 into Kindle Unlimited. Readers can find the riveting duology on Amazon in Kindle Unlimited and paperback.
Between writing and WWII home front re-enacting, Cat takes her readers on a swell 1940s journey at The 1940s Experience blog and gallery at cgardiner1940s.com
Connect with Cat here:
cgardiner1940s.com
facebook.com/cat.t.gardiner
facebook.com/DenialofConscience/
https://www.facebook.com/CatTGardiner...
amazon.com/author/catgardiner
https://payhip.com/CatGardinerBooks
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 16, 2016
Hold onto the edge of your seat and plant your feet firmly on the ground...and have a fan ready – this book is not one you will put down willingly. Start your reading early so as to be able to get some sleep that night.
Reading this story is like stepping off the edge of a precipice and not seeing where the bottom is. Fast paced, full of tense drama, blackmail, murder, guns, knives, Commies, McCarthy scare, seduction and mischief galore! A trip to Cuba involves Elizabeth showing Darcy many of the skills she has learned as a PI and luckily a last minute rescue is staged.
This tale has our familiar list of characters: M/M Bennet and their five daughters, Charlotte, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy, and Caroline in a cameo appearance; while Charles plays his usual charming role. George Wickham shows up like that proverbial bad penny…in lives and places you had hoped were safe from him. There is no end to his liaisons, his connections, his corrupting influences and in the very end you will be just a little bit shocked as you read of the ways in which George has insured that this circle of acquaintances remembers him.
Elizabeth becomes a Private Investigator to search out what has happened to her best friend, Mary King. At the start of this narrative she has been missing for 18 months and Elizabeth is sure that she is dead but she wants closure and wants the culprit brought to justice. She has connections on the police force, Christopher Brandon, and with a certain secret police contact, Oscar, owner of El Barrio Restaurant in the Spanish Harlem. I loved how Elizabeth works her physical charms and teasing innuendos to gain information from “her men” yet lets them know that there are limits in her relationship with them.
As we first encounter her we read as she learns of her sister’s showing up in Oscar’s establishment with the very man Eli thinks may be responsible for Mary King’s disappearance. And when Elizabeth talks to Oscar she learns that a tall, dark and well-dressed gentleman from uptown had an argument with the man she is trying to track down. He is identified as a man by the name of Darcy. When E. checks the table Lydia and Wickham were sitting at she finds several clues; one of which leads her to the Kit Kat Klub. Visiting there she finds more than one revelation…and sees the man she suspects to be Darcy also in attendance. Here we read how both find an immediate attraction to the other despite each sitting in shadows across the room.
Be warned that this book has some very salacious scenes and that they are not all ones in the bedroom. “Action under the table” in this Klub…use your imagination as to what men might do while watching a striptease. This Klub is visited more than once and is the scene of more action; the exchange of money for a photo and a note with the address of a hotel in Cuba, two murders, and an under-aged stripper being found out!
The characters you think you know have different and/or exaggerated behaviors in this novel. And I applaud the author for her audacity in knocking one perfect “angel” off her pedestal. Oh, my, how the mighty have fallen – but you may find some humor after reading some many stories in JAFF where Jane is so good, so sweet that your thought may be, “It’s about time!”
Even the placement of Mary in her convent allows us to read of the final clue in one of the mysteries. Excellent choice for a burial ground. I was ROFL at the mention of Bill Collins. Too much!
Elizabeth and Darcy both have their histories in this detective thriller. But they also are pretty quick to share with each other, even in their shame and remorse of past actions and associations. And I loved, loved, loved Elizabeth’s demands for a proper proposal!
What more can I add: I have read and given all of Cat’s other books 5 stars…she writes the tone, the language, the culture and the political atmosphere of the 1950's here so well. I kept hearing Humphrey Bogart’s and Lauren Bacall’s voices in my head. I highly recommend this book.
Reading this story is like stepping off the edge of a precipice and not seeing where the bottom is. Fast paced, full of tense drama, blackmail, murder, guns, knives, Commies, McCarthy scare, seduction and mischief galore! A trip to Cuba involves Elizabeth showing Darcy many of the skills she has learned as a PI and luckily a last minute rescue is staged.
This tale has our familiar list of characters: M/M Bennet and their five daughters, Charlotte, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy, and Caroline in a cameo appearance; while Charles plays his usual charming role. George Wickham shows up like that proverbial bad penny…in lives and places you had hoped were safe from him. There is no end to his liaisons, his connections, his corrupting influences and in the very end you will be just a little bit shocked as you read of the ways in which George has insured that this circle of acquaintances remembers him.
Elizabeth becomes a Private Investigator to search out what has happened to her best friend, Mary King. At the start of this narrative she has been missing for 18 months and Elizabeth is sure that she is dead but she wants closure and wants the culprit brought to justice. She has connections on the police force, Christopher Brandon, and with a certain secret police contact, Oscar, owner of El Barrio Restaurant in the Spanish Harlem. I loved how Elizabeth works her physical charms and teasing innuendos to gain information from “her men” yet lets them know that there are limits in her relationship with them.
As we first encounter her we read as she learns of her sister’s showing up in Oscar’s establishment with the very man Eli thinks may be responsible for Mary King’s disappearance. And when Elizabeth talks to Oscar she learns that a tall, dark and well-dressed gentleman from uptown had an argument with the man she is trying to track down. He is identified as a man by the name of Darcy. When E. checks the table Lydia and Wickham were sitting at she finds several clues; one of which leads her to the Kit Kat Klub. Visiting there she finds more than one revelation…and sees the man she suspects to be Darcy also in attendance. Here we read how both find an immediate attraction to the other despite each sitting in shadows across the room.
Be warned that this book has some very salacious scenes and that they are not all ones in the bedroom. “Action under the table” in this Klub…use your imagination as to what men might do while watching a striptease. This Klub is visited more than once and is the scene of more action; the exchange of money for a photo and a note with the address of a hotel in Cuba, two murders, and an under-aged stripper being found out!
The characters you think you know have different and/or exaggerated behaviors in this novel. And I applaud the author for her audacity in knocking one perfect “angel” off her pedestal. Oh, my, how the mighty have fallen – but you may find some humor after reading some many stories in JAFF where Jane is so good, so sweet that your thought may be, “It’s about time!”
Even the placement of Mary in her convent allows us to read of the final clue in one of the mysteries. Excellent choice for a burial ground. I was ROFL at the mention of Bill Collins. Too much!
Elizabeth and Darcy both have their histories in this detective thriller. But they also are pretty quick to share with each other, even in their shame and remorse of past actions and associations. And I loved, loved, loved Elizabeth’s demands for a proper proposal!
What more can I add: I have read and given all of Cat’s other books 5 stars…she writes the tone, the language, the culture and the political atmosphere of the 1950's here so well. I kept hearing Humphrey Bogart’s and Lauren Bacall’s voices in my head. I highly recommend this book.
March 27, 2024
In the era of the Golden Age of Radio, Detective Noir, McCarthyism, Korean Conflict, dark streets of Hells Kitchen, pre-communist Cuba, and NYC nightclubs like The Stork Club and the Copacabana, this creative and talented author sets her Jane Austen Meets Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction.
I grew up on old-time radio broadcasts and black and white detective shows so this was a treat not to be missed. And sister (or brother, EO, here), let me tell you, this nostalgic visit to the past did not disappoint.
The story opens with lady dick, Elizabeth Bennet, between cases of tailing suspected cheats, skips, and thieves, pursuing answers to a cold case that is eating at her. Her best friend, Mary King, has been missing for months and Eli has strong suspicions that the man, George Wickham, who seduced every woman in the neighborhood, including Eli and her gorgeous older sister before absconding with her dad's cash drawer, seduced Mary and then killed her. Eli started her detection agency because she was determined to track down Slick Wick and maybe leave enough of him for justice to have her day.
Wickham has been lying low for months, but finally Eli gets word through one of her reliable sources that he's back and has a dame on his arm that looks much like her sister, Lydia. Eli tracks him to a strip club and there encounters an uptown cream puff man who sits in the shadows and also seems to be interested in Wickham's shady activities. Darcy is a distraction and maybe a dangerous one because Eli isn't sure how he is connected to her prey.
Darcy is floored by the appearance of the seductive bombshell that he spots right away at the club. Wickham has threatened blackmail over something from Darcy's past that will submarine his political chances in his run for the Senate and has also been nosing around Darcy's younger innocent sister now that Georgiana controls her trust fund. Not going to happen. Darcy will get enough on Wickham to turn him over to the Navy for that long awaited court-martial. But what about the gorgeous vixen who spies on Wickham and gets close enough to Wickham's exchange with the Russian? Worth the pursuit for sure, but the cool femme fatale doesn't get to have his secrets.
Alright, so this was one that was pure and delicious sinfully sweet pleasure. I felt I was there- there in a shadowy, gritty NYC lower east side world with Eli and Darcy pursuing an ugly monster that seduces and preys on vulnerable, innocent women. The world is full of details from scene, to fashion, to background historical events, to dialogue, rhythm and tone. Each page is full of nostalgia so that as the reader, it felt like I was reading a reproduction of the real thing (this being noir fiction), but a really good one considering could only channel Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
Elizabeth shares the narration with Darcy, her thoughts echoing old hard-boiled detective fiction inner monologue. She is a woman in a man's world and she has the guts and moxie to pull it off. She is confident in her abilities and skills and not afraid to use sexual seduction as her biggest tool around the big sharks swimming around her. I loved that she had a night club owner and a tired, jaded, but honest cop in her corner (cop being a certain Christopher Brandon). She lives on her own in a seedy apartment and office in a rough part of town, but growing up with two alcoholics and indifferent siblings fighting for their own ticket out of their poor neighborhood taught her how to survive.
Darcy came from privilege though his father was morally bankrupt and his mother a bored socialite who felt trapped by the life and got out. Darcy escaped the stifling world of NY high society when he joined the Navy, but bad choices led him to return home calmer and wiser so he could take up the reins on the family fortune and responsibility of his much younger sister, when his dad passed. He wants to make a difference and be an honest politician and ethical businessman unlike his own father, but first he needs to deal with a blight on his past that just won't go away. I thought it was interesting to put Darcy in the Navy with Slick Wick his former CO and Wentworth as Darcy's old Navy friend while Charlie is his best friend growing up.
The two are a wary, reluctant team at first. Things heated up fast. Like reader might want to have a cold drink handy to cool down the sizzle coming off those pages. Feelings came into it fast, but conflict allows for the feelings to develop into respect and understanding as they work together. I found it done well that both struggled against traditional man/woman roles and the need to trust another with their pasts and vulnerable sides, but learned to accept, understand, and compromise- and yes, even apologize- when needed.
The murder mystery came late in the story after things built up to it, but it was only one element in the bigger suspense plot. There were a few suspects. It's not meant to be too challenging and the reader can enjoy figuring it out. The players in the murder mystery were a fun bevy of likely suspects because of the victim. And I was pleased to see how Elizabeth fared as a detective in action.
Now, on the family side of things. Darcy's tension with his sister over her being old enough to be trusted and him having to do that are tame compared to the dysfunction in ye olde Bennet homestead. The parents are disinterested alcoholics that expect Eli and the others to fend for themselves and send home the paycheck to dear old mom and dad. The oldest sister, Jane, is a vapid beauty and social climber who married for money (to Darcy's best bud, Charlie), the middle sister is a nun, the fourth sister is a starving artist in Europe (that Eli also helps enable), and the fifth is wild, hellcat Lydia who surprisingly turns out to be the most like Elizabeth. Eli is worried to bring Darcy home to the folks and rightly so, but he might surprise her and them.
So, in the end, this one was the Cat's Meow for me and I was tempted to flip back to the beginning and go right back into it or start digging through my Old Time Radio series on CD for a night of Phillip Marlowe, Boston Blackie, The Shadow, Charlie Chan, or Philo Vance. This one is for those who like a sizzling hot old time Noir Romantic Suspense.
I grew up on old-time radio broadcasts and black and white detective shows so this was a treat not to be missed. And sister (or brother, EO, here), let me tell you, this nostalgic visit to the past did not disappoint.
The story opens with lady dick, Elizabeth Bennet, between cases of tailing suspected cheats, skips, and thieves, pursuing answers to a cold case that is eating at her. Her best friend, Mary King, has been missing for months and Eli has strong suspicions that the man, George Wickham, who seduced every woman in the neighborhood, including Eli and her gorgeous older sister before absconding with her dad's cash drawer, seduced Mary and then killed her. Eli started her detection agency because she was determined to track down Slick Wick and maybe leave enough of him for justice to have her day.
Wickham has been lying low for months, but finally Eli gets word through one of her reliable sources that he's back and has a dame on his arm that looks much like her sister, Lydia. Eli tracks him to a strip club and there encounters an uptown cream puff man who sits in the shadows and also seems to be interested in Wickham's shady activities. Darcy is a distraction and maybe a dangerous one because Eli isn't sure how he is connected to her prey.
Darcy is floored by the appearance of the seductive bombshell that he spots right away at the club. Wickham has threatened blackmail over something from Darcy's past that will submarine his political chances in his run for the Senate and has also been nosing around Darcy's younger innocent sister now that Georgiana controls her trust fund. Not going to happen. Darcy will get enough on Wickham to turn him over to the Navy for that long awaited court-martial. But what about the gorgeous vixen who spies on Wickham and gets close enough to Wickham's exchange with the Russian? Worth the pursuit for sure, but the cool femme fatale doesn't get to have his secrets.
Alright, so this was one that was pure and delicious sinfully sweet pleasure. I felt I was there- there in a shadowy, gritty NYC lower east side world with Eli and Darcy pursuing an ugly monster that seduces and preys on vulnerable, innocent women. The world is full of details from scene, to fashion, to background historical events, to dialogue, rhythm and tone. Each page is full of nostalgia so that as the reader, it felt like I was reading a reproduction of the real thing (this being noir fiction), but a really good one considering could only channel Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
Elizabeth shares the narration with Darcy, her thoughts echoing old hard-boiled detective fiction inner monologue. She is a woman in a man's world and she has the guts and moxie to pull it off. She is confident in her abilities and skills and not afraid to use sexual seduction as her biggest tool around the big sharks swimming around her. I loved that she had a night club owner and a tired, jaded, but honest cop in her corner (cop being a certain Christopher Brandon). She lives on her own in a seedy apartment and office in a rough part of town, but growing up with two alcoholics and indifferent siblings fighting for their own ticket out of their poor neighborhood taught her how to survive.
Darcy came from privilege though his father was morally bankrupt and his mother a bored socialite who felt trapped by the life and got out. Darcy escaped the stifling world of NY high society when he joined the Navy, but bad choices led him to return home calmer and wiser so he could take up the reins on the family fortune and responsibility of his much younger sister, when his dad passed. He wants to make a difference and be an honest politician and ethical businessman unlike his own father, but first he needs to deal with a blight on his past that just won't go away. I thought it was interesting to put Darcy in the Navy with Slick Wick his former CO and Wentworth as Darcy's old Navy friend while Charlie is his best friend growing up.
The two are a wary, reluctant team at first. Things heated up fast. Like reader might want to have a cold drink handy to cool down the sizzle coming off those pages. Feelings came into it fast, but conflict allows for the feelings to develop into respect and understanding as they work together. I found it done well that both struggled against traditional man/woman roles and the need to trust another with their pasts and vulnerable sides, but learned to accept, understand, and compromise- and yes, even apologize- when needed.
The murder mystery came late in the story after things built up to it, but it was only one element in the bigger suspense plot. There were a few suspects. It's not meant to be too challenging and the reader can enjoy figuring it out. The players in the murder mystery were a fun bevy of likely suspects because of the victim. And I was pleased to see how Elizabeth fared as a detective in action.
Now, on the family side of things. Darcy's tension with his sister over her being old enough to be trusted and him having to do that are tame compared to the dysfunction in ye olde Bennet homestead. The parents are disinterested alcoholics that expect Eli and the others to fend for themselves and send home the paycheck to dear old mom and dad. The oldest sister, Jane, is a vapid beauty and social climber who married for money (to Darcy's best bud, Charlie), the middle sister is a nun, the fourth sister is a starving artist in Europe (that Eli also helps enable), and the fifth is wild, hellcat Lydia who surprisingly turns out to be the most like Elizabeth. Eli is worried to bring Darcy home to the folks and rightly so, but he might surprise her and them.
So, in the end, this one was the Cat's Meow for me and I was tempted to flip back to the beginning and go right back into it or start digging through my Old Time Radio series on CD for a night of Phillip Marlowe, Boston Blackie, The Shadow, Charlie Chan, or Philo Vance. This one is for those who like a sizzling hot old time Noir Romantic Suspense.
May 1, 2016
When Lydia Bennet is seen with George Wickham, nearly two years since his last appearance, can private eye Eli Bennet save her sister from Slick Wick?
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Source: I received an ARC of this book from the author for a fair and honest review.
No one knows Hell’s Kitchen, NYC like private eye, Eli Bennet; sexy and curvaceous on the outside, smart and full of moxie on the inside. When George Wickham, aka Slick Wick, reappears in Spanish Harlem almost two years after the disappearance of Mary King, Elizabeth is hot on his trail. The fact that he’s been seen with her sister Lydia only adds fuel to her fire. Is he leaving a trail hoping she will follow them or does he have other plans for Lydia? And why was he seen arguing at the El Barrio with Fitzwilliam Darcy, the wealthy, brooding, aspiring politician who prefers to keep his private life undercover?
There’s a reason that the first alternate era JAFF book I ever read was Cat Gardiner’s book, “Lucky 13,” and why her last book, “Villa Fortuna” earned a Just Jane 1813 2015 Reviewer’s Favorite Award for Favorite Modern JAFF story. Ms. Gardiner knows how to take the essential elements of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and reimagine them within an alluring new era. This time, she’s decided to take Austen’s characters where they’ve never been before; Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, during the early 1950’s, at a time when every woman knew her place was at home, with her man and her family. Every woman, that is, except for the sexy gumshoe, Eli Bennet.
Ever since the disappearance of her friend, Mary King, she’s left the case wide open, eagerly anticipating the day when she can find George Wickham and gather the leads she needs to bring Ms. King safely back home to her parents. Now that Slick Wick has been seen in some of the seediest places in NYC, she’s hoping she can solve the case. But when she becomes involved in Fitzwilliam Darcy’s tangle with Slick Wick, will she be able to solve the one crime that’s been tugging at her heart without losing herself in their games of deceit and corruption?
“Undercover” takes readers from the smoke-filled nightclubs of NYC to the sizzling scenes at the Tropicana in Havana, Cuba, as Eli and Darcy race against the clock to stop another young lady from the treacherous schemes of Slick Wick. Yet, this time, Slick Wick isn’t acting alone, and now that some lethal Russian Communists are involved in his dangerous plots, the stakes are higher than ever before! Filled with delicious diversions and bold adventures, “Undercover” shows us how Ms. Austen’s characters neatly transform themselves into an intriguing cast of players in this Austen-inspired noir story.
Ms. Gardiner’s Darcy and Elizabeth sizzle together as the unlikely couple who just can’t get enough of one another. Once Darcy falls for the bait and finds himself at Eli’s doorstep, all bets are off that Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor has solemnly sworn off matrimony for life. But will a man like Fitzwilliam Darcy get serious with a gumshoe from the wrong side of the tracks?
Cat Gardiner takes us to the very edge of our sheets and then gently reigns us back in during Darcy and Elizabeth’s steamy hot love scenes. Their relationship practically smolders through the pages as the sexy couple entertains us with their special brand of magnetic sex appeal. I found their relationship equally rewarding on an emotional level, as Darcy and Elizabeth grew to respect and trust one another other without trying to change or compromise each other. I loved how Elizabeth’s career choice was developed throughout the story, demonstrating how, once again, Darcy and Elizabeth refused to conform to society’s expectations during a time when there were limited options for women outside of the home.
The imaginative ways that Cat incorporates Austen’s supporting characters into her story provide a nice balance of humor and intrigue into her plot. Although the relationships between the Bennet sisters are quite changed from canon, I really found these differences to be welcomed and liberating. We are even treated to some appearances by a couple of Austen’s other well-loved heroes.
Ms. Gardiner’s book also includes a glossary of terms dedicated to this time period, which serves as a resource to help readers navigate their way through specific terms and phrases that help to bring this era to life. She has also once again created the ultimate digital treasures to enhance our reading experience of “Undercover.” Here, and in the inside of her ebook, she shares her “Undercover” Pinterest board, her energetic “Undercover” Spotify playlist, and her “Undercover” YouTube video playlist. These features are a great way to immerse yourself in the settings throughout this story.
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Source: I received an ARC of this book from the author for a fair and honest review.
No one knows Hell’s Kitchen, NYC like private eye, Eli Bennet; sexy and curvaceous on the outside, smart and full of moxie on the inside. When George Wickham, aka Slick Wick, reappears in Spanish Harlem almost two years after the disappearance of Mary King, Elizabeth is hot on his trail. The fact that he’s been seen with her sister Lydia only adds fuel to her fire. Is he leaving a trail hoping she will follow them or does he have other plans for Lydia? And why was he seen arguing at the El Barrio with Fitzwilliam Darcy, the wealthy, brooding, aspiring politician who prefers to keep his private life undercover?
There’s a reason that the first alternate era JAFF book I ever read was Cat Gardiner’s book, “Lucky 13,” and why her last book, “Villa Fortuna” earned a Just Jane 1813 2015 Reviewer’s Favorite Award for Favorite Modern JAFF story. Ms. Gardiner knows how to take the essential elements of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and reimagine them within an alluring new era. This time, she’s decided to take Austen’s characters where they’ve never been before; Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, during the early 1950’s, at a time when every woman knew her place was at home, with her man and her family. Every woman, that is, except for the sexy gumshoe, Eli Bennet.
Ever since the disappearance of her friend, Mary King, she’s left the case wide open, eagerly anticipating the day when she can find George Wickham and gather the leads she needs to bring Ms. King safely back home to her parents. Now that Slick Wick has been seen in some of the seediest places in NYC, she’s hoping she can solve the case. But when she becomes involved in Fitzwilliam Darcy’s tangle with Slick Wick, will she be able to solve the one crime that’s been tugging at her heart without losing herself in their games of deceit and corruption?
“Undercover” takes readers from the smoke-filled nightclubs of NYC to the sizzling scenes at the Tropicana in Havana, Cuba, as Eli and Darcy race against the clock to stop another young lady from the treacherous schemes of Slick Wick. Yet, this time, Slick Wick isn’t acting alone, and now that some lethal Russian Communists are involved in his dangerous plots, the stakes are higher than ever before! Filled with delicious diversions and bold adventures, “Undercover” shows us how Ms. Austen’s characters neatly transform themselves into an intriguing cast of players in this Austen-inspired noir story.
Ms. Gardiner’s Darcy and Elizabeth sizzle together as the unlikely couple who just can’t get enough of one another. Once Darcy falls for the bait and finds himself at Eli’s doorstep, all bets are off that Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor has solemnly sworn off matrimony for life. But will a man like Fitzwilliam Darcy get serious with a gumshoe from the wrong side of the tracks?
Cat Gardiner takes us to the very edge of our sheets and then gently reigns us back in during Darcy and Elizabeth’s steamy hot love scenes. Their relationship practically smolders through the pages as the sexy couple entertains us with their special brand of magnetic sex appeal. I found their relationship equally rewarding on an emotional level, as Darcy and Elizabeth grew to respect and trust one another other without trying to change or compromise each other. I loved how Elizabeth’s career choice was developed throughout the story, demonstrating how, once again, Darcy and Elizabeth refused to conform to society’s expectations during a time when there were limited options for women outside of the home.
The imaginative ways that Cat incorporates Austen’s supporting characters into her story provide a nice balance of humor and intrigue into her plot. Although the relationships between the Bennet sisters are quite changed from canon, I really found these differences to be welcomed and liberating. We are even treated to some appearances by a couple of Austen’s other well-loved heroes.
Ms. Gardiner’s book also includes a glossary of terms dedicated to this time period, which serves as a resource to help readers navigate their way through specific terms and phrases that help to bring this era to life. She has also once again created the ultimate digital treasures to enhance our reading experience of “Undercover.” Here, and in the inside of her ebook, she shares her “Undercover” Pinterest board, her energetic “Undercover” Spotify playlist, and her “Undercover” YouTube video playlist. These features are a great way to immerse yourself in the settings throughout this story.
January 6, 2017
Dear Reader,
A very different type of variation,this story sees Lizzy playing the part of a P.I. determined to solve the disappearance of her best friend Mary King,who was last seen in the company of Wickham,who has since mysteriously gone to ground.
Said gentleman has tempted more than one willing,innocent young girl with his empty promises and charming smile,and as per his usual habit,he grows bored,and faced with responsibilities that a 'ball and chain' would incur,he moves onto fresher, more naive prey.
Elizabeth is not the only one in search of Wickham,as Darcy is also eager to warn him away from his dear Georgiana and prevent him from succeeding in his attempts to blackmail him.
Just what hold does Wickham hold over Darcy,what,as his commanding officer in the war,did he witness Darcy doing and what are his nefarious plans for Georgiana?
What of Lydia,her dancing job at a nightclub in the seedier part of town and her involvement with a certain gentleman who delights in watching all the girls in the club
perform their own special moves.
This is a very steamy and smoky tale which sees Darcy and Lizzy join forces to prevent a set of consequences put in place by Wickham that would see the ruination of more than one individual.
Recommended for mature readers,perhaps looking for something a 'little outside the box'!
A very different type of variation,this story sees Lizzy playing the part of a P.I. determined to solve the disappearance of her best friend Mary King,who was last seen in the company of Wickham,who has since mysteriously gone to ground.
Said gentleman has tempted more than one willing,innocent young girl with his empty promises and charming smile,and as per his usual habit,he grows bored,and faced with responsibilities that a 'ball and chain' would incur,he moves onto fresher, more naive prey.
Elizabeth is not the only one in search of Wickham,as Darcy is also eager to warn him away from his dear Georgiana and prevent him from succeeding in his attempts to blackmail him.
Just what hold does Wickham hold over Darcy,what,as his commanding officer in the war,did he witness Darcy doing and what are his nefarious plans for Georgiana?
What of Lydia,her dancing job at a nightclub in the seedier part of town and her involvement with a certain gentleman who delights in watching all the girls in the club
perform their own special moves.
This is a very steamy and smoky tale which sees Darcy and Lizzy join forces to prevent a set of consequences put in place by Wickham that would see the ruination of more than one individual.
Recommended for mature readers,perhaps looking for something a 'little outside the box'!
April 18, 2018
What a thrilling, passionate, romantic, steamy and utterly unputdownable read!
Loved both this Darcy and this Elizabeth. I think Lizzy fit very well for a PI, femme fatale...
Jane got a scratch in her polish in this story, it was refreshing to see her portaited a little less angelic than what is want.
Set in New York in the fifties, Elizabeth leaves home and starts a career as a PI after her best friend, Mary King disappears. Last known as George Wickham's girlfriend, her prime suspect is no surprise. However, she is not the only one looking for Wickham. A WWII deserter, a fraudster, a womanizer, not to mention caught up in the political scheming of communists, there are several others who are after his scalp. One of them being Fitzwilliam Darcy trying to protect his sister. Their first meeting in a shabby strip bar was sizzling and it only grew hotter from that point.
Elizabeth is hot on Wickham's tail when he disappears, unfortunately, so does Lydia. Elizabeth turns to Darcy for help, even though their last meeting did not end too well... This meeting however, goes very well and they join forces to fight the bad guys.
I absolutely loved this story. Drew me in from page one and transported me to the underground of New York in the fifties. I could almost smell the cigarette smoke and the perfumes.
Heartily recommend this book!
Loved both this Darcy and this Elizabeth. I think Lizzy fit very well for a PI, femme fatale...
Jane got a scratch in her polish in this story, it was refreshing to see her portaited a little less angelic than what is want.
Set in New York in the fifties, Elizabeth leaves home and starts a career as a PI after her best friend, Mary King disappears. Last known as George Wickham's girlfriend, her prime suspect is no surprise. However, she is not the only one looking for Wickham. A WWII deserter, a fraudster, a womanizer, not to mention caught up in the political scheming of communists, there are several others who are after his scalp. One of them being Fitzwilliam Darcy trying to protect his sister. Their first meeting in a shabby strip bar was sizzling and it only grew hotter from that point.
Elizabeth is hot on Wickham's tail when he disappears, unfortunately, so does Lydia. Elizabeth turns to Darcy for help, even though their last meeting did not end too well... This meeting however, goes very well and they join forces to fight the bad guys.
I absolutely loved this story. Drew me in from page one and transported me to the underground of New York in the fifties. I could almost smell the cigarette smoke and the perfumes.
Heartily recommend this book!
May 17, 2021
Great P&P Whodunit
Great storyline in this modern Pride and Prejudice inspired variation. I loved the characters and 1950s setting. The time period slang throughout was fun. Very well written. I enjoy this author’s work. I’m never disappointed.
Great storyline in this modern Pride and Prejudice inspired variation. I loved the characters and 1950s setting. The time period slang throughout was fun. Very well written. I enjoy this author’s work. I’m never disappointed.
May 12, 2016
Undercover is a re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice filled with mystery, intrigue and whole lot of heat!
June 24, 2017
Love this reimagined P&P, I could see it playing out on my mind like a Dick Tracy film in black and white.
Such a creative and imaginative storyline. Love the glossary and all additional details of the Pinterest board and music list to enhance the reader's experience.
Such a creative and imaginative storyline. Love the glossary and all additional details of the Pinterest board and music list to enhance the reader's experience.
January 9, 2018
This book will transport you to those good old days of black and white crime drama. The time period oozes effortlessly off of the page. The dialog is perfect for the period and the characters are amazing. Truly, I do not read much of this period but I highly enjoyed being transported. The portrayal of Darcy and Eli were spot on. The suspense was killer (like Eli's gams!). If you enjoy a great story, then this is the book for you. Very few errors it was such a breeze to read and if you are a little hung up with the terminology of the day (i found the context made it easy) there is a glossary at the back.
Bravo Cat! Another masterpiece!
Bravo Cat! Another masterpiece!
July 2, 2016
Deserves 10 stars!
Have you ever read a book that made you smile through the whole reading because it was so good? If you are a Cat Gardiner fan, then I am sure you have.
This book is outstanding in everyway possible. The 1950s jargon. Wickham being a total villain. Elizabeth feels so authentic and so does Darcy. I said this about another Cat Gardiner book; she does Jane Austen proud.
Have you ever read a book that made you smile through the whole reading because it was so good? If you are a Cat Gardiner fan, then I am sure you have.
This book is outstanding in everyway possible. The 1950s jargon. Wickham being a total villain. Elizabeth feels so authentic and so does Darcy. I said this about another Cat Gardiner book; she does Jane Austen proud.
August 11, 2017
Eli Bennett is a tough gumshoe operating in 1950's Hell's Kitchen NY. She is chasing down a former lover who jilted her, and whom she suspects of kidnapping and possibly murdering her best friend, "Slick Wick." During her investigation she happens upon a handsome upper crust stranger, who also seems to be following Slick Wick.
*Spoliers*
I think I would like this better if it was not supposed to be based on P&P. I really didn't like that she made Lizzy and Jane hate each other, and Jane was a total bitch. I have always thought that the relationship of Jane and Lizzie was one of the best parts of P&P. There wasn't the slow build of love between Darcy and Elizabeth, which is what P&P is about. They pretty much were in lust at first sight, fell into bed, and engaged withing a few days.
I also had a hard time because Darcy and Elizabeth seemed to care more about sex than anything. Seriously! Your sister might have been kidnapped by communist Russians/Cubans with help from a possible murder, and I have rushed over in the middle of the night to tell you, but that can wait we need to have a marathon sexcapade first....You find out where kidnapped sister is being held, and have already been told they would have no problem killing her, it's okay we don't need to rush we have time for a make-out session under the moonlight before we rescue her.
I like the concept of an Austen Noir, I just wish it was written better. My expectations and hopes might have been too high because I love Jane Austen and noir.
*Spoliers*
I think I would like this better if it was not supposed to be based on P&P. I really didn't like that she made Lizzy and Jane hate each other, and Jane was a total bitch. I have always thought that the relationship of Jane and Lizzie was one of the best parts of P&P. There wasn't the slow build of love between Darcy and Elizabeth, which is what P&P is about. They pretty much were in lust at first sight, fell into bed, and engaged withing a few days.
I also had a hard time because Darcy and Elizabeth seemed to care more about sex than anything. Seriously! Your sister might have been kidnapped by communist Russians/Cubans with help from a possible murder, and I have rushed over in the middle of the night to tell you, but that can wait we need to have a marathon sexcapade first....You find out where kidnapped sister is being held, and have already been told they would have no problem killing her, it's okay we don't need to rush we have time for a make-out session under the moonlight before we rescue her.
I like the concept of an Austen Noir, I just wish it was written better. My expectations and hopes might have been too high because I love Jane Austen and noir.
April 11, 2017
I normally enjoy murder-mystery novels but this book was simply not my cup of tea.
Read
November 3, 2017Quick summary: Cat Gardiner’s Undercover brilliantly blends Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with crime fiction Noir, telling the tale of Elizabeth “Eli” Bennet, a gumshoe on the trail of George “Slick Wick” Wickham as she investigates the disappearance of her best friend, Mary King. Elizabeth’s family thinks she’s a bookkeeper for Macy’s but instead she runs Bennet Private Investigations in an office/apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. She’s a career girl who high-tailed it out of her drunken parents’ home in Queens as soon as she was able. She’s at odds with her sister, Jane, who’s biting comments put a dent in Elizabeth’s self-esteem, and she knows what it’s like to have loved and lost. Her investigation leads her to wealthy bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, and you can cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. The two join forces when Darcy’s socialite sister, Georgiana, gets entangled with Wickham and some communist thugs. Set in 1952 in the midst of the Red Scare, Gardiner takes readers on an exciting ride through the dark side of New York City and the nightlife in Havana.
Why I wanted to read it: I’ve long wanted to read Gardiner’s work, and the cover is among my all-time favorites.
What I liked: Gardiner is a fantastic storyteller who had me hooked from the very first page. The use of slang from the era, her vivid descriptions, the steamy scenes, and the murder mystery are handled so perfectly that I could picture the entire book in my head, as though I were actually watching a black-and-white hard-boiled crime drama on the screen. She moved Austen’s characters into 1952 New York City in a way that felt true to them. I loved that she gave Darcy a painful back story and that Elizabeth and Jane weren’t the best of friends. Gardiner’s portrayal of Georgiana as a modern and independent though innocent and sheltered young woman is handled beautifully, as is Lydia’s downfall at the hands of Slick Wick.
What I disliked: Only that I’ve been so busy lately that I couldn’t finish the book in one sitting! And that I waited so long to finally read one of Gardiner’s books. (I am so thankful that I have a few more waiting on my Kindle!)
Final thoughts: Undercover is unique among Pride and Prejudice variations, and if I were to attempt to create a list of my all-time favorite variations, it likely would be near the top. Gardiner is a breath of fresh air in JAFF (and historical fiction in general), and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Undercover is a definite on my Best of 2016 list.
Review posted on Diary of an Eccentric
I received a free copy of this book for review.
Why I wanted to read it: I’ve long wanted to read Gardiner’s work, and the cover is among my all-time favorites.
What I liked: Gardiner is a fantastic storyteller who had me hooked from the very first page. The use of slang from the era, her vivid descriptions, the steamy scenes, and the murder mystery are handled so perfectly that I could picture the entire book in my head, as though I were actually watching a black-and-white hard-boiled crime drama on the screen. She moved Austen’s characters into 1952 New York City in a way that felt true to them. I loved that she gave Darcy a painful back story and that Elizabeth and Jane weren’t the best of friends. Gardiner’s portrayal of Georgiana as a modern and independent though innocent and sheltered young woman is handled beautifully, as is Lydia’s downfall at the hands of Slick Wick.
What I disliked: Only that I’ve been so busy lately that I couldn’t finish the book in one sitting! And that I waited so long to finally read one of Gardiner’s books. (I am so thankful that I have a few more waiting on my Kindle!)
Final thoughts: Undercover is unique among Pride and Prejudice variations, and if I were to attempt to create a list of my all-time favorite variations, it likely would be near the top. Gardiner is a breath of fresh air in JAFF (and historical fiction in general), and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Undercover is a definite on my Best of 2016 list.
Review posted on Diary of an Eccentric
I received a free copy of this book for review.
June 3, 2016
Undercover is a unique and wonderful P&P Variation. Set in 1952, all of favorite characters have changed in in someway or another but that is what made this fun for me. You get mentions of stars from back than that fit in perfectly with the story and make you smile. One of my favorites was "A party was taking place on the second level where a crowd, two deep, surrounded a round table. Most likely it was Joe DiMaggio and his new squeeze Marilyn Monroe, or another famed ballplayer and some actress." I got some nicknames to chuckle at like "Slick Wick" and "Tricky Ricky." Something I didn't figure out until 3/4ths in and will let you guys in on, there is a glossary in the back. So if you don't necessarily understand a word or phrase or the context it's used in you can just go to the glossary chapter and find it. I enjoyed reading this book so much and I hope everybody who reads will too. Lastly, I want to thank JustJane 1813 and Cat Gardiner for having the giveaway that allowed to pleasure to read this wonderful book.
April 24, 2016
Excellent Cat Gardiner book
Cat Gardiner has done it again taking one back to the very early 50s with the "Red" scare. Always with sensuality, intrigue and fun does Cat bring it to the table with so much verve and double meanings... It truly is a joy to read her books!
Cat Gardiner has done it again taking one back to the very early 50s with the "Red" scare. Always with sensuality, intrigue and fun does Cat bring it to the table with so much verve and double meanings... It truly is a joy to read her books!
July 29, 2016
Elizabeth Bennet Solves Crimes as a Femme Fatale
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Whether it’s visiting a vibrant Italian-American salon in Elmont, New York, dancing the tango in Seville, or observing a steamy calendar shoot with hot NYC firefighters, Cat Gardiner’s contemporary Pride and Prejudice stories are incredible and memorable adventures. In her fourth book, Undercover, Ms. Gardiner takes readers on a sojourn to 1952 and introduces them to a world of fedoras, smoke, hot joints, and crime detectives.
Elizabeth Bennet, a tenacious private eye with a copious amounts of moxie and brains, has been on the hunt for the man she believes kidnapped (and possibly murdered) her best friend. She met George Wickham years ago and she knows he is guilty of all sorts of crimes, but what Elizabeth doesn’t know is where is he now and what he did with Mary King? After receiving a tip from one of her reliable informants the trail for “Slick Wick” is hot once again. But there seems to be someone else interested in Slick Wick’s actions…the reserved and brooding Fitzwilliam Darcy, the wealthy son of a former senator. What is his connection to Slick Wick? What does he have to hide? You can be sure this clever dame will find out!
This recreation of Elizabeth Bennet is my hero! Career girl, independent, determined, and quick as a whip – she has the assets and charm to get whatever she wants from whoever she wants! I loved witnessing her close relationship with Oscar the restaurant owner and Detective Brandon (the only flat foot who respects her profession). They both flirt and tease, but I like how Elizabeth (even though she is a gorgeous siren with “a body made for sin”) doesn’t “give it up for just any man.” A true lady professional earning respect and achieving results in a man’s world – she is a marvel!
Other parts of the story that I thoroughly enjoyed were the atmosphere, the banter, and the sexy smoldering between Darcy and Elizabeth. I think Ms. Gardiner wonderfully captured the essence of a noir – her story was smoky, misty, and steamy. With her evocative language and descriptions, I imagined the story in black and white in my head with just small flashes of color for Lizzy’s ruby-red lips. Speaking of flapping lips, the quick and provocatively-charged exchanges between Darcy and Lizzy almost gave me whiplash! These two are definitely hard-boiled and their flirtatious banter and smoldering looks could heat up an igloo. Lizzy may be a femme fatale, but I think she’s met her match with this brooding and enigmatic Mr. Darcy! (Warning: contains intimate scenes and descriptions suitable for Mature Audiences.)
Now, while I absolutely adored this novel and thoroughly enjoyed the unique setting and inventive premise, I did notice that I didn’t feel as emotionally invested with these characters as I did with Ms. Gardiner’s previous novels. Both these characters were interesting and there were some mentions of their pasts, but I guess there wasn’t enough there to help me feel fully connected to them. I’m sorry to hold Ms. Gardiner to such a high standard, but it is her own fault! Her previous novels and complex characters were so captivating and consuming!
Communist schemes, sizzling chemistry, and solving crimes – Cat Gardiner’s Austen-Inspired noir mystery is an enthralling adventure that envelopes readers in the sights, sounds, and realities of another time and world. I loved the combination of intrigue, history, danger, and scorching-hot romance! Thank you, Ms. Gardiner for another supremely creative and engrossing tale!
PS – loved the glossary of crime detective terms! Super helpful!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Whether it’s visiting a vibrant Italian-American salon in Elmont, New York, dancing the tango in Seville, or observing a steamy calendar shoot with hot NYC firefighters, Cat Gardiner’s contemporary Pride and Prejudice stories are incredible and memorable adventures. In her fourth book, Undercover, Ms. Gardiner takes readers on a sojourn to 1952 and introduces them to a world of fedoras, smoke, hot joints, and crime detectives.
Elizabeth Bennet, a tenacious private eye with a copious amounts of moxie and brains, has been on the hunt for the man she believes kidnapped (and possibly murdered) her best friend. She met George Wickham years ago and she knows he is guilty of all sorts of crimes, but what Elizabeth doesn’t know is where is he now and what he did with Mary King? After receiving a tip from one of her reliable informants the trail for “Slick Wick” is hot once again. But there seems to be someone else interested in Slick Wick’s actions…the reserved and brooding Fitzwilliam Darcy, the wealthy son of a former senator. What is his connection to Slick Wick? What does he have to hide? You can be sure this clever dame will find out!
This recreation of Elizabeth Bennet is my hero! Career girl, independent, determined, and quick as a whip – she has the assets and charm to get whatever she wants from whoever she wants! I loved witnessing her close relationship with Oscar the restaurant owner and Detective Brandon (the only flat foot who respects her profession). They both flirt and tease, but I like how Elizabeth (even though she is a gorgeous siren with “a body made for sin”) doesn’t “give it up for just any man.” A true lady professional earning respect and achieving results in a man’s world – she is a marvel!
Other parts of the story that I thoroughly enjoyed were the atmosphere, the banter, and the sexy smoldering between Darcy and Elizabeth. I think Ms. Gardiner wonderfully captured the essence of a noir – her story was smoky, misty, and steamy. With her evocative language and descriptions, I imagined the story in black and white in my head with just small flashes of color for Lizzy’s ruby-red lips. Speaking of flapping lips, the quick and provocatively-charged exchanges between Darcy and Lizzy almost gave me whiplash! These two are definitely hard-boiled and their flirtatious banter and smoldering looks could heat up an igloo. Lizzy may be a femme fatale, but I think she’s met her match with this brooding and enigmatic Mr. Darcy! (Warning: contains intimate scenes and descriptions suitable for Mature Audiences.)
Now, while I absolutely adored this novel and thoroughly enjoyed the unique setting and inventive premise, I did notice that I didn’t feel as emotionally invested with these characters as I did with Ms. Gardiner’s previous novels. Both these characters were interesting and there were some mentions of their pasts, but I guess there wasn’t enough there to help me feel fully connected to them. I’m sorry to hold Ms. Gardiner to such a high standard, but it is her own fault! Her previous novels and complex characters were so captivating and consuming!
Communist schemes, sizzling chemistry, and solving crimes – Cat Gardiner’s Austen-Inspired noir mystery is an enthralling adventure that envelopes readers in the sights, sounds, and realities of another time and world. I loved the combination of intrigue, history, danger, and scorching-hot romance! Thank you, Ms. Gardiner for another supremely creative and engrossing tale!
PS – loved the glossary of crime detective terms! Super helpful!
April 22, 2016
What a page-turner! This lady dick, Eli Gardiner, is quite the gumshoe. She's investigating the disappearance of her good friend, Mary King, and finds herself up to her neck in a political conspiracy, Cubans and communists, a kidnapping, and two stiffs. She also finds herself in the bed of one Fitzwilliam Darcy, a really hot swell. The two connect the second they lay eyes on each other. Their attraction goes beyond keeping an eye on Slick Wick, her prime suspect. It turns out Darcy has an axe to grind with him, too. But this investigation hits too close to home; both have members of their families at risk.
I hesitate to call this a true Pride and Prejudice variation because many of the characters are so far removed from their usual roles, though they retain some characteristic personality traits. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's excuse for not knowing exactly what their daughters are up to is that they're both lushes, so they've got no clue that Elizabeth isn't working for Macy's and that Lydia isn't just a hat check girl at a nightclub. Mary is a nun. Jane is stunningly beautiful and already married to Bingley, but she and Elizabeth are far from being close even though they're sisters. Charlotte is one of Elizabeth's best friends. Darcy's little sister Georgiana is sheltered, naive and gullible. Some new characters figure into the case, too.
Even though the world Elizabeth and Darcy move in during this story is scary, the writing seems too elegant and "pretty" in many of the passages to be convincingly noir. I actually pulled out my well-read copy of The Big Sleep to see why I didn't feel the same level of darkness as I read this. Ms. Gardiner does have the gumshoe lingo down and even provides a handy glossary. (You'll find it at the back of the book). She has great descriptions of the seedy hell-holes Elizabeth and Darcy are nosing around in, and most of the action occurs at night on dark streets with dim street lights and fog. However, this IS in third person, while Chandler's book uses the voice of the private dick, Philip Marlowe, to tell his own story. It makes sense that he sounds hard-boiled, because he is. Elizabeth may be a femme fatale- and she sure proves it many times throughout the story- but at heart she's a cream puff, so the slightly softer edge fits. It would be criminal to bump my rating down because it's too nicely written, so I'm not!
The heat factor between Darcy and Elizabeth is steamy, and most JAFF lovers seem to consider that the most important element in a good Pride and Prejudice knock-off. "Smoldering" is the word most often used to describe him here, and once he and Elizabeth get together, it's a full-blown conflagration.
I hesitate to call this a true Pride and Prejudice variation because many of the characters are so far removed from their usual roles, though they retain some characteristic personality traits. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's excuse for not knowing exactly what their daughters are up to is that they're both lushes, so they've got no clue that Elizabeth isn't working for Macy's and that Lydia isn't just a hat check girl at a nightclub. Mary is a nun. Jane is stunningly beautiful and already married to Bingley, but she and Elizabeth are far from being close even though they're sisters. Charlotte is one of Elizabeth's best friends. Darcy's little sister Georgiana is sheltered, naive and gullible. Some new characters figure into the case, too.
Even though the world Elizabeth and Darcy move in during this story is scary, the writing seems too elegant and "pretty" in many of the passages to be convincingly noir. I actually pulled out my well-read copy of The Big Sleep to see why I didn't feel the same level of darkness as I read this. Ms. Gardiner does have the gumshoe lingo down and even provides a handy glossary. (You'll find it at the back of the book). She has great descriptions of the seedy hell-holes Elizabeth and Darcy are nosing around in, and most of the action occurs at night on dark streets with dim street lights and fog. However, this IS in third person, while Chandler's book uses the voice of the private dick, Philip Marlowe, to tell his own story. It makes sense that he sounds hard-boiled, because he is. Elizabeth may be a femme fatale- and she sure proves it many times throughout the story- but at heart she's a cream puff, so the slightly softer edge fits. It would be criminal to bump my rating down because it's too nicely written, so I'm not!
The heat factor between Darcy and Elizabeth is steamy, and most JAFF lovers seem to consider that the most important element in a good Pride and Prejudice knock-off. "Smoldering" is the word most often used to describe him here, and once he and Elizabeth get together, it's a full-blown conflagration.
May 6, 2016
Thrilling and lovely
A marvelous mix of old school PI novel, adventure and sweet romance.
She can't go back to what she was before the war, a young woman looking for a husband, a house and 3.5 kids.
He needs someone that can bring forth the wonderful man he can be.
Amidst investigation and danger, they get to know and love each other...
Read this story, you'll find it delightful!
A marvelous mix of old school PI novel, adventure and sweet romance.
She can't go back to what she was before the war, a young woman looking for a husband, a house and 3.5 kids.
He needs someone that can bring forth the wonderful man he can be.
Amidst investigation and danger, they get to know and love each other...
Read this story, you'll find it delightful!
February 25, 2018
*looks at all the 5 star reviews here and on Amazon* Crap.
I loved the sound of this-- P&P + noir? Awesome! The opening line (always have to have a strong opener when adapting P&P) was solid: "Everyone in the know acknowledged that El Barrio Steakhouse on 116th Street in East Harlem was frequented by less-than-stellar clientele." We've got an echo of the original but not a straight-up patch edit, which is a good forecast of how this version will go. This is very, very, very loosely adapted, it turns out. Quite frankly I think that if you swapped out all the character names, most readers wouldn't realize where this derived from.
Which to me isn't great, because without that connection, this is just a... well, sorry, but... badly-written period fiction piece with lazy characterization, repetitive fluff, and barely any actual mystery. PS, no one really goes "undercover" anywhere...? PPS, this is a LOT more romance-genre than I expected. I saw the notes about sexual content, which was a non-starter: it's not an attraction, it's not repellent. The 1950s sure aren't the 1830s! But within the first chapter or two, I got ~Romance~ red flags when Darcy and Elizabeth spot each across a room, feel instantly liquified with lust, and they (and everyone else, we find out) instantly knew they were meant to be, you know-- they could tell the other wouldn't be like all the other men/women, that there was something special there. Gag. There is a lazy attempt at introducing strife to drive the two apart so they reconcile, but it's an incredibly light touch and both characters get over it in literally a day. Their whole relationship before they're giving their declarations of undying romance and marriage proposals is in the 3-7 day range.
And then it was all downhill from there.
The Plot
Thin, convoluted plot.
The climax comes far too easily.
Lots of little plot twists and developments were just flat-out predictable, too.
The Characters
Elizabeth Bennet, tryhard femme fatale. Every fella in the world has a hard-on for her, pretty much literally. There is a lot of talk about her ass and gams and how she oozes sex. Seriously, she shoots a guy in the kneecap at one point and he still gets all lusty-eyed when she climbs on top of him to question him. Because men feel nothing but sex hormones, nonstop, even when suffering critical injuries! But! Just because she's definitely not a virgin, don't go thinking she's some kind of ho! Nope, she gets seduced , had sex apparently exactly once, drunk and in the backseat of a car, and largely swears off men altogether after that (effectively for a year), and this is the (or part of the) huge life-altering dramatic thing that leads to her being all hardboiled lady dick. She's praised for being awesome, but she mostly just has cases uncovering affairs-- not exactly mentally taxing investigations. Her main weapon is to shamelessly flirt and tease with men, all of whom again are helpless in the face of the lure of sex, even hardass mobster types who really should have been more on guard against such things. You know, Spade and Marlowe could resist their femme fatales-- where are their types in this world? Her non-sexy detective work includes subtle, smooth maneuvers like "Heeeey, strippers. Way 2 bump-n-grind. Didn't you like that stripper movie? I totes did, too! Hey, wasn't it crazy when a crime happened at the strip club in the movie? So, which of you knows the dead guy out front?" And then she gets distracted by Lydia and completely blows off questioning anyone else. Later, her cop pal describes her job her as "thorough." LOL forever.
She hates politics, and her cop pal teases her about picking up a newspaper sometime to get a modicum of awareness of what happens in the city/world. Later, Darcy is all wowed by her intelligence as she discusses with him "the ramifications of the Red menace in America." Shyeah right.
Oh! Oh yeah, and when she goes to inform Darcy about Wickham's connection to Georgiana, she actually gets totally sidetracked ; PS girdles do not work that way; but later disclaims that Darcy hardly gave her a chance. Bitch please, I was "there." You had opportunity galore. Later on, after the plot is resolved, she notices Georgiana keeps casting glances at her engagement ring, but no one says anything to bring it up (or bothered to tell her earlier). Bold, independent Elizabeth is content to let rude jerk Darcy be a silent pill rather than take it upon herself to maturely square the situation away, talk to Georgiana directly and inform her, tell Darcy to apologize and have some sensitivity to the girl's trauma...
Which is kind of my biggest problem with Elizabeth in a nutshell. Noir PIs and femme fatales both have a jaded cynicism from lots of rough experience. Eli has some of that, but it doesn't feel earned: she hasn't been at this job all that long, she hasn't had really "real" cases for the most part, and while a shitty family can really screw you up, that doesn't hit the right tone for a traditional noir. Elizabeth should have been cool, mature, in control of herself and the situations she found herself in, and it felt like the narrative often treated her that way without her putting in the work to actually be those things. But I guess she did admit to being a cream puff under her cool exterior. But it also doesn't help that 99% of the book has her being wacky over Darcy and pretty self-centered in that regard.
Fitzwilliam Darcy is not the loving older brother of Georgiana in this tale. Oh sure, he tries to protect her by bossing her around and warning her off Wickham, but consider the moment in Cuba when . Then, after everything is resolved and they all go home, he and Eli retreat to his bedroom to sleep and for Eli to have a little weep after all that stress . Meanwhile, the young woman who was betrayed, drugged, kidnapped, and kept tied to a bed? Eh, who knows. She's probably fine. Let's not mention her until breakfast 3 days later, where Darcy will be cold and rude to her because she made the mistake of believing someone loved her. Original!Darcy was not that big of an asshole, like, at all, as I recall. He recognized who was at fault for that fiasco. Oh! And no one apparently bothered for 3-4 days to introduce Elizabeth to Georgiana to explain "this is my girlfriend and your future sister-in-law!"
This Darcy is also, despite being so chill about his 1950s ladyfriend having a career, being a sexpot, etc, is a jealous neanderthal. Eli mentions another guy? Immediate question about their relationship with each other. Yuck. Not sexy at all. They get to...3rd-ish base after knowing each other 1-2 days, and he's already panting "me and only me forever, right?" Plus a lot of supposed-to-be-romantic but just came off as creepy yearning to possess Elizabeth "heart and soul" in addition to her body. Gross gross gross. Early on he dings her for having some mysterious association with Wickham (at that point, as far as he actually knows, she's a PI looking for a suspect-- he has no reason to think there's a personal connection), even though he himself is obviously also connected to Wickham! (Which Eli herself uses against him later, too! wtf!) He also, when reflecting on Georgiana's trouble, says (abbreviating slightly here): "I don't know if I did the right thing by letting her have independence and freedom." No words.
Jane Bennet has been replaced with Lady Mary Crawley, but possibly even bitchier. Certainly more . She and Eli, instead of being close, had more of a Mary-Edith emotionally abusive relationship. The downside of this is that we don't see Elizabeth with any real female relationships: none of her sisters are around, Charlotte is a mooch who lives across the hall, Mary King is AWOL... I wasn't paying close enough attention to verify this, but this book may actually not pass the Bechdel test all the way (the talking about not-men part).
Lydia, on the other hand, gets redeemed over the original text, actual realizing the trouble she was in, appreciating the help people were extending to her, and deciding to follow Elizabeth's example in life. Kind of think her plot could have been more serious. OR less serious. Actually, I know:
Wickham is a scoundrel cranked up to 11. It's kind of ridiculous just how bad of a guy he is. In the source text, he's an entitled heel who can't face up to his mistakes while manipulating everyone around him. Here, he's like that but with murder and Russian communist spies and kidnapping and .
The Bennet parents have fallen far in life: both of them are drunks who care more about their next bottle and the telly than anything going on in their daughters' lives. This is actually an interesting change to me, since the original Mr. Bennet-- despite being the cool parent with whom Lizzie is close-- is pretty neglectful of his household, generally not doing much to secure his daughters' future and retreating whenever anything gets fussy. Mrs. Bennet takes the bigger hit actually, keeping her desire for her daughters to marry but losing any actual engagement in that process.
Other characters: non-existent.
The Lizzie/Darcy Romance:
Ugh, gawd, we took two complex and flawed people who got off on the wrong foot but over time were able to grow as people, coming to genuinely respect, appreciate, and unconditionally love one another, and turned them into Generic Romance Couple #2. Ooh, we're both super-hot for each other instantly! I can just tell by looking that you're the one for me. Declarations of love within a couple days. They have their first misunderstanding when she turns him down for intercourse, but they're over it the next day. Drama is pointlessly stirred up, but easily discarded. Within 2 pages, Liz goes from thinking Darcy's the real deal to stonewalling him with "nothing but business from tomorrow onward." Also constant "what do you want from this relationship? is this real? are you just leading me on?" despite the fact that that conversation has already been had.
The marriage proposal rejection
They spend most of their time telling each other how much they love one another, how amazing the other is, wub wub wub wub. Which made it extra ridiculous during the final marriage proposal when Hey, what's her favorite color? What's his alma mater? Tell me anything about each other besides what's in your character dossiers of "Dreamy/sexy/ who's totally superior to all others of their useless sex." Okay, that's not totally fair: they did apparently have some heart-to-heart at the Copacabana on day 2(?) of their acquaintance. And later Eli tells him all about what a bitch Jane was to her growing up, so that they can conspire to make Thanksgiving even more awkward and miserable by rubbing their happiness and success in Jane's face. (Eli mentally calls Bingley a boob for being so nice as to miss the undercurrent of shade being thrown. Lovely.)
Other things:
There is an awkward moment when a modern author wants to write a period piece in period style. On the one hand, this doesn't really feel period-- it's modern with a lot of old slang sprinkled in, sometimes inappropriately, because upper-class Darcy would not speak the same way as lower-class Elizabeth, especially in this time period, further compounded by the fact that by her own admission she's extended her slang to suit the PI scene. (He also calls her "baby" constantly, which really rang false based on actual period works I've read. "Darling" would have been more appropriate, possibly, especially, again for his class.) Anyway-- the bigger issue is that the author also chose to interject period-appropriate misogyny and racism. Which is a very mixed feeling because okay, yes, that would be the attitude of the time... on the other hand, we (and you, author) are not in that time anymore/ever! And some of it was subtle enough that I wondered if it was really deliberate, like the mention of "Cuban time" and the hotel concierge being....so...slow...to...look up records (and twofer: she's slow because she doesn't want to damage her nail polish, natch. Hey, maybe she thinks you're uptight a-holes and is deliberately tweaking your arrogant asses). So that was a thing and...probably should have just been avoided.
There were some shoddy edits here and there, like a place where the dialog doesn't make sense with who would have to be talking, or anything character who exclaims "what a silly question!" when no question had been asked of her. I also spotted "good ridden" in the place of "good riddance" and "blackguard" written phonetically as "blackard." Eek.
Early in the book there is a Russian spy. Eli can recognize him from across the room as Russian because of his black cossack hat. He's also got a Russian accent, even. Wow! Such sneaky! Very spy!
Mary King
Did I already say "girdles do not work that way"? Because they don't. Maybe modern shapewear "girdles" but not the 50s constructions. Also, Darcy answers the door in a "white tank t-shirt" - which he wouldn't have done anyway, but those were called undershirts in the 50s. Tshirts were just creeping in to non-army wear; sleeveless wifebeater tank tops were undergarments. Tshirts were otherwise undergarments.
And a lot of the dialog just felt weird and stilted. For example, Liz is having an orgasm and thinks to herself "Oh God! Is this what an intercourse-induced orgasm feels like?" a) who thinks like that, even in modern times? b) who thinks like that in the 1950s when there was jack and shit for sex ed, c)like she knows what a clitoral (er, "pearl") orgasm is like, either, with Wickham being her one cold, dispassionate lay; c2)if she's so put off by the Wickham Experience, and also it's the 50s, why is she almost-masturbating? And if she really isn't masturbating, then again, back to point C1. In another place I noted that Darcy's dialog sounded more like what someone might write, possibly in a letter... then I realized, duh, his dialog is being written: by the author. Ah. I guess at least he digging in to his posh linguistics?
I loved the sound of this-- P&P + noir? Awesome! The opening line (always have to have a strong opener when adapting P&P) was solid: "Everyone in the know acknowledged that El Barrio Steakhouse on 116th Street in East Harlem was frequented by less-than-stellar clientele." We've got an echo of the original but not a straight-up patch edit, which is a good forecast of how this version will go. This is very, very, very loosely adapted, it turns out. Quite frankly I think that if you swapped out all the character names, most readers wouldn't realize where this derived from.
Which to me isn't great, because without that connection, this is just a... well, sorry, but... badly-written period fiction piece with lazy characterization, repetitive fluff, and barely any actual mystery. PS, no one really goes "undercover" anywhere...? PPS, this is a LOT more romance-genre than I expected. I saw the notes about sexual content, which was a non-starter: it's not an attraction, it's not repellent. The 1950s sure aren't the 1830s! But within the first chapter or two, I got ~Romance~ red flags when Darcy and Elizabeth spot each across a room, feel instantly liquified with lust, and they (and everyone else, we find out) instantly knew they were meant to be, you know-- they could tell the other wouldn't be like all the other men/women, that there was something special there. Gag. There is a lazy attempt at introducing strife to drive the two apart so they reconcile, but it's an incredibly light touch and both characters get over it in literally a day. Their whole relationship before they're giving their declarations of undying romance and marriage proposals is in the 3-7 day range.
And then it was all downhill from there.
The Plot
Thin, convoluted plot.
The climax comes far too easily.
Lots of little plot twists and developments were just flat-out predictable, too.
The Characters
Elizabeth Bennet, tryhard femme fatale. Every fella in the world has a hard-on for her, pretty much literally. There is a lot of talk about her ass and gams and how she oozes sex. Seriously, she shoots a guy in the kneecap at one point and he still gets all lusty-eyed when she climbs on top of him to question him. Because men feel nothing but sex hormones, nonstop, even when suffering critical injuries! But! Just because she's definitely not a virgin, don't go thinking she's some kind of ho! Nope, she gets seduced , had sex apparently exactly once, drunk and in the backseat of a car, and largely swears off men altogether after that (effectively for a year), and this is the (or part of the) huge life-altering dramatic thing that leads to her being all hardboiled lady dick. She's praised for being awesome, but she mostly just has cases uncovering affairs-- not exactly mentally taxing investigations. Her main weapon is to shamelessly flirt and tease with men, all of whom again are helpless in the face of the lure of sex, even hardass mobster types who really should have been more on guard against such things. You know, Spade and Marlowe could resist their femme fatales-- where are their types in this world? Her non-sexy detective work includes subtle, smooth maneuvers like "Heeeey, strippers. Way 2 bump-n-grind. Didn't you like that stripper movie? I totes did, too! Hey, wasn't it crazy when a crime happened at the strip club in the movie? So, which of you knows the dead guy out front?" And then she gets distracted by Lydia and completely blows off questioning anyone else. Later, her cop pal describes her job her as "thorough." LOL forever.
She hates politics, and her cop pal teases her about picking up a newspaper sometime to get a modicum of awareness of what happens in the city/world. Later, Darcy is all wowed by her intelligence as she discusses with him "the ramifications of the Red menace in America." Shyeah right.
Oh! Oh yeah, and when she goes to inform Darcy about Wickham's connection to Georgiana, she actually gets totally sidetracked ; PS girdles do not work that way; but later disclaims that Darcy hardly gave her a chance. Bitch please, I was "there." You had opportunity galore. Later on, after the plot is resolved, she notices Georgiana keeps casting glances at her engagement ring, but no one says anything to bring it up (or bothered to tell her earlier). Bold, independent Elizabeth is content to let rude jerk Darcy be a silent pill rather than take it upon herself to maturely square the situation away, talk to Georgiana directly and inform her, tell Darcy to apologize and have some sensitivity to the girl's trauma...
Which is kind of my biggest problem with Elizabeth in a nutshell. Noir PIs and femme fatales both have a jaded cynicism from lots of rough experience. Eli has some of that, but it doesn't feel earned: she hasn't been at this job all that long, she hasn't had really "real" cases for the most part, and while a shitty family can really screw you up, that doesn't hit the right tone for a traditional noir. Elizabeth should have been cool, mature, in control of herself and the situations she found herself in, and it felt like the narrative often treated her that way without her putting in the work to actually be those things. But I guess she did admit to being a cream puff under her cool exterior. But it also doesn't help that 99% of the book has her being wacky over Darcy and pretty self-centered in that regard.
Fitzwilliam Darcy is not the loving older brother of Georgiana in this tale. Oh sure, he tries to protect her by bossing her around and warning her off Wickham, but consider the moment in Cuba when . Then, after everything is resolved and they all go home, he and Eli retreat to his bedroom to sleep and for Eli to have a little weep after all that stress . Meanwhile, the young woman who was betrayed, drugged, kidnapped, and kept tied to a bed? Eh, who knows. She's probably fine. Let's not mention her until breakfast 3 days later, where Darcy will be cold and rude to her because she made the mistake of believing someone loved her. Original!Darcy was not that big of an asshole, like, at all, as I recall. He recognized who was at fault for that fiasco. Oh! And no one apparently bothered for 3-4 days to introduce Elizabeth to Georgiana to explain "this is my girlfriend and your future sister-in-law!"
This Darcy is also, despite being so chill about his 1950s ladyfriend having a career, being a sexpot, etc, is a jealous neanderthal. Eli mentions another guy? Immediate question about their relationship with each other. Yuck. Not sexy at all. They get to...3rd-ish base after knowing each other 1-2 days, and he's already panting "me and only me forever, right?" Plus a lot of supposed-to-be-romantic but just came off as creepy yearning to possess Elizabeth "heart and soul" in addition to her body. Gross gross gross. Early on he dings her for having some mysterious association with Wickham (at that point, as far as he actually knows, she's a PI looking for a suspect-- he has no reason to think there's a personal connection), even though he himself is obviously also connected to Wickham! (Which Eli herself uses against him later, too! wtf!) He also, when reflecting on Georgiana's trouble, says (abbreviating slightly here): "I don't know if I did the right thing by letting her have independence and freedom." No words.
Jane Bennet has been replaced with Lady Mary Crawley, but possibly even bitchier. Certainly more . She and Eli, instead of being close, had more of a Mary-Edith emotionally abusive relationship. The downside of this is that we don't see Elizabeth with any real female relationships: none of her sisters are around, Charlotte is a mooch who lives across the hall, Mary King is AWOL... I wasn't paying close enough attention to verify this, but this book may actually not pass the Bechdel test all the way (the talking about not-men part).
Lydia, on the other hand, gets redeemed over the original text, actual realizing the trouble she was in, appreciating the help people were extending to her, and deciding to follow Elizabeth's example in life. Kind of think her plot could have been more serious. OR less serious. Actually, I know:
Wickham is a scoundrel cranked up to 11. It's kind of ridiculous just how bad of a guy he is. In the source text, he's an entitled heel who can't face up to his mistakes while manipulating everyone around him. Here, he's like that but with murder and Russian communist spies and kidnapping and .
The Bennet parents have fallen far in life: both of them are drunks who care more about their next bottle and the telly than anything going on in their daughters' lives. This is actually an interesting change to me, since the original Mr. Bennet-- despite being the cool parent with whom Lizzie is close-- is pretty neglectful of his household, generally not doing much to secure his daughters' future and retreating whenever anything gets fussy. Mrs. Bennet takes the bigger hit actually, keeping her desire for her daughters to marry but losing any actual engagement in that process.
Other characters: non-existent.
The Lizzie/Darcy Romance:
Ugh, gawd, we took two complex and flawed people who got off on the wrong foot but over time were able to grow as people, coming to genuinely respect, appreciate, and unconditionally love one another, and turned them into Generic Romance Couple #2. Ooh, we're both super-hot for each other instantly! I can just tell by looking that you're the one for me. Declarations of love within a couple days. They have their first misunderstanding when she turns him down for intercourse, but they're over it the next day. Drama is pointlessly stirred up, but easily discarded. Within 2 pages, Liz goes from thinking Darcy's the real deal to stonewalling him with "nothing but business from tomorrow onward." Also constant "what do you want from this relationship? is this real? are you just leading me on?" despite the fact that that conversation has already been had.
The marriage proposal rejection
They spend most of their time telling each other how much they love one another, how amazing the other is, wub wub wub wub. Which made it extra ridiculous during the final marriage proposal when Hey, what's her favorite color? What's his alma mater? Tell me anything about each other besides what's in your character dossiers of "Dreamy/sexy/ who's totally superior to all others of their useless sex." Okay, that's not totally fair: they did apparently have some heart-to-heart at the Copacabana on day 2(?) of their acquaintance. And later Eli tells him all about what a bitch Jane was to her growing up, so that they can conspire to make Thanksgiving even more awkward and miserable by rubbing their happiness and success in Jane's face. (Eli mentally calls Bingley a boob for being so nice as to miss the undercurrent of shade being thrown. Lovely.)
Other things:
There is an awkward moment when a modern author wants to write a period piece in period style. On the one hand, this doesn't really feel period-- it's modern with a lot of old slang sprinkled in, sometimes inappropriately, because upper-class Darcy would not speak the same way as lower-class Elizabeth, especially in this time period, further compounded by the fact that by her own admission she's extended her slang to suit the PI scene. (He also calls her "baby" constantly, which really rang false based on actual period works I've read. "Darling" would have been more appropriate, possibly, especially, again for his class.) Anyway-- the bigger issue is that the author also chose to interject period-appropriate misogyny and racism. Which is a very mixed feeling because okay, yes, that would be the attitude of the time... on the other hand, we (and you, author) are not in that time anymore/ever! And some of it was subtle enough that I wondered if it was really deliberate, like the mention of "Cuban time" and the hotel concierge being....so...slow...to...look up records (and twofer: she's slow because she doesn't want to damage her nail polish, natch. Hey, maybe she thinks you're uptight a-holes and is deliberately tweaking your arrogant asses). So that was a thing and...probably should have just been avoided.
There were some shoddy edits here and there, like a place where the dialog doesn't make sense with who would have to be talking, or anything character who exclaims "what a silly question!" when no question had been asked of her. I also spotted "good ridden" in the place of "good riddance" and "blackguard" written phonetically as "blackard." Eek.
Early in the book there is a Russian spy. Eli can recognize him from across the room as Russian because of his black cossack hat. He's also got a Russian accent, even. Wow! Such sneaky! Very spy!
Mary King
Did I already say "girdles do not work that way"? Because they don't. Maybe modern shapewear "girdles" but not the 50s constructions. Also, Darcy answers the door in a "white tank t-shirt" - which he wouldn't have done anyway, but those were called undershirts in the 50s. Tshirts were just creeping in to non-army wear; sleeveless wifebeater tank tops were undergarments. Tshirts were otherwise undergarments.
And a lot of the dialog just felt weird and stilted. For example, Liz is having an orgasm and thinks to herself "Oh God! Is this what an intercourse-induced orgasm feels like?" a) who thinks like that, even in modern times? b) who thinks like that in the 1950s when there was jack and shit for sex ed, c)like she knows what a clitoral (er, "pearl") orgasm is like, either, with Wickham being her one cold, dispassionate lay; c2)if she's so put off by the Wickham Experience, and also it's the 50s, why is she almost-masturbating? And if she really isn't masturbating, then again, back to point C1. In another place I noted that Darcy's dialog sounded more like what someone might write, possibly in a letter... then I realized, duh, his dialog is being written: by the author. Ah. I guess at least he digging in to his posh linguistics?
May 16, 2018
1952 New York and Elizabeth Bennet, private eye, is continuing her search for George Wickham. Convinced that he has killed her best friend Mary King. But her case coincides with Fitzwilliam Darcy's investigation, and his sister.
A really enjoyable, well-written story which I would have enjoyed even without the Austen connections
A really enjoyable, well-written story which I would have enjoyed even without the Austen connections
March 31, 2024
I've read most of this author's works but I felt as if something is lacking in this. The background, characters, intrigue, lingo and the heat were all there but the story felt sort of rushed especially Darcy and Elizabeth's romance. It felt more like list than love. Also, the story was missing substantiality, like its all frills and no fabric. But kudos for tying up all loose ends.
January 4, 2017
Steamy...Sultry...Sexy those three words sum up this provoctive take on Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy! Have you ever seen a film noir? Think of 'Casablanca' but put yourself in New York City during the early 1950's. Seedy nightclubs, the smell of cigarettes and men and women dressed to kill in outfits that are now considered vintage. Listen as you hear the music and voices mingle and the ice clinking in cocktails...gin and tonic anyone? Now picture our obstinate headstrong girl out investigating the disappearance of her best friend Mary King and the slimy sleazeball Wickham aka Slick Wick. Oh this babe is one hot firecracker with a decided edge that leaves men drooling. Now picture the wealthy arrogant and rather staid Fitzwilliam Darcy entering this nightclub but sticking to the shadows. He too is after Slick Wick and then he notices the sultry babe hiding in the shadows as well. He doesn't stand a chance.
So step back in time to the start of the Cold War with Russia, where espionage abounds and Elizabeth and Darcy collide igniting sparks and saving their sisters! Absolutely fabulous!
So step back in time to the start of the Cold War with Russia, where espionage abounds and Elizabeth and Darcy collide igniting sparks and saving their sisters! Absolutely fabulous!
April 22, 2016
Forget Bogey and Bacall. Cat Gardiner's Darcy and Bennet have chemistry that will make anyone need a fan and a long cool drink of water. Undercover is riveting reading that had me completely sucked into the moment and the action. It's fantastic. The story is funny and steamy and sexy and wonderful. I am so glad that she was dared to try writing in this genre because she knocked it out of the park! The sexual tension between Darcy and Bennet is phenomenal. And, while there is a bit of spiciness, it is appropriate for the story and the time period. More than anything else, though, is the evocatively descriptive language that will swirl around in your imagination like the smoke in a great B&W film noir. There are twists and turns, action and adventure and surprises awaiting you. I will definitely be reading this again.
August 26, 2016
The heat between Darcy and Eli in Undercover will sizzle before readers’ eyes, and these characters are hot to trot. Gardiner’s novel is fun, dark, and full of mystery, but it also provides a glimpse into what Darcy and Elizabeth’s romance would have been like in more modern days, especially after women gained a modicum of independence following WWII and were eager to remain in the workforce.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2016/05/u...
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2016/05/u...
July 23, 2016
[oprah voice] you get a bastard child of George Wickham! And you get a bastard child of George Wickham! Everyone gets a bastard chil-
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2019
Undercover-An Austen Noir
Brilliant. Romantic. Funny. What a gem. I loved every but of it. This so reminds me of Bogie & Bacall. Darcy and Elizabeth, are a natural to take up the mantel, where they left off. If you're old enough, think "Key Largo, The Maltisse Falcon", and so many more wonderful film noir classic movies. The dialogue, that 1940's and 50's slang, truly puts you right in the mood of smoky nightclubs and private-eyes.
This book is for young and old alike, and I highly recommend it.
Brilliant. Romantic. Funny. What a gem. I loved every but of it. This so reminds me of Bogie & Bacall. Darcy and Elizabeth, are a natural to take up the mantel, where they left off. If you're old enough, think "Key Largo, The Maltisse Falcon", and so many more wonderful film noir classic movies. The dialogue, that 1940's and 50's slang, truly puts you right in the mood of smoky nightclubs and private-eyes.
This book is for young and old alike, and I highly recommend it.
October 8, 2017
the weirdest remake of pride and prejudice ever!!!! But not bad, just weird
November 25, 2017
I’m so glad I read this...
Awesome writing and plot! I was totally sucked in. I can’t wait to read more of her work. It was a fun ride.
Awesome writing and plot! I was totally sucked in. I can’t wait to read more of her work. It was a fun ride.
March 19, 2017
While emotive and very in keeping with Jane Austen's characters, this book also kept me on my toes with mystery, intrigue, twists and turns galore! I highly recommend this book.
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