I LOVED the premise of this book. All of our favorite Austen characters in the same room for a murder mystery? What fun!

Overall, this was an entertaining read, and it was fascinating to see how Gray wove all the different storylines from the original books together. I found certain characters felt "truer" than others -- particularly the Darcy's and Knightley's. Anne Elliot was as lovely as ever as well, but Wentworth felt more bitter than Austen's original character. Also, the new characters of Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney were a treat. I thought Gray's treatment of Jonathan's (presumed) neurodivergence was realistic. Colonel Brandon was, as ever, a love.

My one gripe was that I wish that the setting could have been a bit more varied -- I felt a little claustrophobic being stuck in the abbey, even though I know it served the plot. This brought the book down for me, making it feel like a bit of a slog. I am all for Wickham getting what he deserved, but the whole thing felt a bit dreary. An interesting addition to the Austen-verse though!

Such a fun book especially for fans of Jane Austen. Claudia Gray writes a clever story in the vain of Agatha Christie of who killed Austen’s most notorious villain, Mr. Wickham.

Gray brings together all of the main characters from her major novels for a month long house party at the Knightly’s. The attention to detail of the proper ages when they meet approx 23 years after the Darcy’s marry is magnificent. We get an interconnected story of how everyone knows each other or at least another couple in the party. When Mr. Wickham shows up uninvited to do what he does best, blackmail the Knightly’s, he finds he is associated with almost everyone at the table at no one is happy.

Of course, Wickham is found murdered which starts off a closed door mystery, where Frank Churchill is running the investigation and two of the younger characters introduced in this book help behind the scenes.

You absolutely do not need to know any Jane Austen to enjoy this book, as Gray gives just enough background to make this enjoyable, but Austen fans will love it all the more. This was a fun romp for me. If you are looking for a light cozy mystery, this one is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Vintage for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was really just a lot of fun from start to finish. I've been in an Austen-y mood lately, and the mere conceit of having all of her main couples together at a house party (hosted by the Knightleys, of course) broken up by the untimely (but not unwelcome) murder of Mr. Wickham made for a terrifically engrossing read. Although it was a little distressing to see how many of these couples have been Going Through It (and continue to deal with strife and strain over the course of the story), it was very gratifying to see everyone end up on better terms by the end of the book. Now I really just want this to be the start of a murder mystery series in which the Darcys' son and the Tilneys' daughter go around solving crimes together!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had such high hopes but this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The pacing was VERY SLOW until the last chapter where we have lots of telling instead of showing. The mystery to this was very short on clues and twists and I needed more sleuthing and less inner monologue. Most of the book seems to be a character study on what happens to the marriages of our favorite Austen couples, and apparently they are all having extreme rough patches during this book. I am not a fan of this story tactic, obviously marraiges take more work sometimes, but these characters are fictional and I prefer to think of them as happy forever after their books which often put them through the ringer to get to the HEA. Gray has done her homework and does a great job creating the scene and setting, but giving all my favorite characters low emotional self esteem was rough to read about and was tedious. I did enjoy her character of Jonathon Darcy, the Darcy’s oldest son who is on the spectrum. Gray does a great job of relating his thought process and coping mechanisms in a time period when neurodivergency wasn’t recognized or even known about.

Jane Austen enthusiasts will love this mystery and others will find it an entertaining late Regency period romp through a British house party gone terribly wrong (or right if you see it as many might). As the title and descriptions of this mystery suggest, all of the characters were first found in Jane Austin novels, including the victim, the villainous Mr. Wickham. So, each has a well developed backstory. I read all of Austin, some of the novels more than once, and have seen every contemporary movie version of Emma. I was concerned I would have trouble "getting" the in jokes and comments based on the story lines Austin's work. Not so. My recollections were totally refreshed and every single character, now with grown or growing children acted as you might expect them to with fifteen or twenty more years under their belts. For those of you who have only read one or no Austin it does not matter. You will learn enough of the backstories as necessary to thoroughly enjoy this without having read Austin at all.

Emma and George Knightley have inadvertently invited far too many guests, starting with the Wentworth's, a naval officer and his wife and tenants on the estate whose stairs collapsed. The Knightleys are putting them up. The Darcys and their son Jonathan are coming. Juliet Tilney, a seventeen year old girl who Emma wishes to mentor a bit will be there. As the guest list grows, they decide to make it a true house party, expected to last a month or so and to involve entertainment all the while. But then, on a dark and rainy night, the nefarious George Wickham arrives. He has recently found a way to legally defraud people of their money to such an extent that his wealth rivals that of the Knightleys' and his former inlaws, the Darcys. We know right away that the Darcys have a strong antipathy to him for many wrongs he did to them and their families over many years. We know that Wentworth was one of his financial victims and Mr. Knightley's brother was also a victim. Slowly, we find out that most of the guests had some strong reason to want Wickham dead.

Juliet and Jonathan, knowing they are both innocent, form a slightly improper and somewhat unlikely alliance to investigate Wickham's murder as amateur sleuths. It is fascinating to see the world through Jonathan's eyes and Jonathan through the world's eyes, because Gray has written young Mr. Darcy as being a person on the autism spectrum long before there was a word for this disorder. He is a wonderfully drawn character with parents who instinctively help him conform as necessary to allow him to make his way through the many rules of Regency society.

Gray does a marvelous job of being true to the period, the fashions, the social settings and the expectations of the roles of the married and unmarried and of the wealthy. She perfectly captures, with Austin's cynicism and humor the characters and nature of a small town and of random guests at a house party. She never overdoes things, yet the detail is all there. This is a great read, both fun and well-plotted. Everyone had such reason to be full of angst that I did not solve the mystery and I thought the resolution was perfect. Still smiling at the cleverness of it. Also, there is plenty of hope for additional entries and for this becoming a series. I'm waiting!

This was an interesting book combining most of the Jane Austen main characters along with a couple of grown children. The Darcy's brought their eldest son, Jonathan to an impromptu house party created from Emma and George Knightly not checking with each other about invitations. The Tilney's sent their teenage daughter to let her experience new acquaintances in a relatively safe environment. However it may not be as safe as they expected. George Wickham shows up unannounced and just when I thought the man couldn't be more detestable, I was proved wrong. It turns out he is causing major trouble for several of my favorite characters. When he turns up dead, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney know they are innocent, so they take upon themselves to investigate. The author did a great job of making almost everyone look guilty causing me great stress because I didn't want anyone to be guilty. One thing I didn't care for was they way a few people were portrayed which didn't seem like their original characters, now I will qualify that by saying I haven't read all the books, but have watched all the movies (all of them). Which actually makes me chuckle because the author wrote she was thinking of the 1995 P&P and so I started picturing all the actors from it and the other shows from that time period, made the book play like a movie in my head. I loved the possibility of a romance between the Jonathan & Juliet, so I hope this is a start to a series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for the opportunity to read this book for an unbiased review.

Jane Austen is one of the most noteworthy authors ever and people will jump at anything that is Austen like. This title, The Murder of Mr. Wickham felt like an unfinished YA title that was just trying to connect the world of austen. The writing reminded me of my early days of college and what I was hoping to find was the latter days of grad school in which you have evolved enough to take on the era of Austen with at least passing grades. On top of the writing being poor I felt as if the author did not understand the characters in which she was writing and had them acting very out of character. Now, as stated above Austen is a BIG name to put to any book and if you are going to attempt her then it is best to get it right. This sadly does not fit that bill and if you're just not into the writing of the era in which Jane wrote, or the characters she created being continued, or really a good story then maybe this book is for you.

Claudia Gray has captured the essences of Pride and Prejudice to a masterful level.

If you're looking for a book that reads much like the works of Jane Austen, look no further. The Murder of Mr. Wickham will drop you years into the future from the events of Pride and Prejudice and lull you into a the world with new characters joining old favorites. She plot drops events from that book, so if you haven't read it, don't worry. It is unneeded to enjoy this story. Every character with Jane's beloved tale is also mentioned by name so you are aware of how they faired over the past decades.

However, if you are in search of something that has the essences but with a modern writing style you will be a tad bored with this read. It took me well over a month to finish the story mostly because the writing was more telling than showing and very dull. Instead of people visiting houses, it's people visiting rooms.

While I adore Jane Austen, her writing style is representative of her time period. This book would have been much more enjoyable if the author brought the world to life with the modern way to tell a story. By showing the characters move through the plot, instead of telling us how it happened to them through so much introspectiveness and point blank telling.

That aside, we find Mr. Wickham up to his same old devious games, and dead within the half of the book. (Yes, it takes far too long to get to the body, which adds to the boredom of it all.) The mystery was well laid out and I loved the way Johnathan Darcy and Miss Tinley played into the story. It was a clean mystery that had you discovering dirty secrets through connecting with members of the party throughout the unraveling of the culprit. I was surprised by the twist at the end, and glad with how everything turned out.

I could see this turning into a mystery series, with the two amateur sleuths at the helm.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham pulls the reader back into Austen's world without copying it entirely. Our main characters, Juliet and Jonathan complement each other well. I appreciated the nods to neurodiversity in Jonathan's character and how the Darcy's accepted him. I did not suspect the culprit and wish that Mr. Wickham would have been murdered for other reasons but I enjoyed the story overall.. If you're a fan of mysteries and Jane Austen I suggest taking this book for a spin.

This was just a fun book that was exactly what I wanted it to be when I picked it up. It was fun to read about the different characters I was a fan of in different stories and watch them interact.

3 STARS! The Murder of Mr. Wickham was a fun whodunit made up of all Jane Austen characters and set in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Knightley! All your favorite Jane Austen heroines (and a couple of the villains) are included as well! Just think of Clue set in Austen prose and period, and you’ve got this novel in a nutshell!

One thing I loved in the book was the perspective of young Jonathan Darcy. I can deduce that he seems to be on the autism spectrum by the way he describes his social struggles. I found it very touching to hear from his perspective because my own family has been affected by autism. I enjoyed seeing his friendship and affection grow with Juliet Tilney as they endeavored to discover the murderer!

My issue with this book is that it was slow-going and choppy. The author did their best at showing each character’s perspective, but with such a great number of characters, it ended up affecting the flow of the story. I read this bit by bit and took me much longer to read than normal.

Thank you, Netgalley and the author/publisher, for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

Well, well, well ... if you know me, you know that I'm not the biggest Austen fan there is. In fact, I find her books pretty hard to read. But look at me, earlier this year, I read and reviewed an advanced review copy of Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life (see my review at www.goodreads.com/review/show/4464762321 which I absolutely loved!! And now, I finished this one and have to say that I really enjoyed it. I love how the author brings all those adored Austen characters to one place and throws them into a murder mystery. Mr. Wickham is still his despicable self; as a matter of fact, I like how we hear about even more evil things he did, giving every single Austen character a motive to kill him. You have the Darcy's, now married for 22 years, and their son Jonathan who joins forces with the daughter of Northanger Abbey's Caroline and Henry to solve the crime. You also meet Emma again as well as Fanny and her husband, the Wentworths and the Brandons. All of them have secrets tied in some way to Mr. Wickham. He is like a spider, spreading its web all over and making sure none of his victims can escape. The characters were great and you continued to show the character traits they had in the original books. I love Jonathan Darcy and Juliet, his fellow amateur sleuth. They are such a cute team and to some extent defy the traditional norms of the time. Great job, Claudia Gray!!! A book definitely worth reading!

Claudia Gray imagines what it would be like if Jane Austen’s character gather for a month-long house party. Wickham has many enemies, and it’s no surprise when he ends up murdered. Juliet and Jonathan Darcy team up to solve the murder. This book took a bit to get into. I attribute this to my lack of Jane Austen knowledge. Once I figured out who is who, I couldn’t put the book down!

I was gifted an early copy of the book by Vintage and NetGalley for an honesty and voluntary review.

This was so entertaining! I had a great time reading it and being reacquainted to some beloved Austen characters. The author really captures the essence of the characters and does a great job with them in this whodunnit setting. I do think it was a little slow, but a bit of murder mysteries generally are.

The story follows Emma and Mr. Knightley, who are hosting a party where many of the Austen characters come together. However, the infamous Mr. Wickham shows up uninvited, is murdered, Jonathan (the son of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy) and Juliet (the daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney) take it upon themselves to figure out who the murderer is. Suspenseful at times, but the real gem is reading about the various characters interactions and seeing how they'd handle a situation such as this. I'd definitely recommend this to Jane Austen fans.

-multiple pov
-murder mystery
-suspense
-regency era

Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group-Vintage, Claudia Gray, and NetGalley for the eARC of this story. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I wanted to reallllt like this but it dragged on and it was difficult to immerse myself into it.

This book includes Jane Austen's famous couples and I was not ready for my favorite couples to have marital problems, it was jarring and burst my fantasy bubble but it was a very interesting take. I really liked Jonathan, who I think is on the spectrum and it was good depiction, and Juliet trying to solve the mystery and navigating around the adults. I could have used more of them and less of the other couple at times.

It delivers on the promise of Austen meets Agatha Christie so in a way I had an idea of where it was headed but was still surprised.

Claudia Gray's story is a highly entertaining whodunnit with Regency manners.

The Darcys, Brandons, Wentworths, Bertrams, and the Tilneys' daughter attend a house party at Donwell Abbey. No one joined the Knightleys expecting George Wickham's unannounced arrival. They definitely did not expect to be detained and questioned about his murder.

This is a fun read and a great chance to enjoy another story with many of Austen's beloved characters. Gray's version of Miss Bates was a particular favorite of mine because she sounded so authentic to Austen's Miss Bates.

Recommended for: Austen fans; historical fiction readers; cozy mystery readers

Content warning: murder of a very bad guy

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I went in completely blind for this book, which is maybe why I was a bit lost. But this is a me thing since I’ve never read a Agatha Christie book! 3.5 stars!

What I enjoyed:
-the characters were interesting and fun. I was suspicious of some and others, I felt connected too!
- “a locked room” mystery which I think is fun to put the puzzle together!
-different perspectives
-I did find myself moving through the book even though it was slow placed,

What could have been better:
-I feel like the middle of the book dragged for so long, that I found myself loosing interest.
-slow paced: I feel like I needed a little more of something.

Thank you for the ARC!!

Overall this was a fun and entertaining book but I don't think I was the right target audience to enjoy it fully. This book was truly meant for someone who knows and enjoys Jane Austen's various works while my only exposure to Austen has been the various film adaptations that I have seen over the years. Due to this, I don't think I was able to properly appreciate all of the work that went into this book. It couldn't have been easy trying to find a way for all of these characters to be part of the same story and still stay true to the works they are based on.

All things considered, though I did enjoy the book for the most part. It was a little jarring at times to be switching between so many different characters but that could just be a personal preference. I am not usually a fan of books with tons of POVs. I like to stick with maybe just 2 or 3 but again, that could just be me. I did enjoy watching the mystery unfold. For someone who is just slightly familiar with Austen's works, even I knew that Wickham was not a good person. It was kind of fun learning all of the various reasons people might want him dead.

In the end, I did enjoy Gray's writing style and the pacing was great. This was my introduction to Claudia Gray but I look forward to checking out more of her work. Hopefully, I will find one that I can connect with more somewhere down the line.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the digital copy.

This book is must read for all Jane Austen fans, as the author takes care to weave in all the storylines of all the major characters from all the beloved Austen novels. It was really hard to put down -- not just because of the "who done it?" aspect, but also because it was such a treat to see all the characters interact with one another.

Do you know your Jane Austin novels? If yes, take a look at “The Murder of Mr Wickham” which sets all of Jane’s main characters in a country house murder mystery. If you don’t know your Darcys from your Knightleys you may still enjoy the story, but there will be a lot missing.

I haven’t read Austin (or watched the many movie adaptations) in a long time, so I came to “Murder” with a sketchy memory of the rich back stories that Claudia Gray employs. I still enjoyed the plot and the setting, but I felt like I had arrived at a party where everyone but me had known each other since grade school.

A fine whodunnit, but with caveats!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.