George Wickham is the most notorious predator in Jane Austen’s oeuvre. Have you read Courtney Milan’s analysis of Pride and Prejudice, “Pride and Predators”? You should. For a non-violent person, I am sure am ok with the murder of a fictional character. When I saw the title, The Murder of Mr. Wickham, I did a little mental fist pump and said, “yes!!”

So, I was predisposed to enjoy this. Gray has chosen to make her two primary POV characters, Juliet Tilney and Jonathon Darcy. Juliet is the daughter of Henry and Catherine Tilney of Northanger Abbey. Jonathon is the eldest son of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy of Pride and Prejudice. I am going to confess that I have not read Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey, but I am inclined to read about the Tilneys after this.

The Knightleys have invited the Darcys, the the Wentworths, the Reverend Bertram and his wife, Fanny, the newly wedded Colonel and Mrs. Brandon, and Juliet Tilney for a month long house party. Mr. George Wickham arrives uninvited. A storm has trapped everyone in the house. In the few days he is alive in the house, we find that he is connected to everyone except Juliet Tilney, and disliked by all. When he is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects to go around.

Though Juliet and Jonathon have an unpromising start, they agree to work together to find out who murdered the mostly unlamented Mr. Wickham. Juliet had no reason to hate him, but she is very concerned that the magistrate, Mr. Frank Churchill seems inclined to place the blame on a servant or the local Romanichal (referred to in the book by the g slur and Traveler). She knows she didn’t commit the murder and she knows Jonathon’s alibi is airtight. Everyone else is suspect.

The point of the book is less finding out who done it and more the process of Juliet and Jonathon’s investigation. Each of the married couples is unhappy, directly and indirectly because of Mr. Wickham’s actions. The stress he has put on their relationships have revealed fragile points between them. The harm that Wickham caused in life, does not die with him. As they are all trapped together, each couple works through the conflict that Wickham has brought to their marriage. Jonathon, who is written as autistic, has some fond memories of his Uncle George, which allows the reader to flesh out this much hated character into a complicated human being.

I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed getting a taste of Elizabeth Darcy reflecting that her mother was right about something, and George Knightly still being suspicious of Frank Churchill many years later.

I should note that though Juliet and Jonathon are in fact young adults, I don’t think this was intended to be a YA book, nor does it read as one. That said, it wouldn’t be inappropriate for an older teen.

CW: Slurs for Romani people, murder, off page death of a child, several off page deaths, discussion of miscarriage, financial crimes, sexual assault off page.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Vintage Press via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

3.5/5 stars. This book is basically a fanfiction whodunnit story with Jane Austen characters. It's a fun read, but don't expect anything incredible. It did drag for me a bit in places with the pacing, but the plot still kept me interested. I was genuinely trying to guess who the murderer was the entire time.

Surprisingly, my favorite parts were the Juliet and Jonathan crime solving scenes. They were really the only new characters who weren't in previous Austen novels, but I had a wonderful time reading about them bonding over this crazy situation.

Overall, I thought the characterizations of the famous Austen characters rang true. I loved seeing my favorites interacting together, especially the Darcys and the Knightleys (I did miss seeing the Tilneys though). It was a bit strange not having Austen's signature writing style, but I really appreciated the work and research that went into putting this story together.

An A+ title though, truly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

Have you ever wondered what your favorite book characters are up to after their Happy Ever After? Do you ever wonder what would happen if say, all of your favorite characters across different books came together for a dinner party of epic proportion? Yes? Me too!

Claudia Gray has wondered this as well, and she has achieved her goal of bringing back to life some of our very favorite literary couples from Jane Austen’s novels in The Murder of Mr. Wickham. Alongside Emma and Mr. Knightley, these couples find themselves the suspects in a Clue-esque murder mystery when Austen’s greatest villain Mr. Wickham shows up VERY uninvited to their summer dinner party and turns up very murdered soon after. The party’s two youngest attendees- the handsome bachelor Jonathan Darcy, son of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Juliet Tilney, daughter of Catherine and Henry of Northanger Abbey- team up to investigate the murder and find out “who dunnit”. Full of witty banter, tearful heartbreak, confusion and longing, we follow alongside as the mystery unfolds and our couples are tested to their very limit.

In short, I loved this book. The author has done an absolutely wonderful job channeling Austen’s voice and setting the tone for each leading couple’s probable future. The book is a delightful blend of Austen’s romantic tone with Agatha Christie’s mystery and intrigue. Even if the reader hasn’t read each of Austen’s novels, we don’t feel lost or confused about who these characters are, where they’ve been in their lives, and what they’re up to after they had their happy endings.

My only criticism of this book is it’s length; it sits at about 400 pages and while that’s not unusually long, the story at times felt a bit dragged or slow-paced for a murder mystery/thriller. Due to this, I did bump my rating down to 4 stars. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all Austen (and Christie) fans out there!

I’ll start this review by disclosing that I am not a Jane Austen-ite by any stretch of the imagination. I read and loved Pride and Prejudice (I think twice!) but beyond that I can recall the plot of Emma really well because I’ve seen Clueless a million times. I haven’t read Emma or any of her other novels. I maybe saw the Kate Winslet version of Sense and Sensibility way back in the 90s when it first came out.

I was a little intimidated at the beginning of this book because it is a quick intro to all of the characters and they are all from her books. Beyond the Darcys, of course, and Emma and Mr. Knightley, as well as the titular Mr. Wickham, everyone else was new to me. I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to remember or follow their characters, but I decided to press on.

I didn’t need to worry. The author included plenty of back story and characterization for each person that I didn’t feel like I was missing out not having read their previous stories. It probably helped that Jonathan and Juliet, our detectives and protagonists, were newly-invented characters. Plus the plot and story were excellent - a very cozy mystery with a wonderful grand old manor setting where everyone is a suspect. I greatly enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Some of Jane Austen’s most beloved couples mingle with new characters in this fun mystery romp that seeks to uncover who killed George Wickham - the most notorious Austen villain. When Wickham turns up unannounced at Emma Woodhouse Knightley’s house party, it’s only a matter of time before he is discovered dead. But with almost every guest loathing the man in some capacity, it’s up to Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy to bring the killer to justice.

I liked it (three stars is a like in my book).This book is a fun romp for Austen fans and those that like a mystery. Claudia Gray clearly has tremendous respect and affection for Austen’s works and it shows. You don’t have to have read all of the books either (although that will be even more fun). Each of the famous couples from her books are on prominent display - it made me want to read more beyond Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility

I will say, the pace can be slow at times, but it picks up towards the end. I liked the multiple POVs and the centering around Juliet and Jonathan- two new characters. I also appreciated that Jonathan is clearly neurodiverse, at a time when it wasn’t understood. It reminds us that neurodiverse folks have existed throughout history, even if not identified during their lifetimes.

Thanks to NetGalley and vintage books for the advanced e-arc. All opinions my own

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’d like to preface this by saying that I absolutely love Jane Austen’s books and I read Emma earlier this year and fell in love with her and her story. I really wanted to see more from my favorite Jane Austen characters so I was over the moon when I heard about The Murder of Mr. Wickham.

I really enjoyed the book when I first started it and it was really nice to see what was going on in Emma’s life after her story ended in Austen’s novel. However, soon enough, it felt like the chapters were dragging on too much and they really could’ve been shorter. The whole book feels like it could be ~100 pages shorter as it became redundant and had unnecessary events.

I wanted to love this book but the more I read, the more bored I got and the book acted as a sleeping pill for me. By the 60% mark, I didn’t really care to know who the killer was and just wanted it to be over. I forced myself to continue and see how killed Mr. Wickham but I honestly didn’t care too much. I really liked the dynamic between Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy though, and I loved how they bonded over their common interest in figuring out who the murderer was.

Overall, I feel like there weren’t enough clues for the reader to solve the murder, the tone and pacing sometimes felt off, and I felt like it was lacking some charm. It felt a little flat.

What an incredibly ambitious book. The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray was truly the Jane Austen crossover fanfic of my dreams. I know Gray from her fantastic Star Wars books so I knew that she was well versed in taking well-known properties and spinning engaging tales that are true to their origins but this is truly something impressive. In the Murder of Mr. Wickham, Gray puts some of our favorite Austen couples right in the middle of a murder mystery.

The Knightley's throw a house party, inviting the Darcy's, the Bertrams, the Wentworths, the Brandons and a Miss Tilney. When Mr. Wickham shows up and reveals nefarious dealings with almost all in attendance, it is not altogether shocking when he ends up dead.

Everyone in attendance has a motive to have killed Mr. Wickham and it is hard as a reader to not get a small sense of satisfaction at his death. It is fun to see our friends again and get a peak into life after their happy endings. Almost everyone has experienced highs and lows, children and happiness. I think it was smart of Gray to focus on Darcy and Elizabeth's son Jonathan as well as Miss Juliet Tilney as they are our "new" characters and can view our other characters in a slightly different light. It also gives the book an undercurrent of romance which is appreciated.

I do think there may be too many characters here and although Gray does as good a job as she could in balancing them, sometimes the book felt a little overwrought and the pacing was a little off. There were one too many red herrings for my taste and although it is fun how everyone has a motive, it still didn't save a bit of a sloggy middle.

There are a lot of very fun easter eggs in the book - I never knew I needed to read clergy-off between Edmund Bertram and Mr. Elton but here we are.

There is a slight attempt to diversify the world of Austen - a character is mentioned as being queer and Jonathan is coded as being neurodivergent. I think this would be a rewarding read for Austen lovers although if you aren't as well versed in her books you may be a bit confused. I have a Jane Austen podcast and even I was having a difficult time keeping everyone straight.

The mystery itself is fine, I don't think the ending was that satisfying - the best part about this book is being with our friends again.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

pacing kind of flopped and the reveal wasn't convincing??
i enjoyed the focus on the youngins and their compelling characters (jonathan is a babe)
but dam gray kind of ruined lizziedarcy for a good chunk of the book and i was DISTRESSED i tell you IN PAIN
the actual mystery itself wasn't strong enough to make me super curious about who did it and sometimes the different characters just got too convoluted/undifferentiable to distinguish

When Emma and Mr. Knightley invite their friends--all our beloved characters from the Austen canon--to their estate for a party, a very uninvited guest shows up--the hated Mr. Wickham of Pride and Prejudice fame. He's scheming once again and it quickly becomes clear, as tempers flare, that no one wants him around.

But they didn't exactly expect--or want--that he'd be murdered.

Almost everyone is a suspect, and it's up to our newest protagonists, Juliet Tilney, daughter of Northanger Abbey's Catherine and Henry, and Jonathan Darcy, son of beloved Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam (both teenagers imagined entirely by author Claudia Gray) to find the culprit amongst them.

This book is an absolute treasure for any Janeite. Gray does a lovely job keeping the voice and period of Jane Austen's characters alive, and fans will love that all their favorites are involved (who among us doesn't imagine the incomparable Alan Rickman as Colonel Christopher Brandon?).

It's a full five stars from me--I loved the quietness of the book, the characters, the freshness of having a book with all these beloved people together in one place, and the comeuppance of a truly contemptible character as well. I also loved that I never really figured out who the killer was until Gray revealed it, and it was all totally believable.

But I would caution--although I would love that everyone reads this novel, it's not exactly for everyone, if that makes sense. I think people who aren't familiar with Jane Austen's work will find it a little hard to connect with characters they don't know. This book doesn't really take deep dives into each character, but rather, relies that the reader already knows them.

A very special thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage and Austenprose for inviting me to be on the blog tour for this book and giving me an early copy of this book to read in exchange for a review.

I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan. I've read all of her books and I watch the film adaptations whenever I need a pick me up. I also read retellings, continuations, and Austen-inspired books on a regular basis. When I saw Claudia Gray's The Murder of Mr. Wickham, my Austen loving heart rejoiced. What could be better than an Austen murder mystery?! Yes, please! I am grateful to Vintage Books for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The book opens with the fantastic surprise that almost all of our favorite Austen characters will be thrown together for a house party at Donwell Abby, the home of The Knightleys. With the house party comes an uninvited guest and an unfortunate murder will result. Let the investigation begin! It was such a treat to see the characters interacting with one another and to picture the timeline the author utilized to weave all the storylines together for the book.

What I loved:
-My favorite Austen characters on the page once again and all together, no less!
-Mr. Wickham getting his just desserts for being so despicable.
-A new romance between a Darcy child and a Tilney child.

What Didn't Exactly Work for Me:
-Some of the creative liberties taken with the characters didn't seem to line up with my take on the characters from the original novels. In particular, I wasn't too keen on the author's portrayal of The Bertrams and Captain Wentworth.
-This book is about 100 pages too long. It gets a bit repetitive and lags in the middle.

Overall, I am glad I was able to read The Murder of Mr. Wickham and I'm especially thankful to have had the opportunity to read it ahead of publication. Look for this one from your favorite bookseller on May 3, 2022.

I enjoyed this Jane Austen version of clue. The characters were well developed as the story takes place years after Austen’s novels and the characters have gotten older and had their own children. Emma Knightley decides to throw a house party inviting the likes of the Darcy’s and other beloved Austen characters. When Mr. Wickham shows up uninvited the party it becomes uncomfortable and awkward. When the characters pasts start to come to light, Mr. Wickham is found murdered in the gallery. I did wish the murder had come sooner but realize the author wanted to establish the characters connections to Mr. Wickham before his death. The youngest of the party decide to take it upon themselves to find out who is Mr. Wickham’s murderer. I really enjoyed this novel and all the Austen easter eggs. It is a visionary tale that I will be coming back to!

Any Jane Austen fan who loves her characters will FALL IN LOVE with this story. The fact that we get couples from each of Austen's six, fully written, novels was enough to make me want to read this one and not put it down.

Ohhhh, and Wickham really gets his in this book. Honestly, that was just the cherry on top.

What I loved was that I felt all of Austen's characters were true to how she would've written them. And as some of these couples--Darcy and Elizabeth, for instance--were going on decades of marriage and real life. It wasn't always sweet and happiness. Instead, we get to see these couples go through real-life obstacles and come out on top. Plus, there's the added drama of "whodunnit". Who killed Wickham?

Well, I certainly didn't guess it right. Which made me love this even more!

And the romance that I usually love--the new, sparkling, young love--was minimal. But that's okay because I still enjoyed how it was way more realistic and "Austen" than some of the other retellings that I've read. I felt completely immersed in this book--and enjoyed so much being thrust back into Jane Austen's world where her best couples collide.

A riveting read full of wit, humor, and mystery--I'm closer to Austen's characters for having read it!

My review will be live at the link given for a blog tour on 4/30/22.

Written in the style of Jane Austen and borrowing her characters, this is a story of a house party at the stately home of the Knightleys. While enjoying their first evening meal, the party is crashed by George Wickham, who for many reasons, is despised by most of the guests. Due to bad weather, the Knightleys are forced to invite him to stay. This house party, which was to last a month, is interrupted when Wickham’s dead body is found. Who murdered him? So many had motive!

The youngest invitees, Juliet Tilney, daughter of the residents of Northanger Abbey, and Jonathan Darcy, yes, of those Darcys, challenge the mores of the time by launching an investigation together, parallel to and more successful than the official inquiry.

Despite the murder, this is a delightful story! Although its been a while since I have read Austen’s works about these characters (some who have aged here), the author does a nice job of filling in their backgrounds so I never felt lost. Gray remained true to the Austen writing style, even employing a good sense of humor. As a bit of a SPOILER, I thought the ending was quite satisfying.

I don’t think you have to be overly familiar with Austen’s writings to enjoy this book for its plot and reflection of the society at that time.

As an aside, am I the only one who thought Jonathan Darcy had a “touch” of what is now known as Aspberger Syndrome?

Thanks to #netgalley and #knopfdoubleday for the DRC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

At a summer house party where Jane Austen's heroes and heroines have gathered, the notorious villain Mr. Wickham makes a surprise appearance. And then, even more shockingly, Wickham turns up dead -- murdered. With so many guests, many of whom have motives and/or means, the mystery of Wickham's murder is taken up by the party's youngest guests, Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy.

This book was a lot of fun! As an Austen fan, it was so cool to see all these beloved characters on the page together, particularly many of the couples who were years into their marriages. The mystery, too, was intriguing, as the potential motives of different characters unraveled and various clues were discovered. There were many plausible suspects, and the guest who ultimately was the murderer was interesting and wrapped up the plot in a fulfilling way. Any fan of a Christie-esque locked room mystery will find something to love about this mystery.

My one qualm with this book was the pacing. Though the mystery kept me reading to the end, I found that I often felt bogged down as a reader by the number of perspectives that were being balanced. Though conceptually, spending one-on-one time with favorite characters should have worked, I more often than not found myself wishing we really did only get Juliet and Jonathan's perspectives. Their investigation was fresh and interesting, and sticking to just them wouldn't have forced constant shifts that ultimately made the pacing feel laggy,

Overall, though, I really did think this was a fun read. There's something there for Austen fans, for mystery fans, and definitely for Claudia Gray fans as well.

Usually I prefer Jane Austen variations to sequels, but I very much enjoyed this Agatha Christiesque mashup featuring so many of Austen’s characters. I would be happy to read a sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

I received a free copy of The Murder of Mr. Wickham through Austenprose PR for a book tour. Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Described as a cocktail of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, we see a murder mystery featuring some of Austen’s leading literary characters.

I will be completely honest, I’m not that familiar with Austen’s work. I know the basics, and I fully plan to tackle her books, but I haven’t read anything from her yet. And so, I did feel a little out of the loop mostly in regards to our enemy, Mr. Wickham seeing as how everyone just hates him. However, saying that I think even if you’re not a fan of Austen or familiar with her characters, Gray gives us enough details for each of our characters to fully understand what’s going on.

As for the murder mystery! This was definitely a cozy mystery, and it gives off similar vibes to Agatha Christie’s work. That being said, it was a bit on the slower side for my tastes. But I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this! Almost all our characters had a reason to murder Mr. Wickham so it wasn’t predictable on whodunit.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction and Murder Mysteries. This is also perfect for fans of Jane Austen or Agatha Christie.

Setting aside for absolutely me reasons.

I’ve been struggling to read certain books for months now, and what it’s come down to is, this isn’t making me happy right now.

While it was a fabulous idea to have all of Jane Austin’s characters together and to guide the reader through the story with the eyes of the teenaged children of the original couples, the cognitive dissonance of how the various canon characters are portrayed was pretty severe. Also I found myself struggling with the writing voice; it felt a little stale, trying to imitate Austin’s diction but lacking that quintessential flair for witticisms and human observations.

A reader in less of a funk will probably find it more fun and engaging than I am right now.

For Jane Austen super fans, a classic Agatha Christie-style house party murder mystery featuring everyone's favorite villain - Mr. Wickham - and a full cast of characters from all of Austen's main novels. While I loved the "where are they now" fan fic aspect and the inside jokes about the main novels (muslin, sensibility, etc), I especially loved the new, younger characters (Juliet and Jonathan). The prose sparkles with Austen-like witticisms, like "If she had married more wisely, her virtues might have eventually outshone her vices." I think even non-Austen fans will enjoy this as a cozy mystery, perfect for summer reading.

4.5/5⭐️

I’ve always been a sucker for books that imagine a sequel to the lives of classic characters. I’ve always felt it must be very hard for an author to stay true to a previous author’s work while also having their own say, especially as devoted readers will have their own deep-seated opinions. And what a fun and ambitious undertaking with multiple characters from the world of Jane Austen.

This historical mystery centers around the forced proximity of the “house party” and is set at the Donwell Abbey home of Mr. and Mrs. Knightley in 1820. The guests include Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, their young adult son Jonathan, Captain and Mrs. Wentworth, Colonel and Mrs. Brandon, Mr. and Mrs. Bertram, and Juliet Tilney along with one unexpected (and unwelcome) Mr. Wickham.

Gray does a wonderful job of seamlessly weaving these characters’ lives together while staying true in their personalities/backstories to their original authoress. There’s humor, lots of motives and even some flirtations along the way as the mystery of Mr. Wickham’s demise unfolds.

I loved it! My only caveat would be that there were some slow spots, but then again, any excuse to savor a re-visit with these beloved characters makes any lulls in the story worth it. And let’s face it, house parties of that time were not generally known to be fast-paced entertainments.

Recommended, especially of course for Austen fans.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books/Random House for providing the free early arc of The Murder of Mr. Wickham for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Had Jane Austen ever turned her hand to greater murder mysteries than the quasi-Gothic plot that nearly ruined Catherine Morland’s relationship with Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey, then I daresay she’d be both impressed and extremely pleased with what Claudia Gray has done here in homage to her completed novels.

Ms Gray deftly assembles beloved characters from each of Ms Austen’s six best known works, placing them in a believable timeline such that they could all be guests of a long-married Emma and George Knightley at a Donwell Abbey house party. These guests include Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, along with their adult son Jonathan; Anne and Captain Frederick Wentworth, home now from his accomplished career at sea; Fanny and Edmund Bertram, who’ve settled well into his curacy; newlyweds Marianne and Colonel Christopher Brandon, and the inquisitive young Juliet Tilney, sent by her parents to see the wider world (and, if famed meddler Emma has anything to say about it, as a prospective match to the eligible young Jonathan.) Emma is the consummate hostess, doing her best to put everyone at ease and making quite a good showing of it… till that awful George Wickham shows up unannounced and uninvited one evening and begins to terrorize the assembled guests.

Wickham has certainly been busy since being forced to marry Elizabeth’s younger sister some decades past, and has taken full advantage of the turmoil at the end of the Napoleonic Wars to enrich himself, often at the expense of others:

QUOTE
Napoleon had never mustered up the force, or at least the opportunity, to invade England. The thousands of young men who had joined the militias meant to protect against such an invasion had worn uniforms, drilled, been admired, and otherwise little inconvenienced. Some of these men simply felt grateful the invasion had never come. Others–less aware of the horrors of war, and more hungry for distinction–deeply regretted the peace.

Most regretful of all were the avaricious. There were prizes to be won in wartime that would otherwise be out of reach of the average man with his fortune to make.

But fortunes could always be made, if you had the will. George Wickham had learned that.
END QUOTE

Using honeyed words and sharp dealings, Wickham has managed to persuade away the money of many, including Captain Wentworth as well as Knightley’s brother James. Both Captain Wentworth and Knightley are infuriated to see him arrive, as are the Darcys and Colonel Brandon, for far more personal reasons. Propriety, however, will not let them turn him out into the rain, more out of concern for his horse than for Wickham himself.

The latter quickly does as much as he can to set the rest of the party against him, too. Soon, everyone is wishing him gone… but only one person will go so far as to see him dead.

Local magistrate Frank Churchill is convinced that the murder must have been commited by a vagrant or a servant. Neither Juliet nor Jonathan are happy with this explanation, as all the evidence that they can see points to the culprit being a member of the house party. As the only two people with the combination of lack of opportunity and lack of motive – as well as sharing both a lively intelligence and an abhorrence for the idea that an innocent servant could hang for the crime – Juliet and Jonathan soon team up to investigate. In addition to the usual obstacles faced by amateur sleuths, however, they quickly find themselves stymied by the manners of the day, not least when it comes to privately communicating what they learn to one another. Juliet is baffled as to how to pass him a letter containing her suspicions, and wonders whether she even should:

QUOTE
No respectable young woman would ever write to an unmarried man unless they were engaged. To presume as much after meeting the younger Mr. Darcy only three days ago! Everyone else present would be shocked.

Perhaps she ought to be shocked herself. The most correct course of action would be for her to destroy this letter and pretend no such conversation had ever taken place between her and Jonathan Darcy. Certainly their current endeavor could not be described as proper.
END QUOTE

Will Juliet and Jonathan be able to overcome the strict social code of the times in order to bring a murderer to justice? And will we readers want them to when the truth is finally revealed?

Ms Grey’s ability to extrapolate not only the relationships of these storied couples and their offspring, as well as to fold in matters of more modern concern – whether it be sleuthing, sex or neurodivergency – makes for an astonishingly convincing, tremendously entertaining pastiche. Most importantly, all her conclusions make sense given what we already know of the characters. Written elegantly, with a keen eye for Regency detail as well as a deep knowledge and affection for Ms Austen’s oeuvre, this is an entirely plausible continuation of the Austen canon that stands as a worthwhile read in its own right.