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 …
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.
I mean, the title alone! 🍿 Lead characters from Northanger Abbey, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Pride and Prejudice are suspects in the titular crime. I’ve read all of Austen’s novels, and have the usual favorites, but I enjoyed the extensions of these characters’ stories (purists beware); even the unhappy ones. A new crime-solving duo must navigate decorum to find the killer. De-fucking-lightful.
I've yet to meet writer who even comes close to the funny, sarcastic, incredibly clever writing of Jane Austen and that includes Claudia Gray. So don't go into this book expecting Austen's turn of phrase; alas, she's dead and gone and I don't think anyone will ever match her. However! If you love all her characters you may enjoy this book just to imagine them existing for a little longer, not to mention interacting with each other. While they are all slightly different ages (the author has a foreword in which she explains how she estimated their probable relative ages), all the major characters from all her books somehow end up as house guests of the Knightleys. When Mr. Wickham turns up unexpectedly to the house party and is forced to stay due to a storm, it turns out that almost all those present have reason to hate him for …
I've yet to meet writer who even comes close to the funny, sarcastic, incredibly clever writing of Jane Austen and that includes Claudia Gray. So don't go into this book expecting Austen's turn of phrase; alas, she's dead and gone and I don't think anyone will ever match her. However! If you love all her characters you may enjoy this book just to imagine them existing for a little longer, not to mention interacting with each other. While they are all slightly different ages (the author has a foreword in which she explains how she estimated their probable relative ages), all the major characters from all her books somehow end up as house guests of the Knightleys. When Mr. Wickham turns up unexpectedly to the house party and is forced to stay due to a storm, it turns out that almost all those present have reason to hate him for some reason or another. And, of course, when Mr. Wickham turns up dead, the book becomes a murder mystery investigation that is not only enjoyable for its own sake, but allows the author to share with us what she imagines each of the characters may have been up to since the Austen novels ended.
While most of the characters are directly from Austen, Gray introduces two new characters who act as the primary investigators: Julia Tilney (daughter of the Tilneys from Northanger Abbey), and Jonathan Darcy (eldest son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy). As Julia had never met or heard of Wickham, and Jonathan had an alibi, they take the opportunity to work together to investigate more deeply. And, of course, as they are roughly of the same age and Jonathan is now one of the most eligible bachelors in England, there's plenty of opportunity for understandings and misunderstandings along the way.
A couple of interesting choices the author makes in addition; Jonathan is pretty clearly presented as neurodivergent to some degree, likely autistic; while one of the other characters discovers their brother is homosexual and has to decide how to reconcile that with existing morals and Christian values. Overall, a fun romp through a murder mystery party with characters you know and love, which feels like hanging out with old friends.
