Claudia Gray has acted upon a long held fantasy of many of Jane Austen's readers - killing off Mr. Wickham! Bringing together so many of Austen's beloved characters to a summer house party where so many have motives to want Mr. Wickham taken from the face of the earth is genius. Wickham has crashed the party and when the weather takes a nasty turn, the hosts, the Knightleys, have no choice but to offer him lodging. His death brings what was to be a month long party, to a halt.
With so many suspects to choose from, who had the honor of doing the deed? Do we even want to murderer to get away with it or has he/she done the world a great service?
While those who have read Austen's books will relish the return of these classic characters, you need not have read them to enjoy the story, The pacing does drag in some places, but do soldier on. Some things are worth the wait!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love Jane Austen continuations and re-tellings, and this book was more fun than most I've read. As you can deduce from the title, Mr. Wickam meets his end, which doesn't make the reader too sad if you are familiar with him from Pride and Prejudice. What makes this book so much fun is that the author has brought together all the main characters from Jane Austen's books at a house party; and one of them is the murderer. It made me wish I was more familiar with all of Jane's books, but I didn't have to be to enjoy and understand the story.

The adult children of some of the characters take it upon themselves to investigate the murder, and their interactions and budding romance were my favorite part of the story. I'm hoping there will be a follow up book someday because I'd really like to know what happened with them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book - I highly enjoyed it.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham brings back all the leading men and ladies from some of our absolute favorite Jane Austen novels along with a few new faces. In this world, all these characters are connected in some way & what they all have in common? They’ve all been victims of the reviled Wickham through personal or familial encounters. But when one night the man we all love to hate turns up dead in the same home where all our other characters have reunited.. it’s more than obvious that someone decided to be rid of Wickham and his schemes ones and for all.

This book had me on the edge of my seat for the last two days & I cannot recommend it enough if you’re a fan of Jane Austen!

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray is a fantastic mystery.
A cozy mystery murder that includes fantastic Jane Austen characters.

The romance was so wonderfully written. It is obvious to this reader that the author did her research on the Regency Era.

A wonderful blend of mystery, history, and romance.

In recent English classes I have reread Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and, most recently, Sense and Sensibility so I was seriously excited about this book. Fans of Jane Austen and cozy mysteries will NOT want to miss this one. It is a lot of fun as, in it, Wickham (that rogue), gets his comeuppance.

The conceit of the novel is most clever. It is to bring together many beloved Austen characters in one place, a house party, and watch as they interact. Readers will learn how these men and women are interconnected and will enjoy the glimpses of what happened to each after their time in their original novel ended. I very much enjoyed the young detectives, children of some of the well-known parents. I so hope that this will be the start of a series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for this title. All opinions are my own.

I have loved some of Gray's Star Wars books in the pass, so I expected high-quality writing and good pacing, and she definitely delivered. This is a book I would reread.

The author has revisited Jane Austen’s characters in a most unusual way. Time has gone by. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have been married twenty years. The Knightly’s are giving a house party. The guests are mainly married couples (all of whom Austin fans will recognize) with the exception of the Darcy’s oldest son and a young lady, Juliet. At dinner the group is disrupted when Mr. Wickham shows up uninvited, unwanted and unexpected. The years have not improved his character in any way and he is still scheming to swindle money out of anyone. The next evening, Juliet discovers his body. The young people join forces to determine how he was murdered and by whom. The manner in which it is written takes the reader right back to Jane Austen. Thanks to Net Galley and Vintage Books (Penguin Random House, LLC) for an ARC for an honest review.

For every Jane Austen fan in the world, there is the perfect retelling waiting for them to find. For those that share the same hated character, may I recommend The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray?

The happy couple Emma and Mr. Knightly are throwing a house party, which isn't unusual. Parties are a natural way to have fun and see friends. What is significantly less usual is the appearance of Mr. Wickham. He certainly isn't welcome, not with all his conning and scheming.

To say that his death came as a shock would be an overstatement. The only surprising part about it is that it took this long for him to be murdered. Yet they will still have to get to the bottom of this case. After all, his appearance (and subsequent death) ruined a perfectly good party.

Okay, I'm just going to say it: if you're part of the "Hate Mr. Wickham Fan Club," you absolutely MUST read The Murder of Mr. Wickham. It is everything you could ever want, and arguably quite a bit more.

Not only was this book highly satisfying, thanks to the death of a character we all love to hate, but it was a lot of fun. Bringing all of Jane Austen's characters to one place is a delightful concept, one I'm sure fans have fantasized about on more than one occasion. I love that they were introduced chronologically. It added a semblance of order to the piece. I was going to say that Mrs. Bennet would approve, but I'm not sure that's the case? Despite her appearance, that woman loved chaos.

Long story short, take a minute to read The Murder of Mr. Wickham. It will be one of those books to stand out in your memory. I'm speaking from experience here.

This one was a big info dump in the beginning and none of the new characters mattered that much to me. I felt like this was so dragging I couldn’t hardly force the finish I think this type of story is played out and maybe we should be moving away from Jane Austen Murder/Mystery they are rarely enjoyable (and the marketplace is drowning in them currently))

Fun ideas with Jane Austen inspiration! Loved that there’s multiple Austen characters from different books all coming together for a party, and then Wickham is murdered, so that adds an interesting murder mystery element. Enjoyed the character interactions! This isn’t fully Austen style, so don’t expect it to be perfectly true to Austen’s works. I enjoyed it for its own ideas for the characters. Overall, I was entertained!

I tried to read this and just couldn’t get into it. The premise sounded really good but the execution was a bit lackluster. There were so many POVs that I felt it took me out of the story. I understand Austen has so many characters, but I think it may have been better if the author mainly focused on the female characters and maybe Mister Wickham’s POV. I DNFed at 20%. The story just wasn’t for me.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham will reunite with so many of Jane Austen's characters. Seriously, it was a lot for my brain to keep track of. Definitely freaked out when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth came into play. Also, I might've swooned a little when we met their son. Then there's the overall mystery of Mr. Wickham. Was I sad that he died? No, not really.

With each twist, and blackmail, I was completely hooked on finding out who the murderer was. I also really enjoyed Juliet and Jonathan working together to solve it. As they grew closer, I couldn't help myself from shipping these two. It also didn't hurt that Elizabeth was also thinking about a possible matchmaking either. The only problem was Mr. Darcy, and he was suspicious of Juliet.

As we got closer to the ending, little clues and sayings started to make the murderer a bit more obvious. Although they were never a suspect in my eyes, I'll admit that everything made sense before the crime was committed. In the end, I'm really happy that I got the chance to jump into this murder mystery book. It definitely made me fall back in love with my favorite characters. I also really want to read a Jane Austen book now.

This was too fun!

I have never thought about Austen’s characters and the timeline between them. I loved having them in the same room and getting to see the interact.

And who wouldn’t want to murder the horrid Mr. Wickham?!

I thought this was a brilliant concept, and it was such a good time!

If you have ever wished to see Elizabeth and Darcy, Emma and Knightly, Marianne and Brandon, Anne and Wentworth, and Fanny and Mr. Bertram all together in one book, this is that book. When Emma and Knightly throw a house party and invite various associates, including Juliet Tinley and Jonathan Darcy things go awry when George Wickham shows up. The infamous villain has been busy, swindling others in the Austen world. Twists happen when he shows up dead and there is no sign of intruders.


This whodunnit is creatively done and fabulously written. It has all the charm of Austen and all the intrigue of a good Agatha Christie Murder mystery. It is absolute torture to see favorite characters enmeshed with enough motive to go around.


Our two young sleuths have excellent chemistry and Jonathan Darcy is not a typical hero. He has the looks, but is terribly awkward socially. However, they overcome that as they work together to look at the guests, something that magistrate Frank Churchill is not eager to do.


I found this story delightful and the truth, unexpected but not surprising knowing the nature of Wickham. It was wonderful to spend some time with these characters again.


I received an early copy through the publisher via netgalley and this is my honest review.

Approximately 22 years after the events of Pride and Prejudice, the Darcys are invited to the home of Emma and George Knightley, Donville Abbey. The other guests include the Brandons, the Bertrams, and the Wentworths, all characters made immortal in the novels of Jane Austen. Also included are 17-year-olds Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcey. The guests expect all the things that happen during a house party, several weeks of hunting and shooting, delectable food, visiting the countryside, and good conversation. A massive storm blows up on the first evening, and an unexpected guest arrives. The villain of Pride and Prejudice, George Wickham, strides into the gathering as if he were a guest. He makes it plain that he has business with all of them and no plans to leave. Propriety demands that George Ridgeway not throw him out into a massive storm. They don't make him at all welcome, and as the rain and wind wear on, Wickham is the cat among the pigeons. Juliet Tilney discovers Wickham, bludgeoned to death, in the Gallery.

Wickham's murder sets the stage for a very clever whodunnit. All the men have reason to see Wickam dead and some of the women. But who could have done it? The youngest guests, Juliet and Jonathan, form a pact to find out who the culprit is. Juliet is afraid that the Magistrate might blame a servant. Jonathan is worried that Wickham might have pushed one of his parents over the edge at last. All the married couples have cracks and secrets in their marriages, so Wickham is a plague even when dead. Juliet is a delightful addition, and Jonathan is fascinating. He is extremely socially awkward, always wondering how to behave, and finds being in company a trial. The two make a good pair of investigators, if not always impartial.

If it had been me, I would have buried Wickham in the garden and gone on about enjoying the house party after the storm stopped. But, one has to do the right thing, and the reader wouldn't have a puzzle to solve. I admit I didn't solve it, but I did have questions! I highly recommend The Murder of Mr. Wickham. Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

I really really liked The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray for a number of reasons:
1. Many of my favorite characters from EACH of Jane Austen's novels are in the story, most under one roof.
2. The author created a timeline of the books that I had never even stopped to consider.
3. Because of this educated guess of a timeline, some of the couples had been married quite a while by the time of the events of this novel, so it was like learning what has been going on with old friends.
4. This cozy mystery murder couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
5. All the favorite heroes and heroines, no matter how mild-mannered they were in their origin novels had believably, in-character motives for possibly being the murderer.
6. The outcome of this novel made sense and was satisfying.
7. The introduction of a few characters that were the offspring of classic characters, one of which was neuro-non-typical (likely on the autism spectrum given his descriptions of himself) made me want to read more.
8. This one is nothing about the story, but I just liked Claudia Gray's Goodreads explanation of her pseudonym. I think I might give myself a pseudonym just for the heck of it now, too.

All in all, though this novel was long, it was entertaining, sweet, fun, and never boring. Is it too much to hope that there may be a series????

🎩All your favorite Jane Austen characters meet for a house party and Mr. Wickham ends up murdered.

👍🏼What an amazing premise for all the Janeites out there! Loved seeing so many of my favorite characters intermingling and obviously loved having Wickham die, if only Willoughby could have joined him ….

👎🏼The plot pacing was rough. Once Wickham was found dead the book really dragged. Once I hit 40% I found myself skipping through to the end just to see how it wrapped up.

🤷🏼‍♀️If you’re a hardcore Austen fan this book is for you, if not then skip it.

And no the picture is not a spoiler, Wickham does not go down by someone hitting him with a planter while drinking tea 😉

I’m also glad I saved my great grandmother’s china just for this 🫖

Plodding. Too many characters to keep track of especially if you've not read the books from which these characters originated.

"I don't read many mysteries. Even cozy ones. So you might wonder why in the world I chose to read The Murder of Mr. Wickham, right? Well, the answer is simple. All the Austen heroes and heroines are in one story. How could I pass that up?!!

I was very impressed with the clever manner in which the various characters were introduced. There was quite a cast and the author managed to make their introduction relevant and interesting, not feeling like a data dump. For the ones I'm less familiar with due to not having read their stories for years, I learned enough that if I had never known who they were, it was sufficient for this story.

My favorite character was Jonathan Darcy, eldest son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam. Author Claudia Gray did a great job of sharing his social awkwardness and his struggles!

I was glad that the murder was not described in a gory manner and that the details weren't discussed overly much. I'm not sure I would call it a ""cozy"" mystery but it was definitely not suspenseful.

The author did equally well with misdirection. I truly had no idea who the murderer was until it was revealed. I found myself hoping, though I knew it wasn't really possible, that the murderer was someone outside the guest list. After all, who wants their favorite hero or heroine to take that role?

Despite those things, I found the story dragged in the middle. I missed the wit Jane Austen is so well known for and felt that many of the characters weren't quite ""in character"" for what I've come to know of them, especially not the Darcys and the Knightlys.

I also felt that the contents of a particular letter were very unlikely. It did provide a possible motive for yet another one of the guests yet it just wasn't the kind of thing anyone would have written. And, in the very off-chance it would have been written, it would have been burned to prevent anyone from seeing it instead of being brought to the house party...

The following is merely an observation and was not used to determine my rating for this title. There is a minor spiritual element in the story during a discussion about how to respond to finding out someone (not one of the guests) was homosexual. I agreed with the conclusion that we are to show love.

However, the reasoning used: that God is love and therefore love supersedes everything else is not what Scripture teaches. If love is the only important thing, then why did Jesus have to die? Yes, God is love. He is also justice, mercy, grace, and holy, in addition to other attributes. Not one of which is preferred or sacrificed at the expense of another. And as mentioned, all have sinned and require that mercy and grace be extended to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus regardless of the nature of our sin, be it homosexuality, pride, lying, whatever. Otherwise, we will also know Him as our Judge.

It isn't necessary for a reader to be an Austen fan or be familiar with all of her works to find enjoyment in this story. Readers who enjoy Regency mysteries may find this an enjoyable story to read.


I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own."

From my blog: Always With a Book

I have been a fan of Jane Austen’s novels for quite some time and while I have not yet read all of them, I do have them all sitting on my shelf. When I heard about this book, a whodunit combining some beloved Austen characters with an Agatha Christie feel, I just knew I had to read it…and I absolutely loved it!

Locked-room mysteries are my favorite and this one was just so much fun! While the murder doesn’t happen right away, I think the way the story plays out, it makes sense. The author takes her time setting things up, giving the readers a chance to catch up with the characters and getting a feel for who everyone is and their relationships to everyone, including the unfortunate Mr. Wickham. This then leads to just about everyone having a motive for being a suspect and it really was great fun trying to work out who the culprit was – and let me just say, I was totally clueless!

Whenever I read these retellings of Jane Austen’s books, I am left wanting to reread her books, and definitely wanting to read those I haven’t gotten to yet. I did feel that Gray was able to make the characters and sense of place feel true to Austen’s writing while at the same time giving them both a sense of freshness and her own slight touch. I’m not sure if this is a one-off or if this is the start of a new series, but I absolutely loved this book recommend it to all fans of Austen and even those who enjoy historical mysteries.