Take two of my favorite authors and combine their beings into one book and voila... a magnificent book. This book had all the "who done it" feel of the great Agatha Christie mixed with all the characters I have come to love from Jane Austen, especially my favorite, Mr. Darcy. The story unfolds at a summer house party at the Knightley's house. Everyone is invited from all of Austen's books except for the party crasher, Mr. Wickham. When he shows up everyone is put on edge due to past secrets and his newest money scheme that has entrapped several. When Mr. Wickham turns up murdered, everyone has a motive. Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy set out to solve the case without getting caught. Along the way, if they developed feelings for each other, all the better. Even though I guessed who did it correctly early on, it still did not take anything away from this enjoyable story. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. 4 stars

The Murder of Mr. Wickham takes characters from all six of Austen's finished novels, tosses them together at a house party, and then introduces the universally hated Mr. Wickham, and his subsequent murder. Almost all of the characters have reason to hate Wickham, and the resulting investigation takes up the bulk of the story.

I liked the way that Gray spread out the events of the various novels so as to set the couples at various points in their marriages (she apparently took notes from Austen scholars on when each book would have actually occurred). This means that we have a wide range of ages and relationship stages--for example, the Darcys have been married for 22 years, whereas the Brandons have only been married a few months. All of the couples are suffering from some sort of divide, and the murder investigation serves to illuminate the issues between them and bring about confrontation. While it wasn't always fun to read about cracks in the relationships of much loved characters, the issues for the most part felt realistic and well thought out. Ultimately, all reach some sort of resolution (I have to admit though that I still don't really like Edmund and Fanny). The various motivations for murder are also well planned, and suit the characters.

My favorite part of the book was actually the two new characters, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney. Juliet has been invited to the house party by the Knightley's to allow her to expand her circle and see something outside of her home town. She is as inquisitive as her mother Catherine, but seems significantly less fanciful. Jonathan is the Darcys eldest, and is quite obviously autistic. He has great trouble interpreting social situations and has little in common with other young men his age. When the local magistrate seems to be headed in the wrong direction, Jonathan and Juliet decide to work together to identify the murderer.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and appreciated Claudia Gray's careful treatment of Austen's world and characters. I don't know if it's planned, but I would love to read a follow up about Jonathan and Juliet's growing relationship.

This book is as if Agatha Christie and Jane Austen collaborated on a book together. A reader who may not have read all of Jane Austen's books (such as myself) will still be able to enjoy this murder mystery. Obviously, fans of Pride and Prejudice will especially enjoy this book as the despicable Mr. Wickham from that book does not do well in this one.

The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters and left me guessing until the great reveal at the end. It is evident that much research went into this novel to get all of the characters voices' right and it gives much appreciation to the Jane Austen characters. I also appreciated the new characters that we created, specifically young Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney!

I would recommend this book for fans of Jane Austen as well as fans of murder mysteries. It was a fun journey through the details of the event as well as how one villain can affect so many characters. I also enjoyed that this book was written a couple of decades after Elizabeth and Darcy married. It gave light to long-lasting marriage and all of the highs and lows that come with it.

Trigger warning: there is a portion of a pair of the characters' storylines that has religious conflict and judgement in regards to a male relative's romantic relationship with another man that may trigger some readers.

Please note: an electronic Advanced Reader Copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

#TheMurderofMrWickham #NetGalley

Ms. Gray takes her love of Jane Austen’s characters and weaves them into a murder mystery at a house party where many of the characters have come together. This is a clever and fun whodunnit that Austen fans will enjoy.

It took me forever to get into this book and it never really took off for me, mostly because I haven’t read many of Jane Austen’s works. The characters just came off weird for the ones I had read. But overall not too poorly done.

How come the two youngsters of this house party play detective? Well, justice is the answer but I am not going to say what that means. Yes, Jonathan Darcy is “worst” than his father when he was younger. However, it is great to get to read his thoughts, as the thoughts of many other characters.

I have liked how the story and the discoveries have gone, however, the magistrate was quite lacking on discernment. To be honest, in the book, his role has been described as more of a on paper job as there was not need to do much until this event, but it was still lacking. You may be surprised to know who he is.

The couples (the Darcys, the Brandons, the Knightleys, the Bertrams and the Wentworths) all have their own problems before the murder, however, these problems may be accentuated after the murder. These issues are very different from couple to couple.

The epilogue is something that I have enjoyed, I would have just hoped to have a bit more about some people… two of them specifically and know what more happened to them.

Shoutout to Claudia Gray for writing this fun twist on some classics! I really like the characters and how she developed the story!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

This book was just okay. The main characters were interesting and I enjoyed the plot, but the pacing felt too slow and there were too many characters to keep track of in my head.

Based on the works of Jane Austen, this book brings together characters from many of Austen’s most famous novels for a house party hosted by the Knightleys. However, shortly after the party begins, George Wickham shows up uninvited and unwelcome. The night after his arrival, though, he is killed. The murderer is a member of the party, but they do not come forward. The magistrate of the town does not seem to be handling the investigation as some believe he should, so the two youngest members of the party take it upon themselves to conduct their own investigation. Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy are the only two who can be proven innocent, and they quickly become friends and decide to quietly investigate the murder themselves.

Jonathan and Juliet were my favorite characters in this book, and their relationship was the highlight and most interesting component of the story to me. Jonathan was clearly neurodivergent, but was so intelligent and funny in a very understated way. Juliet was clever and resourceful, and was emotionally intelligent in her relationships with the others in a way that I really enjoyed and respected.

It took me a long time to get through this book. I didn’t exactly dislike it, I just didn’t really feel any particular way about it. I wasn’t invested in it. It felt like it moved very slowly, taking its time to meander through the different perspectives and pleasantries. In a book about a murder, that just didn’t keep me hooked. I also felt like there were too many different characters. It felt like they were not all necessary, and despite how slowly the plot moved, I couldn’t really keep up with what was going on with each character or couple.

I read this book because of how much I love the author, but it wasn’t her best work. A Thousand Pieces of You is easily one of my favorite series of all time, so I was interested to read something so different in genre from the same author. I love the characters that Claudia Gray creates, but this book just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Knopf Doubleday for sending me this book for review!

Fans of Jane Austen novels will love to meet their favorite characters once more in this historical mystery. Several characters from Austen's best selling works are interwoven together in this classic "whodunit." Set in a close space with a victim we all know and despise, author Claudia Gray writes a fun novel with multiple red herrings. I was not able to figure out who did it until it was revealed. While parts of the novel, particularly in the middle, dragged on, I appreciated Gray's attention to detail in making the book's characters relatable. I felt the struggles and emotions the house party's guests went through. The creative license to add to individual's backstories was interesting to read and imagine. Overall, I enjoyed this very much! It is a novel you would love to cozy up with next to the fireplace, to be whisked away to another time.

This book is a gem that I could have very easily have missed. The cover is a little bit cartoonish and tends away from the time period. BUT fans of Austen will rejoice! There are so many references to every single Austen book (except probably the unfinished <i>Sanditon</i>?). The author admits to fudging with the timelines of each Austen book to make all the characters match up in time correctly, but she brings them all together in one place to deal with the deplorable Mr. Wickham. I admit that I didn't think him as awful as this book portrays him to be from his appearance in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, but I wasn't a fan of him either. I've only read three of Austen's books, so my knowledge of a few of the characters and their backstory was lacking, but P&P is my favorite and that is the one with the most inside jokes referenced. The author did excellent blending the characters together. It is a slow-paced book and mystery, so don't expect anything comparable to a book with a more contemporary/modern setting, but it works for this time period, the characters, and the nod to Austen. There is a strong Christian theme with the Bertram characters (from <i>Mansfield Park</i>, one of the books I haven't read) with also some LGBTQ+ issues, which I thought were very well presented for what the thinking of that time period would have been and also in relation to the Christian characters as well. It's a small part of the story line and I was surprised it was included in this time period and an Austen novel at all, but, again, I thought it was handled very well. Again, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this play on Austen's works and what the characters' lives would be like after her books and if they all knew one another. A very entertaining read, slow-moving but full of wit, excellent writing, scene setting, character building, and more!

Content: Clean, no language, LGBTQ+ issues in a Regency/Georgian time period

Murder mystery featuring characters from Jane Austen's books. The Knightly's decide to throw a house party, invite couples, and on the first evening, during a rainstorm, Mr. Wickham shows up, uninvited. Many are not happy about this turn of events as secrets come to light. When he turns up dead, the police are basically useless in finding the killer. Fortunately, two teenagers, there with their parents, come to the rescue!
A classic "locked room" mystery with a diverse cast of characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Murder of Mr. Wickham.”

I love a good murder mystery. While reading/listening to this book, it gave me major Clue vibes. Regardless, for any Jane Austen die hard fan, this book is for you!

Just imagine all of her characters merged into one novel, allowing them to converse and interact with each other. You get that with this book. You follow the characters on a journey to find out who murdered Mr. Wickham and who they shouldn’t trust within the group.

Claudia Gray did a phenomenal job with the writing and i can’t wait to see what others thoughts are regarding this book.

I loved this! I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and will pick up most any Pride and Prejudice adaptation, so I was excited to see this book. It was a good mystery and I loved being with some of my favorite fictional characters. I enjoyed the Lizzy and Darcy aspect of the story. I really loved Jonathan Darcy and Juliette Tilney. I wish there had been a little more about their relationship.

My Thoughts:

I first want to state this is a splendid book!
Further, it is a busy book-busy with characters with their own substories. If you are a Jane Austen fan this means you’ve read at least one of her stories, if not several. You will recognize the characters from her books in this one volume. It is amazing how the large cast is brought together under one roof for a house party. Some are related. All are known to the hosts, Mr. Knightley, and wife, Emma. And the wicked Mr. Wickham joins the group-uninvited of course, which sets everyone on edge, and is the start of the murder-detective-mystery.

Several reasons why I love this story!

1. I love how I hear the other characters remark on one another. Their perspectives and impressions of one another.

2. Mr. George Wickam is everyone’s nemesis. Even characters who have only heard about him or have had little interaction with him-they detest him. I believe he is true to form as his terrible character reveals itself even more in this story.

3. The characters are true to their original stories. Their personalities, and the parts of the story we know about (and don’t know about) are carried on in this story. The Murder of Mr. Wickham brings us up to date with how their lives have been since we knew them in the original stories by Austen.

4. I love the pace of the story. The middle point is a building point to how the characters respond to what has happened to Mr. Wickham, to suppose who is the perpetrator, and to reveal more about their own substories.

5. Juliet and Jonathan Darcy are the youngest characters. They team up to solve the murder mystery. They are the only ones who either did not know Mr. Wickham or did not know him well. Their personalities alone are fascinating. They are a twist on expected gender type roles. Juliet is an intelligent young woman living in an era when women were not expected to take on a role as a detective.

6. Most of the time I love the author interjecting her own thoughts. This is not how I feel in all stories, but in this story, I love it.

7. I consider The Murder of Mr. Wickham to be a character study. If you love characters and the differences in them and how they bring together a larger story. This is the book for you.

8. The mystery of the murderer is not completely a surprise. I love how many of the ones on the list as possible suspects are ruled out. It is logical and methodical in how they are ruled out.

9. There is a theme in the story of grief. It is interesting that many of the characters suffer from grief. An unresolved sorrow and bitterness.

10. The ending of the story is very satisfactory.

Further Thoughts:

1. If Mr. Wickham is an untrustworthy scoundrel, why is Emma the one who showed Mr. Wickham to the room he will be staying in? I’m surprised Mr. Knightly trusts their unchaperoned trip.

2. This is not a Christian fiction book, but several Scripture references are used.

3. A modern-day view of a topic is weaved into the story. I’m not convinced this is accurate of this era. What I mean is I believe that this occurred (of course), but I don’t believe people talked about it. It was an unmentioned topic even in most private conversations. Even in my parents’ generation, (they were born in the 1920s) this topic was not mentioned except in whispers or lewd comments. So, this part of the story I do not believe can be considered accurate for this time period. And yes, this is my opinion. But I do believe the substory is handled well because it is private conversations between a married couple. As well as their struggles with a difference of opinion.

Themes: grief, romance, family honor, ambition, jealousy, courage, compassion, self-control, charity, hospitality, greed, injustice, deception, and innocence.

Format: eBook.
Source: I received a complimentary eBook copy from AustenprosePR, NetGalley, and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. I am not required to write a positive review.
Audience: Readers of Austenesque.
Rating: Excellent.

i loved this book the perspective's the characters and the story line but I could see how it could be difficult to get into the book as well at some part i felt as they where to long and some parts just where not enough but overall it was a good fun read.

thank you netgalley for the free arc of this

I'm always skeptical of Jane Austen inspired books, so I'll admit I was a bit dubious of the premise of this new mystery by Claudia Gray. The Murder of Mr. Wickham finds 5 couples from Austen's novels gathered for a house party at the Knightley's home. As the title suggests, the villainous Mr. Wickham is found murdered and a whodunit commences. I was pleasantly surprised by how well these character's narratives were woven together, and a few new characters rounded out the plot. Juliet Tilney (the daughter of Catherine and Henry) and Jonathan Darcy (Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam's eldest son) are the delightful amateur sleuths who are determined to solve the mystery. A rudimentary knowledge of Austen's work would be helpful to better understand certain allusions but it could be read on it's own as well.

If you loved pride and prejudice you know that mr. Wickham is a very devious man. This book puts this character into a thriller vibe and honestly I was here for it. It was so cute and certainly kept me on my toes!

Thank-you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage for the chance to review this ARC.

3/5

The Murder of Mr. Wickham was a trip!
Having all of Austen's characters in one book just pure fun!
If you're a fan of murder mystery and Austen this is something you enjoy!

Very fun!

The ultimate mashup of our favorite characters, and introducing a few new ones! This novel connected on all levels: homage to books past, a classic house party murder, and a pair of intrepid sleuths. We can only hope that there's a sequel percolating in Claudia Gray's brain.

There is a truth universally acknowledged: the more ardent a fan of Jane Austen a reader is, the more critical that fan will be of any and every Jane Austen adaptation/sequel. I feel fairly confident making a generalization like that, and I would easily include myself in it. There have been times when my snobbery has reached levels not seen in any other favorite genre or beloved series of books. But I’m glad that I didn’t let this lesser self dictate whether or not I picked up this book, cuz, man, other than “Death Comes to Pemberley,” this is probably my favorite Jane Austen continuation yet!

In Emma’s view, a house party is always just the thing to cheer matters up! So she and her husband, Mr. Knightley, gather a large group of friends, acquaintances, and family members to share in a visit at their home. This cheerful event is made much less so, however, when the disreputable Mr. Wickham shows up one dark and stormy night. And what’s worse than an unwelcome guest? One that is rude enough to get themselves murdered on the premises, thus leaving all the remaining guests left as suspects. With so many members of the group having motives for thinking the world would be better off without Mr. Wickham, the Darcy’s oldest son, Jonathan, and the young Juliet Tilney decide to tackle the mystery themselves. But as they get closer and closer to discovering the murderer, the more horrifying the truth becomes, because it must have been one of their dear friends!

It’s immediately obvious that the author is herself a huge fan of Jane Austen. This book is so clearly a love letter to all of these characters and to all of the fans that it’s impossible to miss. This also makes the reading experience entirely dependent on one’s familiarity with these characters and stories. There are so many small nods and inside jokes that will only be appreciated by ardent fans, that the reading experience will likely be vastly different for those familiar with these stories and those who have been less-exposed. And because the story includes characters from all of the books, the reader pretty much has to have all six novels well under the belt to appreciate the work the author has put into creating in this story.

As fun as all of these Easter egg clues were to spot, what really made this book stand out was how well the author understood the characters she was working with, in all of their strengths and weaknesses. Most especially, she envisioned how these personalities would play off one another, both between each other and within their own marriages (since, due to the nature of Austen’s books, we see very little of what these characters’ lives are like in the marital state). Gray doesn’t shy away from pointing out some of the flaws in these characters that could drive wedges into their marriages. However, everything is handled with such care that you never feel like any of these choices or actions are out of character with the originals. Instead, we see how many of them grow even further once some of these characteristics are exposed to the harsh light of day.

From a purely preferential state, I was glad to see that Emma and Knightley were by far the most stable of the couples. Not only do they know each other much better than anyone else (Emma having grown up with Knightley as a good friend from the very beginning), but the original book does a good job dealing with each of their flaws to begin with. Fans of “Mansfield Park,” however, may be dismayed to see that Fanny and Edmund, on the other hand, probably have the most work to do. Again, this never feels like an overt critique of the original story, but instead seems perfectly in line with these two characters and the way their romance played out (honestly, one of the more weird ones when you think about it). It’s satisfying to see Fanny come more into her own and Edmund be forced to reckon with some of the ways that he didn’t do his best with regards to Fanny and their relationship.

All of this written and I haven’t even touched on the mystery! I honestly can’t say enough good thing about this as well. It’s truly impressive how well Gray managed to work Wickham into all of these characters’ lives in ways that felt completely natural and inline with their stories. Not once did his relationship with these characters feel forced or shoe-horned in to fit the narrative. Instead, it felt completely organic and believable. Thus making the entire thing so stressful! It starts to become truly horrifying wondering how this mystery is going to be resolved without vilifying one of our beloved main characters!

I also really enjoyed the original characters of Jonathan and Juliet. It’s tough work to create new characters and stand them up against classics like Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, but Gray manages it! For one thing, the book features so many viewpoints that Jonathan and Juliet are by no means the sole focus. We get plenty of time with our other favorites, but I also began to appreciate both Jonathan and Juliet in their own right. I was also pleased to see that while there are hints of a potential romance between these two, the story didn’t commit to anything in this arena. There simply wasn’t enough time in this book to not do a disserve to the mystery by trying to force in a fully-fledged romance as well.

All of this to say, I highly recommend this book to any Jane Austen fan out there! The more familiar you are with the originals, the more you’re likely to enjoy this!

Rating 9: Simply excellent and sure to please even the most picky Jane Austen fan!