The Murder of Mr. Wickham

Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #1

by Claudia Gray

A summer house party turns into a whodunit when Mr. Wickham, one of literature’s most notorious villains, meets a sudden and suspicious end in this mystery featuring Jane Austen’s leading literary characters.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a house party, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. The unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Romance

386 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2022

About the author

Claudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.

I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a reader who has fantasized million ways of dancing on George Wickham’s grave who might be the wickedest character of entire Austen novels, I’m sold from the beginning when I read the murder mystery blurb! And you know what before I started reading, I hoped the killer could get away with it! ( evil laugh of voracious reader)

The idea of bringing together the famous Austen characters in chronological order of their stories, turning them into murder suspects is brilliant! Only problem about the book is slowness! Some chapters were a little flat and eventless. I wished the execution could be more riveting and capturing! But at least the ending was not rushed and satisfying enough, including bonus parts explaining directions of some characters’ stories!

The story takes place in the very famous Regency Period! Knightleys ( true proof of opposite attract may result with HEA) throws a house party: some matchmaking, high quality of drinks, food, socializing which may last at least one month! But when an invited guest makes thundering appearance announced, poor Knightleys grit their teeth, welcoming him with unopened hands ( probably they had a big urge to salute him with middle fingers) You can guess who came to dinner, can’t you?

And then the very famous wicked man is found death! Of course each of the guests has motives to get rid of that scumbag! Only two people who provide rock solid alibis are Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, teaming up to solve this mystery. But this investigation has its own challenges: two people from opposite sexes to be in the same room alone might be the scandalous action in the Regency area. So this partnership will be more challenging than they expected!

Overall: I found the pacing a little bumpy but bringing those memorable characters and put them into a claustrophobic whodunnit mystery is uniquely brilliant idea which made me round up 3.5 stars to 4 murder mystery, go to hell Mr. Wickham- nobody will miss you stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

If anyone deserves to be murdered it is Mr. Wickham. He is one of Jane Austen's most foul villains. I dived into this murder mystery with glee and delight to revel in his comeuppance, but soon found myself in a tedious slog. It started out fun, but the author, Claudia Gray, included most of Austen's main book characters in this story, which were too many to keep track of.

I have reread all six of Austen's novels many times and even I had trouble remembering who was who and in what stage of their married life they were. Also, Claudia Gray invented new offspring and even new "natural" children (illegitimate) for side characters. Of all of Jane Austen's voices, the character of Edmund Bertram was least understood by Ms.Gray or in his middle age Edmund has become a self righteous prig.

All in all, the beginning and ending aren't bad, but the middle was slow and tortured.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudia Gray had a great idea when she decided to bring together the various main characters of all Jane Austen’s books. There’s Emma and George Knightley, Elizabeth and Darcy, the Wentworths, the Bertrams, Colonel and Marianne Brandon. She puts the story at the end of the chronology of the stories, so some of the couples have aged a tad. The Knightleys, for example, have now been wed 16 years, the Darcys, 22. She does a nice job of summarizing the backgrounds of the characters, so even non-Austen enthusiasts can enjoy this.
The plot encompasses a Christie style closed room Murder mystery. And the victim? The horrible Mr. Wickham. The joy of Regency stories is the strict code of manners and what is considered “proper”. Gray smartly uses the younger generation to try to discern the difference between manners and morality. She gets the language right, but wasn’t as successful in always keeping the characters true to the age. And one of the supposed motives really rang false. no man would ever have confessed to being in love with another man to his sister, especially in a letter
Gray’s plot gives almost everyone a motive. The two young people, Jonathan and Juliet, are the only two without a motive or opportunity and decide to play detective when the magistrate seems not up to the task of considering the upper classes capable of murder.
Austen, of course, was well known for her humor. Gray has little chance to show any here, but when she does, it rings true to the Austen style. She also throws up multiple red herrings and I will admit to having no clue who was the murderer. I found myself actually worrying that it not be any of the characters I truly loved from their original stories.
I also give credit to Gray for making each of the characters come across as real. All of the married couples have issues that flare up given the stress of the situation. Even the characters I initially found stiff were given a chance to show their humility.
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for an advance copy of this book.

[Mary Robinette Kowal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that you felt was written specifically for you? The Murder of Mr. Wickham is everything I wanted it to be -- a cozy murder mystery, with my favorite Jane Austen characters, and a delightful romance.

Also, on a technical front, Claudia Gray did her research on the Regency and it shows with beautiful attention to historic detail. It kept me up late reading and guessing whodunnit.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started off enjoying this one. Gray explained how all of the characters from the different novels were connected and intertwined in a very smooth fashion, she deserves kudos for that as that doesn't seem like an easy feat. At the start, it felt very nice to be in this world again.

I think my issue with this is that even though it's obvious that Gray knows Austen quite well, her characterizations felt off, and then characters were being switched between so often that it made me think about how the only reason why I have any attachment to these characters is because I'm already attached to them. At times it felt more like a wink wink nudge nudge see how well I know Austen?? than an actual story with actual characters. And yet, there was a complete lack of understanding of the social mores of the time. It felt strange that these characters would speak so openly about their dislike of Wickham in like dinner level settings, just a complete lack of etiquette here.

Funnily enough, Mansfield Park is my least favorite Austen book and thus is the book I've read the least and the one I know the least, but Fanny's characterization was actually the one that bothered me the most. Fanny has a strong sense of what is right and wrong and observes how other people behave in that, but I don't recall her being so harsh and being all "these are all SINNERS!!" and so judgmental which is the vibe she has here. Fanny had a kind heart and nature and I don't think she'd deem any of the characters here as worthy of censure the way that they were shown here. Actually, in general Fanny and Edmund gave me a very Southern United States Super Christian vibe which just didn't feel right. Religion plays a part in Austen's work but it's more subtle than portrayed here.

Also, it's weird how this book is all about the Cozy Mystery setting yet she has some of the characters end up in some very heavy places. For much of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy were recovering from a traumatic loss and their marriage was on the rocks due to it. I know some of the heaviness of the storylines in general was to make it clear why so many parties would have a grudge against Wickham, but it made it hard to clearly define what genre this book falls into.

The last thing I have to say is that it felt like such a missed opportunity to not include Henry and Catherine and to instead basically use their daughter as proxy, considering that Northanger Abbey was a tongue-in-cheek "mystery" novel and it would have been so fun to see their take on this.

That's not to say this novel wasn't without its wit or that it wasn't fun to see how some of the characters ended up, but Gray's interpretation of the characters in general is very different from mine.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jane Austen's characters are off enjoying their happily ever after when a house party hosted by the Knightleys turns deadly. No one had a reason to like Mr. Wickham; most had a reason to kill him. But whodunit?
PSYCH.
You thought this was a cozy mystery? No. This is an agonizingly long, boring story of marital unrest that does most of Austen's characters dirty and then hits you with an anticlimactic, boring conclusion when the story can't draw out any longer.
Harsh? Maybe a little. But seriously, I wouldn't recommend this one for mystery lovers or Austen lovers.
And then it had the AUDACITY to throw in DISCUSSION QUESTIONS at the end.
Is there anything more pointless than discussion questions for a book like this?
But anyway, I'll spare you a book club trip and tell you what I think:

1.The Murder of Mr. Wickham features most of the principal characters from Jane Austen's novels continuing their life stories after the original books. Which of the characters' "futures" felt most believable? Most interesting? Did any of these futures ring false for you and if so, why?

The best characters in this book were the ones who weren't original to Austen: Juliet Tilney (daughter of Henry and Catherine Tilney) and Jonathan Darcy (son of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy.) The only one whose future I appreciated was Mary Bennet (who appeared by letter in one scene) and the Tilneys (who appear in no scenes.)

I was thoroughly sick of everyone else within minutes of meeting them. The Darcys are barely speaking; the Wentworths keep having pointless arguments about who has more pride; Colonel Brandon and Marianne are newlyweds with a never-ending list of misunderstandings; the Knightleys were okay but with a big secret that gets revealed and disrupts their marital happiness; and the BERTRAMS. I have never had the slightest desire to think about Fanny and Edmund's sex life. Thanks for that image.

But also I think the author just must hate Fanny and Edmund Bertram because they're just miserable people and their character growth is VERY unlikely for Regency England. I also for the life of me don't know what the motivation was for Fanny's brother to write what he did to his sister. That's a conversation for in-person or not at all if the very putting it on paper could result in death. The pointlessness of all that drama...it boggles my mind.

2. Today, Jonathan Darcy would probably be understood as neurodivergent. How do the Regency-era characters—including Jonathan himself—understand him? In what ways do the differences between Jonathan's time and our own make his life harder, or perhaps easier?

As mentioned before, I thought Jonathan Darcy was one of the few decent parts of this plot and his autistic behavior added a dimension to his character. But this question is nonsense. Of course the Regency-era characters don't understand it the way we would. But in my opinion, they don't understand it the way people in the Regency era would either because they sound a lot like modern audiences.

In fact, besides Jonathan's flashbacks, no one really treats him differently at the house party.

But actually, that leads me to the most annoying part of this book: the point of views. There are too many of them. Every character gets a POV. It is spastic and irritating and highlights all the marital unrest because we see into EVERYONE'S head. At one point it randomly snaps third person for a paragraph and while I thought that dumb, it highlighted what I had been thinking the whole book. This would have been much better if in third person. We didn't need to experience everyone's emotions. We didn't need an up-close and personal snapshot of Jonathan's school days or rehashing of other characters' stories.

3. Mr. Wickham deeply resents the other characters—above all, the Darcys. What do you think lies at the core of his resentment?

Well, see, there is this book called Pride and Prejudice...

There are 10 of these questions and many of them involve spoilers so I won't go on. But if you ever want to hash out why these are dumb questions that are either too basic or too broad, let me know. I will probably forget it quickly because despite being annoying, it wasn't very engaging.

There was potential here, though. Enough that if the author wrote a book killing Mr. Willoughby...I'd be tempted to read it. Maybe.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Murder Of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray is part murder mystery, part historical fiction being set in the time of 1820 Emma Woodhouse & George Wickham are polarising opposites but they marry, both are filthy rich & live in style to which they are accustomed.


They both hold the party of the summer which include distant relatives & friends everything is going famously until George meets an untimely death … he wasn’t,t the nicest of people the suspects are everyone at the 🥳 party who did it? that’s the big question?


This was originally a Jane Austin book setting her beloved leading characters this was well narrated but I am not sure if this was my type of novel still thinking about that but for those who love a good who done it this could be for you 4 stars for the plot & writing was superb.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biggest issue I had with this book was plot pacing - the middle seemed to really drag. That said, this was fun! We get to see all our beloved Austen characters along with the "next gen," and the character work overall along with the setting was very enjoyable. It was also very satisfying seeing Wickham be the victim of the crime given what a POS he is, so... enjoy the schadenfreude there :)

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi, so I haven’t actually read any Jane Austen books (don’t ask me why), but I do read a lot of retellings of Jane Austen books (again, don’t ask me why), and my ignorance usually doesn’t come as a detriment to the enjoyment of my reading experience. You probably know where this is going, but for this book, I really got the sense that I needed to have read some of the originals in order to enjoy this bad boy. I mean, or at least feel like I wasn't missing important context. Mr. Wickham’s introduction had me feeling the same way I do when Marvel characters are introduced, where it's just some guy who arrives through the door, says something witty, and pauses for the audience to scream and cheer. Well, there were crickets from my end, I'll tell you that much. Because with this book, I did the exact same thing I always do when I watch those Marvel flicks; check Wikipedia to understand why I should be excited. Huh, that's why! Who would have thought?

I did enjoy the writing style, it was very dramatic, very wordy, and very flowery, just what I expect in this type of setting. There may be too many narrators though, I think every character gets a word in edgewise, and it's like, do we really need this guy's opinion!? And then with the pov switching multiple times a chapter, sheesh it’s really hard not to get some kind of narrative whiplash. Besides, I’ve never been a big fan of several pov’s in mysteries, because it usually only makes the whole thing less mysterious because we're given too much context.

Also, it doesn’t even become a murder mystery until about 30% in, which wouldn’t be an issue if the book really ramped up afterword, but it instead moved at the same glaciers pace that it had already been moving. You’d think a murder mystery where a bunch of people are stuck in the same house for a month and one of them is a killer wouldn’t be such a chore to read through, but here we are.

I mostly continued reading because I was curious as to which one of these beloved characters would turn out to be a murderer, and how it would be justified. And I can honestly say that the reveal was… alright. I don’t know, maybe I’ll do a re-read when I’ve read a couple Jane Austen books (this is a lie, I won’t).

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
It's a lovely summer party when suddenly the ill liked Mr Wickham appears unannounced and unwelcome to the gala. He is the held in scorn because of his latest financial doings which left many poorer with all lost.

However, the gracious Victorians of Jane Austen fame are cool but austere around him as he invites himself and winds up staying in the home of Emma and Mr Nightly. He also winds up dead, and it seems that one of the house guests is a murderer.

Everyone is a suspect and the two youngest people at the party, Juliet Tilney, daughter of Catherine and Henry owners of Northanger Abbey and Jonathan Darcy son of the Darcys are on the trail compiling clues and meeting in secret with notes passed and endeavoring to follow the set rules of Victorian Age as best they can. They originally have a bit of dislike for one another but that does change as they race to save an innocent man from the gallows.

True to the Austen way, Claudia Gray makes the characters come alive with a lovely nod to Agatha Christi and her closed door mystery aura. The only issue had with the story was the slowness of the middle of the story, but all in all it was fun getting together with some old Austen friends while also getting rid of the vile Mr Wickham. A win win indeed!

Thank you to Claudia Gray, Vintage, and NetGalley for a copy of this book due out May 3, 2022.

[ʚ Aileen ɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I will say only this,” she finally answered. “I believe that the smallest hatred is a greater sin than the most misguided love.”

This book was perfect. I don't know how else to describe it.

---------------------------------------

A murder mystery featuring Jane Austen’s leading literary characters? Say no more!

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read - great fun for Austen fans.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I begin my review I would just like to say that the premise of this book is ridiculous. There is no way that Darcy would not have used his money, influence, and resources to get Wickham taken care of years prior. It would have cost Darcy less than 500 pounds to have someone stab him in a pub brawl or have a general put him on the front lines.

But let's suppose that I'm being influenced by House of Dragons or Yellowstone and that Darcy wouldn't do what any other powerful man in his position would.

A cross-over of this size with so many different timelines is an insane undertaking. As someone who listened to the audiobook, a pdf with a chart of everyone's ages and relations would have been appreciated. It was hard to keep things straight.

The characters mostly felt unfamiliar. Waterdowned versions of the originals. Emma was never as smart as Lizzie Bennet, but in this she was written as basic and dumb.

The amount of secrets all the married couples kept from each other was odd. I just don't believe George Knightley would keep significant financial decisions away from Emma.

Honestly, I don't think there's any way the author could have written this in a way that would have pleased me, so I'm giving it 3 stars as I might be the jerk in this situation.

[Ellery Adams]

I'll definitely read the next book in the series because I fell in love with Jonathan Darcy, son of Fitzwilliam and Lizzie. It was refreshing to come across a neurodiverse character in a Regency setting and Ms. Gray's empathetic portrayal made him most endearing.

I can't say the same for my beloved Frederick Wentworth. He was a short-tempered, mulish prig with almost no obvious remnant of the man who'd written literature's finest love letter. I wish he'd received gentler treatment. Darcy was also very gruff but showed glimmers of his Pride and Prejudice self.

At times, the characters' behavior didn't fit with how those in their class would behave in public (couples arguing loudly or showing physical affection just wasn't done), but I understood that these scenes were necessary for the investigation. Wickham progressed from a cad to a veritable demon. Some of the plot reminded me of P.D. James's Death Comes to Pemberly, but I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Murder’ and ‘Wickham’ in the same title makes any Jane Austen lover worth their salt sit up and take notice. Now, add that with an author name long associated with young adult sci-fi and fantasy, and that makes Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham well-nigh irresistible.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham is both a historical mystery and pays homage as a sequel to not one, but all Miss Jane Austen’s completed six novels. There are multiple points of views to tantalize fans of Austen’s revered couples, but the spotlight is on two author original characters representing the next generation determined to get to the bottom of matters.

An Invitation to Donwell Abbey
“This is not like Northanger, Juliet thought, excitement mounting as her carriage drew closer to the great house where she was to spend the next few weeks.” Loc 308
Young, vibrant Juliet Tilney arrives fresh-faced and eager for her first adventure away from home. Egged on by a novel-writing mother who experienced her own first time traveling at Juliet’s age and a cautious practical-minded father, she is determined to make the most of the adventure while not disappointing her parents.

Emma Knightley is pleased to receive her husband’s distant cousin and his wife, Edmund and Fanny Bertram. The Wentworths were invited to stay while repairs are made on Emma’s former home, Hartfield, which they are leasing. Emma is curious to meet her husband’s old friend from university, Fitzwilliam Darcy, along with his wife and oldest son. The recently wed, Colonel and Marianne are a study in contrasts. Her husband doesn’t miss the fact that she slipped in a young lady when she learned the Darcys were bringing their son. Matchmaking again, Emma? Donwell Abbey is full of guests and she anticipates a successful country house party until the party sits down to dinner.
“Certain mishaps befall every dinner party. Gravy is spilled, seating arrangements prove awkward. An adept hostess, and congenial guests, can smooth away such small imperfections and allow the party to proceed pleasantly. There was no smoothing over the sudden appearance of Mr. Wickham.” Loc. 588

A Murderer in Their Midst
Juliet and Jonathan both sense from the beginning that the house party will not be an easy one. For one thing, all the guests are caught up in personal drama of their own. That is nothing to the appearance of Mr. Wickham with his smirks and nasty behavior and threats. When a storm prolongs his stay, matters come to a boiling point leading to Juliet’s late night discovery of the murdered Mr. Wickham.
Beyond their own natural inclinations to discover the truth, both Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney realize early on that the magistrate, Mr. Frank Churchill, has preconceived ideas and justice is in jeopardy. They separately decide to get to the truth no matter to whom the trail leads.
“The moment in which politeness demanded that anyone else nearby withdraw to a point where they would not overhear, Jonathan didn’t move. Miss Tilney didn’t either… Juliet Tilney was as curious about the murder as he.” Loc 1535

Not So Happily Ever After
The Murder of Mr. Wickham starts slowly as the large cast of characters and their present situations are introduced. All Austen’s romantic pairs save Catherine and Henry Tilney are present and their marriage lives have not been a bed of roses once the blush of early love has settled into daily lives. And, this is a story of them as much as a mystery. The author masterfully provided the sad, bitter atmosphere their plaguing issues have on the gathering and the setting. The emotional tone carried weight and couples I loved were now disappointing me. I had to push through the first half especially the dragging moments and trust that the dreariness would be dispelled as people dealt with what lay between them in their respective marriages.

Emerging Detectives and Budding Feelings
Of course, the balance to all those grown up troubles was the optimism and sparkle of the amateur detecting team determined to get a solution.
Juliet Tilney is in her mother’s image in curiosity about people and wanting an adventure, but she is also very much her keen-witted paternal parent’s offspring, too. She is inexperienced, but applies herself to finding the evidence and paying attention to people’s actions and words without prejudice since she alone is impartial. She also experiences her first time attraction for someone unlike her and out of her sphere as she sees it.
Her partner in detecting, Jonathan Darcy, would likely be placed, in modern times, on the Autistic spectrum. He has endured through a disability that wasn’t known to exist in that time, but he is a fabulous fellow and after a poor first impression, Juliet thinks so too and gives him quite a boost of encouragement. He has never met her clear-eyed honesty and earnestness in any of the girls of fashion and much prefers Juliet.
“All his life, his habits had been a source of consternation to his parents. To others, they had been the cause of contempt. Jonathan’s ears still burned with some of the insults that had been hurled at him in school. Miss Tilney either would be bewildered or would laugh at him… “It is peculiar, of course,” Miss Tilney said, “but my mother has often told me that most people are really very, peculiar, once you get to know them. The only difference is in how well we hide our peculiarities.” Loc 1824

All’s Well That Ends Well
At the risk of giving anything away, I will at least share that readers needn’t be worried that the whole thing is doom and gloom- not even for the Bertrams who have the longest path to change of them all. The heaviness that permeated the earlier half of the book lifts as Austen’s couples work through their marital struggles and the relief is great when the murder is solved. The solution was a surprise and my heart was in my throat until the case was closed. Anyone could have done it and I appreciated this even as I was pulling a Frank Churchill and hoping a stranger did it.
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this one through the early chapters, but the book won me over. I was very taken with Juliet and Jonathan and was deeply impressed with the author’s sensitivity to Austen’s characters and their ongoing story. At first, I wasn’t sure about the portrayals, but the resolve came and I could nod with quiet approval. Well done, Ms. Gray.
While this will resonate best with those familiar with Austen’s novels, there is enough background for any reader to pick it up and appreciate a slow build old-style historical mystery.

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

GET REAQUIANTED WITH ALL YOUR AUSTEN FAVOURITES

After having just come home from an amazing vacation in England during which I got to visit Jane Austen's home in Chawton, this book felt like the perfect fit for me. I was delighted to revisit all of my favourite Austen characters (with a few notable exceptions) and see them all interact with one another. Undertaking a retelling of this scope (trying to tie in six novels) is a mammoth affair and for the most part I think Gray got away with it decently. But I did have some things that I was less fond of.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Revisit: The most impressive part of this book was how the author managed to tie together all six of Austen's novels. She combined them all in one universe and one narrative. And it felt pretty flawless. Some are related by blood, some by marriage and some by friendship of different degrees. But the characters combine really well. It was great to get to revisit all of them in one story, which was a sequel, prequel or retelling of any one of them. I've read other attempts at managing this feat which weren't quite as succesful, so Gray deserves a big pat on the shoulder for pulling it off.

Mystery: Normally I am not into cozy mysteries. I have tried several and usually I just feel bored. But that was not the case here. Sure, part of the explanation was probably that I simply loved getting back together with Austen's characters. But another reason was the actual mystery. Mr. Wickham - an Austen character we've probably all fantasized about hurting - is found murdered. And the murderer is one of our beloved characters. This made a huge impact for me, as I could not imagine any Austen character murdering someone else, not even Mr. Wickham. So I was invested from the beginning. The mystery and intrigue unfolded nicely and led to an exciting revelation at the end.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Fanny: If there is one Austen character I always feel like gets the short end of the stick it's Fanny Price (or Fanny Bertram, as she is of course known in this book). I have never understood the Fanny bashing. And in this book it was stronger than ever before. That was a real letdown for me. I could not recognize the Fanny that Gray portrayed here. As I saw it, this Fanny was a completely different character. In my opinion, Fanny is not meek, weak or submissive. Quite the contrary. She stands up for herself, she maintains her dignity and she is always, always kind. That's not the same as a sniveling, weeping mess. Fanny endured a horrible treatment by her cousins and aunt Norris, a women who was supposed to care for and nurture her. But she still managed to remain kind and sweet. That shows true strength of character. Something that Gray completely unraveled. It made me really sad to read.

POVs: There were simply too many POVs. It was bordering on confusing, switching from one to other and back again all the time. I felt like it would have been more conductive for the story if we had only been given the POVs of Jonathan and Juliet, the two original characters of the story.


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[El ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried so hard to like this. I've used up almost all of the days NetGalley so generously gives to read a book just trying to force myself to enjoy this. I even started reading it aloud to myself, accents and all, just in attempt to keep myself entertained. But this story was not for me, and I did eventually DNF it midway and skip to the ending.


CONS
• Lack of a unique voice. This work felt very derivative of Agatha Christie.
• Too many POVs. I think this ties into the author's influence, but the amount of POVs was too ambitious here. It was jarring and often boring to switch POVs every few paragraphs.
• Austen's characters fell extremely flat. I do not think they were done any great justice here. Wickham especially felt like a caricature, like his every waking breath was had only to scheme and be evil. It was over the top.
• It took slightly over a quarter of the novel for Wickham to even die. As the audience knows he will die just from the title of the book, it truly became a slog just to get to it. I was having a fine time for the first 15 percent but after that I was just begging for someone to kill the man and start the mystery already.

PROS...?
• The original characters were enjoyable. I liked their POVs far more than the other characters and think the story would have benefitted if told only from their POV (perhaps with the rare other character interspersed).
• The author did her best to create realistic depictions of things that could be troubling the Austen characters. Unfortunately for me, I don't care to have the HEA given to me in Austen's books taken away and replaced by rocky marriages, but I can respect the hustle.
• The writing is well done. Sometimes, stories set in other time periods can feel off or as if the author has not done any research.
• My initial theory for what happened to Wickham was wrong, and I usually dislike mysteries for figuring things out too quickly. Props.
• I don't think the book is terrible, but rather not for me. I am admittedly very picky, but I can see why people could enjoy this more than myself.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Wish I'd liked it more.

[h o l l i s · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing a slow painful death for Mr. Wickham, he of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and Austen infamy. And while this didn't quite deliver in that exacting way, he's still dead! Three cheers for that.

What also drew me to this title, vicious longing for murder aside, was the idea of all of Austen's famous couples gathered under one roof and subject to, essentially, a locked room mystery. Would they get along? Who would be the first suspect? Who would actually do it.. and why? I mean, we don't need a why but would there be a why we wouldn't see coming?

And, overall, this was good fun. I liked that Gray gave each couple very real conflicts, outside of the mystery, that did not seem fabricated and instead were likely issues that had plagued these characters or, due to circumstances, had caused certain issues to come to light. Each couple were in various stages of their HEA; some were long married, with grown children, some had only been married a few years, and others, only months. Each was a different perspective on their "what comes after" and each with their own concerns and issues. I really enjoyed it. Some, of course, more than others because we all have favourites.

Equally, we also see some secondary characters visit. Some we probably weren't fans of to begin with but, at least, none so loathsome as Wickham.

I never guessed the culprit or the motive, by the way. I was just along for the ride. But it was completely realistic and not remotely out of left field -- in case you are worried.

Gray is not a new or untried author to me, I've read much of her YA backlist, but this particular venture was a surprise. I have no idea if she's shifting to adult permanently, or even historical fiction in general, but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for what comes next.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think we can all agree that if you had to pick one Jane Austen character to off it would be Mr. Wickham. There is a whole cottage industry that has emerged where authors have taken the characters of the original Jane Austen novels and have spun whole new tales about them, set in the Regency Period all the way to modern times. I have likewise been intrigued by these characters and the "what if" their stories could become. Here author Claudia Gray has spun a house party hosted by the Knightley's where we get to see all our favorites and one of them may be guilty of murder. Her characterizations are spot on for me. I could hear their voices just as I had imagined them to be.

I'm not going to rehash the plot. But it is a feast for readers who love a diabolical villain and all the nuances that go with a Regency period book. We have Jane Austen's characters smashed up with an Agatha Christie "locked room" mystery or a game of Clue (the butler with a mace in the gallery). It is a delicious banquet that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My thanks to Vintage, Publisher, and Claudia Gray, author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This was not a fun read at all.

For starters, I was not a fan of the narrator. As far as I can recall, I have never listened to an audiobook performed by Billie Fulford-Brown. I assumed it would take me some time to become used to her style but, unfortunately, that was never the case. To put it simply, she is not a narrator for me and won’t ever be my first pick.

Now, as for the story itself, the pacing could have been a lot better. I mean A LOT. It dragged its feet too often than not, and sometimes I was left wondering if it was worth sticking it out. I’ve never been to a swamp, but I imagine this is what it’s like to trek through those murky, muddy waters. Each step forward is another zap of strength and energy.

And I feel so, so bad for Jane Austen and her characters. They deserve better than what Gray did to them here. Where Austen gave them life in her books, Gray sucked the life out of each and every one of them like a Dementor.

Needless to say, I hated this. Such a disappointment.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up, for this unique combination of a mystery & Austen fan fiction, with many characters in a sort of "locked room". And while I do n0t consider myself a "Janite", I have read all of Austen & "P&P" is one of my all time favs. But I had a real devil of a time trying to keep everyone straight in this, and often had to revert to the source material, especially at the start - it's a LOT of characters from six books set over 20 years. I did much better with it and enjoyed it when I gave up on that & just went with the flow. Recommend to all who love her work.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like Jane Austen fan fiction that brings familiar characters from her canon into a country house murder mystery. Unfortunately for readers hoping for domestic bliss among beloved characters, all the couples - Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Emma and Mr. Knightley, Fanny and Edmund Bertram, Marianne and Col. Brandon, Anne and Capt. Wentworth - are unhappy for a variety of reasons. Even before Mr. Wickham shows up dead!

Turns out the man can cause as much trouble dead as alive. Almost everyone in attendance has a reason to want Mr Wickham dead, and several people were out of their bedrooms on the night that Mr. Wickham meets his somewhat deserved end. Murder, it turns out, is hell on a house party.

Enter the youngest members of the party: Juliet Tilney, not as fanciful as her mother Catherine, but sharper and more inquisitive, and Jonathan Darcy, the socially awkward and neurodivergent eldest son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy. While the magistrate Frank Churchill bumbles about suspecting servants and vagrants, they get to work searching for clues and investigating their fellow guests. They know what the others won't admit: the murderer is one of them.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham reads easily, and I was entertained enough to keep flipping pages, but I'm not sure it's much more than that. Claudia Gray mimics Austen's pithy aphorisms and wit with limited success even though she tries to adopt Austen's language:

The duty of any proper young lady on such an occasion was to write her parents. Juliet might not always have fulfilled every one of propriety's many requirements, but this one she did not intend to neglect. Upon first awakening, on the morning after the killing, she turned to her task - but paused for a long while, pen in inkwell, unsure what next to write.

Few things are more disagreeable than being considered guilty of a sin of which one is innocent; the usual remedy, self-righteousness, was available to none, for varied reasons. Doubt had of course been resident within Donwell Abbey for some time, but at least within the house, all present had understood that Mr. Wickham's murder, however unchristian, was no great loss to society. No such comprehension had softened the judgment of Highbury.

It reads like fan fiction, including cultural ignorance (dipping a scone in clotted cream? for breakfast??), anachronistic attitudes toward death and homosexuality. Gray also has a very weird idea of how a chamber pot would break if bumped into a bed's metal foot, which is a major plot point. As a potter, I am skeptical that a sturdy item like a ceramic chamber pot would have broken from that kind of force. If Juliet had really bashed it into the metal foot, the whole thing would have cracked; it wouldn't have left a hole. Possibly I am the only person to be annoyed by this.

I admired how all the characters were incorporated into plausible relationships with each other and timelines, but what I *really* didn't like was what Gray turned these characters into. Captain Wentworth, a blustering, angry, caustic person who reads his wife's personal correspondence? Fanny Price, a fanatically religious woman who trembles and weeps incessantly, and Edmund Bertram, an insufferable prig? Elizabeth Bennet, noticeably drunk during a social evening? No thank you. There are little winks and nudges to past events in Austen's books, and the book is evidently intended as an affectionate homage, but I truly can't see Austen's characters in these variously horrible people. The only characters I liked were the new ones.

If you love Jane Austen's characters, going back to her works or some of the excellent film adaptations (1995 Persuasion!) might be a better bet than The Murder of Mr. Wickham, even though there's some satisfaction to seeing Wickham get his comeuppance. I must confess that my favorite scene is the one in which Mr. Knightley grows a tomato.

3 stars, probably wouldn't read a sequel.

[MAP · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4.

This novel takes characters from 5 different Jane Austen novels, shoves them into an ill-fated house party at the Knightley's house, and then gets a murder mystery rolling (the title may give you a slight clue as to the victim.) I have not read Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park, so those are the characters I have the least knowledge about.

I like Jane Austen but I'm not a huge fan like many people are so I didn't really pick up this book out of devotion to the characters. I really picked it up because I like Claudia Gray's writing style and I know enough about Jane Austen novels that I thought I could follow the plot, which I could. The mystery was good although it was pretty clear from the beginning (minor spoilers - nothing devastating) that no one was going to be a cold-hearted killer who was definitely going to get the death sentence for what they did because...well it's all populated with very popular Jane Austen characters, so the suspense was more in the who and how will their actions be justified.

I don't know that Gray did an AMAZING job at capturing the personalities of each of the characters, but as a casual reader she did a fine enough job, and I think pretty much anyone is happy to see Mr. Wickham get his comeuppance. I also thought she did a good job of laying out why the killer really could be anyone by setting up potential motives for all the characters, which should happen in every mystery novel but often doesn't.

So yeah not an excellent book but I read it in 3 days which means it was engaging enough I didn't want to put it down, bumping it up to that extra half star.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could remember who recommended this so I could stop respecting them

[bookstories_travels🪐 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 de puntuación en realidad.

Las ganas que tenía de leer este libro, y quizás por tener las expectativas tan altas me ha fallado un poco. Pero aún así, ha sido una lectura que he devorado y que me ha tenido bastante en vilo los casi tres días que me ha ocupado. Que es justo lo que buscaba de ella. Además, por supuesto, de las referencias a las novelas de una de mis escritoras favoritas. Jane Austen, misterio y muerte, gente rica inglesa, una pintoresca mansión de campo y un ambiente de regencia en el que la tensión va paulatinamente en aumento mientras las sospechas entorno a todos los personajes van también creciendo Qué más se puede pedir?

Cuando los señores Emma y George Knightley de Donwell Abbey se encuentran entre manos con muchos compromisos sociales, la mejor solución que se les ocurre es reunir a todos sus invitados en una fiesta en su casa de campo en donde hablan aparición la mayoría de los protagonistas de las novelas de Jane Austen. El que promete ser un mes tranquilo se ve irremediablemente amargado con la aparición sin invitación del señor George Wickham , que se ha ganado la enemistad de prácticamente todos los invitados por sus engaños financieros y su comportamiento egoísta y mezquino. Por eso, cuando el cuerpo sin vida de Wickham aparece en una de las galerías de la Abadía con claros signos de violencia, la tensión se instalara en el lugar definitivamente, pues cualquiera de los invitados y habitantes de la mansión, tiene sus motivos para haber cometido el asesinato. Los únicos libres de toda sospecha serán los dos invitados más jóvenes; Juliet, hija de Catherine y Henry Tilney, y Jonathan, el de primogénito del matrimonio Darcy. Ignorando las normas de conducta social y el peligro, Juliet y Jonathan se dispondrán a investigar un misterio del que cualquiera puede ser culpable.

¿Los personajes de Jane Austen todos juntos en una novela con una trama al más puro estilo Agatha Christie? Yo digo si a esta idea, aunque el resultado final no me haya acabado de convencer del todo. Sin duda alguna el punto fuerte de esta novela es la manera en que su autora, Claudia Gray, dos de las escritoras más leídas y queridas de la literatura universal e inglesa. El mismo principio ya promete, cuando Grey nos reencuentra con todos los personajes protagonistas de las novelas de Austen en el mismo punto en el que los dejó su autora original en una presentación al más puro estilo Christie. Por eso yo no recomendaría leer esta novela a nadie que anteriormente no hubiese leído las obras de Austen y que tenga ganas de hacerlo, ya que se va a comer muchísimos spoilers de las mismas. me parece muy importante advertirlo antes de que cualquiera se anime a esta obra. Además, independientemente de que quiera o no leer las novelas de Austen, os he dicho que la gracia está en reencontrarse con unos viejos conocidos, y de que quizás al principio tanto nombre y tanta explicación de las situaciones de los personajes puedan perderle un poco, algo que seguramente no pasa si ya vas prevenido en antemano y sabes dónde te vas a meter.

Y es que ese es el plato fuerte de esta historia: la idea de que nos reencontremos de nuevo con esos personajes enfrascados en un misterio detectivesco. Claudia Gray es lo suficientemente inteligente como para no intentar imitar el estilo de escritura y la pluma de Jane. Hay varios momentos en los que si se acerca y se parece a ella, pero por norma general la obra sigue su propia estilo narrativo. Es verdad que quizás una de las grandes fallas que he encontrado al libro es que habiendo tanto personaje, al final algunos quedan más eclipsados que otros. En ese sentido, me parece que el matrimonio Darcy y el coronel Brandon (al que se le da el nombre de pila de Cristopher , siguiendo a lo que ya se hizo en la adaptación cinematográfica de “Sentido y Sensibilidad” del año 1995, y que a día de hoy sigue siendo una de las mejores películas basadas en las novelas de Austen jamás filmadas ) son los que quedan más desdibujados . Y eso me da mucho rabia porque se encuentran entre mis personajes austenianos preferidos. De todas formas, la mayor parte del tiempo Gray es bastante sensata y respecta la naturaleza original y las personalidades que la autora original proporcionó a los caracteres surgidos de su pluma. En algunos casos, incluso, les desarrolla un poquito más que Austen, pero de una manera muy acorde, con lo que esta autora nos demostró en sus textos .La pluma de Gray es bastante directa y lineal, y el estilo narrativo de la autora suele ser bastante ameno, por lo que la novela se lee muy bien y rápido (aquí hay que hacer un inciso: una cosa saber “ “estilo “ narrativo y otra cosa es el “ritmo” que tenga el argumento. A eso iremos posteriormente). Quizás hay un momento después de las oportunas presentaciones de los principales agentes de esta trama en que todo se estanca un poco, pero rápidamente todo se reactiva “relativamente” ante la llegada de la muerte a Donwell Abbey. Además, da mucha importancia a las costumbres y a las normas sociales de la época de la regencia, dando algunas explicaciones sobre comportamientos sociales e insistiendo muchas veces en ellos, algo que Austen no se tomaba la molestia de hacer porque daba por hechos que sus lectores ya las conocían y no podía imaginarse que seguían siendo leídas muchos siglos después de su muerte. De todas formas, la novela que tenemos entre manos tiene muchos tintes actuales, algo inevitable en una obra que no busca ser más exactamente histórica de lo necesario y que está escrita por una autora del siglo XXI. De ahí que varias de sus protagonistas femeninas tengan mucho que decir a la situación de la mujer en esa época y tengan actitudes bastante modernas; que se tenga en más consideración a los criados; o que haya una crítica a la situación de los esclavos en las colonias británicas en la India.

Es gracias a todo esto que “El Asesinato del Señor Wickham” resulta una novela fresca, entretenida y que mantiene en vilo al lector. El que haya tantas posibles causas para que cualquiera de los personajes haya terminado con la vida de George Wickham (uno de los personajes más despreciados por los lectores de “Orgullo y Prejuicio”) y que el propio carácter haya dado motivos de sobra para ser asesinado, da mucho juego a lo largo de toda la historia, hace plausible que cualquiera haya podido cometer el crimen y mantiene la intriga hasta prácticamente el final de la novela. Además, hay que reconocerle a Gray que es muy difícil manejar una historia con tantos personajes, pero que la verdad es que todos ellos son importantes para lo que es la trama propiamente dicha. A lo largo de la cual los dos únicos personajes que sabemos que no han podido cometerlo se ven enfrascados en toda una odisea de búsqueda de pistas, escuchas a escondidas, cartas quemadas, armas homicidas escondidas a primera vista ,descubrimientos y giros de guion en los que las sospechas caerán sobre uno u u otro personaje. Juliet y Jonathan son creaciones originales de Claudia Grey. La primera es hija de la pareja principal de “La Abadia de Northanger” y el segundo, es el descendiente del emblemático y carismático matrimonio formado por Elizabeth y Fritzwilliam Darcy de “Orgullo y Prejuicio”. me ha parecido muy interesante la manera en que les trabaja a ambos la autora, ya que no solo les hace ser hijos de tal y cual, también les da a los dos biografías y situaciones familiares muy específicas y les proporciona unas personalidades bien definidas, a juego, con el hecho de que Gray ha hecho que la vida de los personajes de Austen hayan avanzado desde que esta autora cerró sus historias. Además, los dos son lo suficientemente diferentes para que los dos hagan un buen equipo. Por supuesto, entre ellos hay mucho interés y tensión amorosa, que también da mucha sal a la novela y con la que se juega a lo largo de la misma, si bien esta muchas veces queda opacada por lo que es el misterio propiamente dicho.

Todos estos ingredientes resultan muy interesantes, y en lo personal la mayor parte del tiempo me han convencido y han hecho que esta lectura me haya entretenido mucho. Lo que no quita para que lo que es el misterio principal me haya parecido en muchas ocasiones muy descafeinado y falto de auténtico interés. A “El Asesinato del Señor Wickham” le falta mucha acción en muchísimos tramos de su parte central porque la historia resulta bastante lenta y realmente tarda en despegar plenamente; el misterio muchas veces se siente que se va desentrañando de una manera que no resulta demasiado orgánica y que se siente que va a empellones, ya que muchas veces veces Juliet y Jonathan recogen pruebas o hacen descubrimientos por pura chiripa, por encontrarse en el lugar y el momento adecuados, por ponerse detrás de una puerta a escuchar en el momento más conveniente y por que dichas pistas parecen que les salen a su paso como champiñones en primavera. Y todo esto no rema a favor de un misterio que realmente es solo complicado por la cantidad de personajes que maneja, pero que en realidad es bastante sencillo y plano. A este le faltan giros que realmente impacten y descoloquen, que no se limiten a solo hacer avanzar la trama hacia la resolución del misterio, a su trama le falta más fuerza. Las comparaciones con las novelas de Agatha Christie están ahí, porque ya os he dicho que la forma en que se lleva el misterio se parece mucho o como lo hacía esta autora, e incluso en la propia sinopsis se vende el libro como una mezcla entre Austen y Christie. Pero donde la tía ágata llegaba y triunfaba, la señora Gray se queda a medio camino, se siente que la historia realmente no termina de despegar en ningún momento.

Poco más que decir respecto a esta novela. Si eres un enamorado de los libros y de los Personajes de Jane Austen y te gusta el cozy mystery (seamos sinceros, un misterio más turbulento no pega nada con esta autora) este libro es para ti. Entretiene, compensa mucho leerlo y es divertido ver cómo se desarrollan bajo una pluma actual unos personajes nacidos en una pluma y mente del siglo XVIII. Con el plus del amor que muchos lectores aún sienten por estos caracteres. La idea es buena, pero falla bastante la ejecución. También me parece interesante señalar que esta historia me ha recordado mucho a otra novela que pretende también ser una continuación de “Orgullo y Prejuicio” en clave criminal , “La Muerte Llega a Pemberly” de la famosa escritora de misterio P. D. James, un libro en el cual un crimen acaba con la tranquilidad de Pemberly. Aquí todo se centra y esta protagonizado solo por los personajes de “Orgullo y Prejuicio”, aunque hay alguna mención a otros personajes del resto de novelas austenianas. Personalmente, esta última novela no me emocionó, quizás porque anteriormente ya había visto la miniserie que la BBC hizo de ella y ya sabía de que iba a ir la cosa. el misterio me pareció incluso más aburrido y obvio que en la novela que nos ocupa en esta reseña, porque aquí por lo menos hasta casi el final no he visto quien podía ser el asesino y el vilo me tenía en ascuas. Pero bueno, si te gusta esta combinación Austen + misterio quizás este titulo te guste.

Por cierto, por lo que he visto “El Asesinato del Señor Wickham” es solo el primero de una serie que ya cuenta con tres entregas. Si las dos siguientes salen al mercado español traducidas creo que las leeré. Pero si no, el experimento me ha dejado con buen sabor de boca pero tampoco es que necesite más.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

johnathan darcy, you neurodivergent sweet angel … someone let that boy be alone with his special interests (piano, his fav book on the fall of the Roman Empire, and his future wife Juliet)

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short, spoiler-free version: Two thumbs up, very fun. Surprisingly angsty. Does justice to murder mysteries and to Jane Austen.

The longer, mostly spoiler-free version (spoils the premise and which characters are in the book from the Jane Austen canon): But where is Elinor?? I am disappointed that she only merits a couple of mentions in this book when we are in Marianne's POV, but maybe Claudia Gray just doesn't love her as much as I do. That's pretty easy to do, I guess, because I love her irrationally.

Anyway, what we have here is the Knightley's have invited people for a house party, and many familiar faces are attending: Mr. and Mrs. Darcy of Pemberley, along with their oldest son, Jonathan; Juliet Tilney, there on a first visit away from her home and family (daughter of Henry and Catherine from Northanger Abbey); Colonel and Mrs. Brandon, newly married (three months); Mr. and Mrs. Bertram (Fanny and Edmund from Mansfield Park), who in this book are cousins to Mr. Knightley on Edmund's side; and Captain and Mrs. Wentworth, who are tenants of the Knightley's, living in the old Woodhouse estate, Hartfield, which has recently suffered a collapsed staircase (due to negligence on the part of dearly departed Mr. Woodhouse) so they are staying in Donwell Abbey until renovations can be completed. Oh, and a surprise guest shows up: Mr. Wickham, who is unwelcome even by those few that don't know him. Unhappily, most people in the party do know him, and most people in the party have motive for murder, as it turns out. So when Wickham is found dead by Juliet Tilney, and investigation ensues and the house party turns into a bit of a nightmare for its guests. 

Claudia Gray makes the delightful decision to have Juliet and Jonathan be the main characters (though the other guests also have POVs and substantial character arcs as well), and due to certain circumstances, they agree between them that they are the only people who are for sure innocent of the crime, and together decide to form their own investigation in order to prevent the magistrate (Frank Churchill!!) from hanging an innocent servant. 

There was so much good and fun stuff packed into this book. I think even people who aren't familiar with Austen would enjoy it, but it was definitely written (with love) for people who are further along the Janeite spectrum. Beloved characters are shown later in life, and it was interesting (though not always happy) to see where she imagined all these characters ending up. Jonathan is also neurodivergent (most likely he is on the autism spectrum) and so it was really interesting to see how a neurodivergent person might have navigated life in Regency England. 

[4.5 stars]

Chipping Away at Mt. TBR, July 2022—Book 27/31

[Stefanie Foard · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I read a digital ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.

A Jane Austen whodunnit in the style of Agatha Christie? This is the book I never knew I needed, and I adored it!

[Kweeby · Rating 1 out of 5]

These characters are entirely devoid of all their good qualities, leaving behind overly exaggerated caricatures who only share the names of Austen’s characters. Elizabeth Bennet, probably the most likable main character ever written, is replaced with a bitter and depressed woman with no tact. Oh and her marriage isn’t going great, in fact none of Austen’s couples seem to be in good relationships, except maybe the couple in Northanger Abbey who are weirdly excluded from this book that claims it follows all Austen’s couples. Not that you want to follow these couples when they’re all this miserable. Mr. Wickham is, like everyone else, entirely different, and so evil it’s comical. He spends his sweet time not dying, I already completely hated the book and everyone in it by the time he was finally murdered. Then we’re lectured to about how cruel and horrible it is someone would murder Wickham, after being told repeatedly he’s the most wicked man ever. The Darcy’s and Tilney’s kids decide to investigate the murder so the wrong person doesn’t get hanged for it… Was I supposed to want them to catch one of my favorite Austen characters and sentence them to death by hanging? Maybe this is why she changed all the characters to be the absolute worst. I didn’t even bother trying to solve the murder because I knew there’d be some dumb twist to prevent any of the characters being a cold blooded murderer. The mystery itself couldn’t stand on its own, because it’s literally impossible to solve it with the meager clues you’re given, and it’s boring af to read.

If you like Jane Austen, you’ll hate what this book does to her characters, and if you haven’t read all her books you’ll struggle keeping track of the multitude of characters and you literally will not care about the mystery at all.

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 2024: in rereading before starting the ARC of book 3. I recently read Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Emma. That made reading this even more delightful than the first time!

May 2022: Those with a soft spot for Jane Austen’s work have a high bar for derivative works. This one is well done and stands the scrutiny of an Austen fan.

That being said, anyone who hasn’t read Austen or hasn’t read her books recently might find a Sparknotes review of the characters helpful in getting the most of out this book. I haven’t read Mansfield Park and did a quick review at the very beginning, which was enough to make me feel like I knew the characters and their backstories. There are a few little jokes or references that will make an Austen fan giggle, while flying past someone who doesn't know the stories. Those "easter eggs" won't change the story for a non-Janeite.

The writing style is of the Austen style. The pace for the first 250 pages is a bit slow, but the last ~100 fly as the investigation approaches a conclusion. I have to admit that I thought the reveal was a bit anticlimactic, but it made sense.

One of our leads is neurodivergent and the afterward mentions the author having a sensitivity reader. I found the narration by that character pretty charming and you can't help but root for that character as they investigate and deal with a bit of a love triangle.

The ground work was laid for a sequel. I’ll definitely be reading that!