The Murder of Mr. Wickham is basically what would happen if you combined a Jane Austen regency novel with an Agatha Christie Mystery novel. I love Jane Austen, but mysteries are not usually my genre of choice. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

The book starts with Emma and Mr. Knightly holding a house party and inviting many of the Jane Austen characters we know and love. The house party starts pleasantly enough, however Mr. Wickham unexpectedly shows up to collect on some debts, as he has (unsurprisingly) continued to be a generally despicable human being. After he is murdered and it is discovered that someone amongst the house party must have murdered him, a teenaged Jonathan Darcy (son of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy) and Miss. Juliet Tilney (daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney) start their own investigation to find the murderer.

The pace is definitely a bit slow, particularly in the beginning, though I suppose if you aren't familiar with Jane Austen's novels, you probably do need that slow pace to get to know all of the characters. I very much enjoyed getting to see where all of the characters had ended up after their initial stories. I also thought the presentation of Jonathan as neuro-diverse was done well for that time period. I did figure out the murderer pretty well before the end which is not something I'm almost never able to do, so some people might not like that it's fairly obvious. Since it was pretty low stakes and is definitely not a thriller, I was ok with that.

Overall probably 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4! Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you have ever wondered what an Agatha Christie mystery in the Regency period would look like then this is the book for you.
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased review.
Emma and Mr Knightley have also been happily married for years and decide to hold a house party for a range of Jane Austen characters. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy have been married for years but dealing with the loss of a loved one, Marriane and Colonel Brandon have been married a few months, but there is a distance between them. The Wentworths are dealing near financial ruin. Fanny Bertram is hiding a secret from her beloved Edmund and in the midst of all this regency angst, George Wickham turns up announced. Wickham has developed into a despicable man responsible for the financial and emotional ruin of many people at this house party, so it’s no surprise when he turns up murdered.
I loved the characters and the author has stayed true to the authors. The pace is slow to start with but I like this as it gave me enough time to get used to the characters' lives and their complicated relationships with Wickham.
The two amateur detectives are Miss Tilney (the daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney) and Jonathan Darcy (the son of Darcy and Elizabeth), two young people constrained by the strict social conventions of the time but who wouldn’t be too out of place in the 21 century. There were plenty of suspects and motives – I didn’t guess who the murderer was till just before the end.

Content warning
References to death of a child and sexual harassment.
Perfect for Fans of
Jane Austen, cosy crime featuring literary characters or anyone who enjoys cosy crime.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham is such a thrilling read that will capture the heart and attentions of Jane Austen's fans!

The author gathered most of Jane Austen's famous characters and turns it into a murder story with the setting of Regency Period.
As someone who has not read all of Jane Austen's work, the author did a great job introducing the characters, which makes it easier for me to get to know all of them.

What happened when an unexpected and unwanted guest shows up at Mr. and Mrs. Knightley' s house party? There's the  strong/awkward tension between the characters. And almost everyone on that table wish to get rid of Mr. Wickham's existence. Imagine their surprise when Mr. Wickham was found dead, with a killer among them. Who's innocent, who's not?

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney decided to team up as detective to search for clues that'll lead them to the murderer of Mr. Wickham. Almost every characters have the motives and reasons to be involved in the murder, but who's the real culprit behind it?

Thank you @Netgally for providing an eARC!

This book was so fun! Murder mystery meets Jane Austen. This is for fans of cozy mysteries and all things Austen. The author defines a timeline of Austen’s works at the beginning, letting us know where in Jane’s works we’re entering. Just a few years after Marianne Dashwood’s wedding to Colonel Brandon, the Knightleys hold a house party inviting all of their closest friends and family members…an Avengers like meetup of our favorite literary heroines. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Austen couples have assembled at Donwell at varying stages in their marriages. The Darcy’s have been married 23 years and have recently suffered a tragedy. Their son Jonathan is more formal and reserved than his father, and might be neurodivergent. Fanny Bertram has a secret about her brother William. Marianne Brandon feels closed off from her husband. Captain Wentworth has lost his prize money and is very angry. The Tilneys send their 17-year-old daughter Juliet to stay with Mrs. Knightley to have an adventure.

Of course, Jonathan and Juliet’s first meeting doesn’t go well, because he struggles to read social cues and she assumes he’s rude.

The dialogue is well written and each character’s personality comes through in both their thoughts and their conversations. It’s a wide cast and I think best approached by someone familiar with most of Austen’s novels. Wickham arrives at Donwell and at least one partner in every couple has reason to loathe him. Wickham leaves blackmail, investment scams, and ruined girls in his wake, and most people at the house party have reason to want him dead. Who can blame them?

I disagreed with some of the dates the author used to set Austen’s novels. Some Austen scholars have chosen different years to set them based on when they were written or revised, the dates mentioned in the novels, and when they were published. So I struggled with the ages of some of the characters and how long they had been married when this was set in 1820. After reading the story you understand why it was done, but it was a little jarring for me.

There were a few misses with the details that took me out of the story. Some anachronisms about behavior and daily life. Fanny’s aunt and uncle were once called Lord and Lady Bertram—he’s a baronet. Eliza’s hopes for an annulment were unrealistic. Tomatoes weren’t considered poisonous by 1820. In 15 years, did Frank Churchill never inherit Enscombe? There also a racial slur used what was accurate to Austen’s time, but is considered offensive now. I would rather see a historically inaccurate word rather than an offensive one.

The personalities of Austen’s characters personalities come through. Jonathan’s quick observations provide a good insight for the reader as he navigates both how to relate to everyone at the house party and also his secret investigation into Wickham’s death. Juliet is young but not as naive as her mother was at her age. They’re both curious and determined, but most of their investigation comes from them overhearing things and making deductions rather than the pair taking a more active clue-finding role. And in the end, a confession renders their entire investigation moot and I wasn’t satisfied with the resolution.

I received an arc from NetGalley

As an aside about neurodiversity rep: The acknowledgements at the end mentioning a sensitivity read for Jonathan’s character isn’t the same as flat out saying a main character is autistic. The author should have admitted Jonathan was meant to be autistic. She certainly added every recognizable autistic trait as though ticking off a list. She had an author’s note in the beginning about dates and slurs, but couldn’t use the word autistic in the same place to describe Jonathan? Is the representation as good as it could be if the author won’t come out and say it?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this book. I’m a huge Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice fan and have read hundreds of P&P retellings. I’ve never had one like this before where Jane is the heroine! It was fun and clever and I really enjoyed it :)

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The rich world of Jane Austen fanfiction receives an exciting new addition in The Murder of Mr. Wickham. The author, Claudia Gray, is best known for her work within the new Star Wars canon, which was another draw for me, to see how she’d tackle writing in yet another popular fandom. And while attempts to create a crossover between all of Austen’s complete works has been done, as have mystery spin-offs, I loved the way Gray was tapping into both.
I really love how Gray imagines the characters. She clearly has a great love for Austen and an understanding of each character’s inner pathology. Despite this book taking place “after the happily ever afters,” Gray interrogates the issues that still may have been left hanging at the end of some books, while also exploring possible future conflicts that could arise. Emma and Knightley are hosting a house party, while also grappling with the impacts of poor financial decisions John Knightley was involved in. Anne and Wentworth’s fortunes have reversed, also due to involvement in a bad scheme. Elizabeth and Darcy are grappling with the loss of their niece/adopted daughter, the child of Wickham and Lydia. Brandon and Marianne are recently married, and while warmth has grown between them, doubts remain on both sides. Edmund and Fanny’s marriage is tested through an interpretation of faith and the Church’s protocol on sin, as related to the actions of her brother William
And then, there’s Juliet Tilney, who inherited much of her mother’s curiosity and spirit, and has been invited by Emma Knightley and been thrown together with the Darcys’ son, Jonathan.
And of course, Mr. Wickham is mixed up with all of them and their secrets, and that all ties into the murder and the ensuing investigation. I was intrigued and horrified at the depths of Wickham’s villainy, and it’s absolutely in keeping with the man who first stepped on the pages of Pride and Prejudice, seducing women and scamming men. As each person’s secret and how it tied to Wickham was revealed, I questioned everyone, even though I did not want to see the honor of a favorite character tarnished. The ultimate reveal is shocking and sad, yet very in keeping with that character’s personality and what they’ve been through.
Now for my varied personal thoughts on certain characters and other elements, that aren’t related to the mystery:
I really liked Juliet, although I really wish the story had focused on her and Jonathan more, instead of hopping between the perspectives of the guests. And I love the way her dynamic with Jonathan has subtle echoes of his parents’ relationship, particularly at first. Given how many believe Darcy to be autistic-coded, I suspect Gray further leaned into that with her characterization of Jonathan, with him expressing his difficulty in “reading people,” and his preference for plain-speaking. I generally liked it, especially as it colored his interactions with Juliet. And while there’s no real romance between them, there’s sparks of potential that hint that they might come to be interested in each other in a serious way in time.
I’m generally a fan of Mansfield Park and will defend it when others hate on it, but I went through a mess of emotions with Edmund and Fanny’s emotional arc. Claudia Gray leaned into the fact that they’re of high moral character, sometimes to the point of being judgmental. Irony of ironies, Fanny wrongly judges Elizabeth upon first meeting her, although developments as the plot unfolds, Fanny comes to a deeper understanding. I do quite like that, however, given the superficial parallels that some have remarked on between Mary Crawford and Elizabeth and Emma.
And Fanny instinctually feels compelled to hold onto her bond with William, no matter the cost, while Edmund initially takes a very judgy “hate the sin, love sinner” position. I was cheering for her to leave him, but Edmund does evolve in the course of his experience during the investigation, ironically with “aid” from Mr. Elton.
While I don’t know if I’d have made the same timeline choices as to setting the original Austen stories, Gray makes it work within the context of the story, especially given how few specific details most of the books have.
My one major quibble is the inclusion of references to the Roma people, and referring to them as “g*****s.” Yes, they are present in Emma, and this book is set at Donwell Abbey and in Highbury. But they play almost no role, except as a quickly ruled-out option for the perpetrator of the crime. And Gray’s argument in her introductory note that it’s the “only terminology the characters would have known” prioritizes “historical accuracy” over respect for the modern audience reading the book. Never mind that she can’t definitively say there weren’t people who thought differently about them. She makes several of the characters abolitionists who admire William Wilberforce, for crying out loud! And granted, there was diversity of thought in regards to abolition, and not all of it was antiracist, but it still feels hypocritical that you can cite one example of progression rooted in history for your modern audience, while assuming there didn’t exist such for other racial groups beyond Black people.
However, in spite of this (admittedly rather glaring) issue, I did enjoy this book, and hope Gray continues to explore the world of JAFF. If you enjoy Austen and murder mysteries, I recommend giving this a try.

An exhilarating and amazing story! Are you a Jane Austen fan? Do you long to see Emma again? You can and you will in this fascinating historical novel, The Murder Of Mr. Wickham. For the rich, a summer house party lasts a month and offers opportunities for the young to meet suitors and the elders to relax and dine together. In this novel, the very wealthy Knightlys host a party at their estate. The well known villain, Mr. Wickham arrives and meets his death

Everyone present is a suspect and must stay at the estate. The two youngest guests take it upon themselves to solve the murder. If you like Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, any sort of Emma-related story, then this is a book for you! Please note, I am not a Jane Austen fan nor a fan of historical literature (at all!) but I truly loved this well thought out mystery and enjoyed learning more of the customs of the very rich in the time period. No need to have previous Emma experinance! This is a fabulous mystery!
#Knopf #NetGalley

I strongly recommend you read Pride & Prejudice before picking this one up. It will be much more enjoyable. Mr. Wickham is a loathsome character from P&P. This was a really fun book. Mixing a classic with an Agatha Christie style. The books is funny at times and there are a lot of interesting plots. Loved the character development. Gray had me guessing until the end. A fun mystery.

What an incredibly clever idea! Claudia Gray brings together a cast of Jane Austen's beloved characters for a cozy murder mystery. Mr. Wickham turns up murdered at the Knightley's House and almost everyone is a suspect.

I loved getting to see some of my favorite literary characters interact in this clever story. This story does drag a bit in the middle. I wish it was a little faster paced.

I loved this book in every way and was surprised by how critical Austen fans can be. 'The Murder of Mr. Wickham' was the first book I have read by Claudia Gray. I'm grateful she stepped out of her Science Fiction arena and created this delightful continuation of characters written by Jane Austen. For me she was able to capture the characteristics from the original works (I mean, Emma Knightley is still a little unlikeable) and Darcy is handled beautifully with the intimation that Lizzie and Darcy's son has a personality disorder that produces behavior that isn't too far removed from his Father's. I didn't know how it could ever be resolved, and I was absolutely delighted. I sincerely want more and hope that sequels are in the works.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am not a diehard Austen fan. I have not read all of her books. That being said, I enjoyed getting to learn about all of her characters and I personally appreciated the introductions so I had the same information as Austen diehards when starting. The amount of characters all vying for their time in the plot spotlight made it kind od tricky to follow but I wouldn't say it was a bad thing. It was a great premise and I enjoyed it overall!

Very slow start. I understand that Ms. Gray was trying to help catch up readers who don’t read all of Jane Austen but it felt redundant. As a big Austen fan and one of Ms. Gray, I was insanely excited for this! But it fell short of expectations.

4 -

THINGS I LIKED:
- writing style matched time period
- felt like diving into a new austen novel
- agatha christie vibes

THINGS I DISLIKED:
- number of characters/subplots was almost overwhelming

I really enjoyed this! This feels very much like Murder on the Orient Express (not a spoiler) in that there are so many people with reasonable motives that it’s hard to discern the true killer of Mr. Wickham. You’ll have theories throughout as evidence gradually comes to light, as all good mysteries encourage. While this is technically a mystery, I think it is equally about how secrets, grief, and fear can drive a wedge between relationships, and, conversely, how having the strength to open up to your partner can make those relationships even stronger. A solid portion of the book focuses on this sort of character study and breaks up the mystery a little, although this isn’t a complaint from me.

The author is a fan of Jane Austen and it shows! The existing characters from Austen’s novels are given new depth, while the new characters feel like they could have existed in one of Austen’s novels all along. (Tender, burgeoning romance included.) I do think the amount of characters might make it a bit difficult to keep track if the reader is more of a casual Austen fan. That being said, this was a delight to read overall! The ending was satisfying and I loved reading about Juliet and Jonathan’s investigation.

I couldn’t find any direct mention of it by the author, but the new character of Jonathan Darcy appears to be written as autistic. I am not autistic myself, but am relatively familiar with it through a number of close friends who are, and Jonathan’s thought processes, mannerisms, and actions seem to align almost perfectly with theirs. (I’m not an expert, of course!) If he is intended to be autistic, I love that! Very rarely do I find books with main characters on the spectrum and he was easily one of best parts about the book.

CW: there are few moments in which characters use a period-accurate term for the Roma people in passing. The author takes the time to warn for this in a note at the beginning of the book prior to the first chapter. There is also period-typical homophobia towards an offscreen side character which is later resolved. This was not mentioned, but I do feel it should be noted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a requested advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Who hasn’t dreamt of sending George Wickham to his just desserts. Or wondered how all of Austen’s many characters might interact with each other in the Austen multiverse. I loved the premise of this book! Of course Wickham has managed to offend or swindle pretty much everyone. The question is, who done it!
The characters I found were kept closest to their original novels were Emma and Mr Knightley, the Darcys, Marianne and Colonel Brandon, and Anne Wentworth. I found Fanny and Edmund Bertram to be insufferably pious and priggish. Wentworth (who I love) was overly hotheaded. I did really enjoy Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney as the new generation that took investing the murder upon themselves. The cameos we got from Miss Bates and the Eltons were 100% on point. I also thought it hilarious that Knightley still doesn’t like Frank Churchill after all these years.
Overall, this was entertaining, surprisingly thoughtful at times, and kept me guessing on the murder for a very long time!
The resolution was very good and I can hope for more books since Miss Tilney was extended several more invitations for visits!

Great concept! An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery drawing in characters from not just one but all of Jane Austen's worlds- loved! If anything, the attention to detail of each character's story slightly overshadowed the actual plot, and it was a bit hard to keep track of so many characters, motivations, and continuing plot lines after their original stories. I would maybe have restructured this as a series, rather than include every character in one book. Overall, I really enjoyed this!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray brings many of our beloved Jane Austen characters back to life, at least in book form. I am personally a lifelong fan of Emma, and this story begins with a party at the Knightley’s estate home and invites a lot of the characters from different Austen books, to their home for a month-long stay. At one point, it reminded me of that question people like to play at parties, “If you could have dinner with three people, alive or dead, who would it be.” In this book, this is a party for the ages as we have Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley and a host of other great characters coming together until evil Mr. Wickham ruins the whole soiree by crashing the party. It turns out Mr. Wickham is still the boorish and cruel man he has always been, and everyone at the party has a bone to pick with him or a reason to harm him. Things get murky when Mr. Wickham turns up dead, and the book becomes an Agatha Christie-style whodunit. Get ready…Mr. Churchill is the local constable (it’s a long story). The book was cute-ish, engaging, and brings back some good memories (and some bad), but in the end, I think I realize that I have a hard time with books that want to finish or update an Austen novel? Is that bad? The book is well-done, but I kept thinking that some behaviors wouldn’t have been acceptable for this period, for instance, massive swearing in a true Jane Austen sequel? It will be a fun read for most of you, and I wish you well. For me, I think I’ll stick to the original since I already watch Emma at least once per month on repeat. #ARC #murder #janeausten #whodunit @netgalley #Emma4ever @vintageanchorbooks
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Thank you to Vintage Books and NetGalley for this free ARC; my thoughts and review are my own and without bias.
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#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #author #instabooks #literature — Publication Date: 5/3

I initially chose to read this book because I enjoy Claudia Gray's science fiction writing. I wanted to see what she could do with Jane Austen's world and legacy. The Murder of Mr. Wickham was completely worth the read. Claudia Gray's skills at putting together compulsively readable, detailed stories helped her create a wonder. The title gives away the most important part of the plot. :) What surprised me most about this book, though, was that Ms. Gray could take the tactic of bringing in characters from *all* of Jane Austen's novels into a single storyline and totally make it work.
I do hope that the author left enough room for a sequel -- I hope that she follows up on this story.

Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy.

I wanted to love this book so much. I love Pride and Prejudice so I was looking forward to Mr Wickham getting his due. What I wasn't expecting was needing to be so familiar with the rest of Jane Austen's books.

This book is basically Clue or Knives Out but with Jane Austen's characters. The cast of characters is large and while I've read some of her other books, I'm not as familiar as this book demands. I think I would have enjoyed it more, even with that handicap, if the author would have simplified references to the characters by name. There are a lot of characters and they are referred to by full name, first name, last name, Mr/Mrs, and the occasional nickname. There are also a decent number of overlaps between the characters so trying to keep it all straight was challenging and impacted my enjoyment of the book.

3.5 stars. Overall I liked this and the idea of bringing all of Jane Austens main characters together was brilliant. The story was good though the pacing was a little off and I loved the use of the next generation characters as the amateur sleuths. A fun read if a little too slow at times.