Disclaimer: I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This ended up being too much of a chore to get through. It didn't feel like the author was used to writing in the genre. It was very dull and forced. There were too many people to keep track of. Overall, the book was lifeless and had no spark to it.

I have never read or seen a Jane Austen book/movie, yet for some reason I'm drawn to adaptions of her books. Most of the time the authors do a good job of making sure you know what the main storyline is going to be in case you haven't read the original book, but I felt kinda lost reading this. I didn't understand why Elizabeth was mad at Darcy, didn't know their love story, so that was a negative for me.

Writing Jonathan like what I'd assume is nuerodivgent (or whatever the term is) was a but strange, like it does a great job ig of seeing the weirdness of that time period.

Before I begin, I have to confess I’m not a Janeite. I’ve never read Jane Austen, nor do I plan to, and I’m not generally inclined to like Regency-era anything.

But, thanks to my obsession with the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie, I had just enough hatred for Mr. Wickham to pick up THE MURDER OF MR. WICKHAM by Claudia Gray.

This mystery brings together Jane Austen’s leading couples (and some new characters) as they attempt to enjoy a summer house party at the residence of Emma and Mr. Knightly. Things start to go awry when the devilish Mr. Wickham arrives unexpectedly—and is soon found bludgeoned in the gallery. As two amateur sleuths work together to crack the case, it becomes clear that everyone in the house has a motive.

I really appreciate the originality and novelty of this one. This book is just as much a mystery as it is an expansion on the stories of Austen’s most famous love pairings (sort of a “where are they now” setup). I especially loved the duo of Johnathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, the two new characters, who step up as the amateur sleuths. I wouldn’t consider this a “quick read” due to the writing style and complexity. It’s definitely a meatier mystery.

This one’s for readers who like:
- Jane Austen!! Duh!
- Regency formalities and etiquette
- Anyone BUT George Wickham

Take it from me—you do not need to have extensive Austen knowledge to read and enjoy this mystery, though I believe there are certain Easter eggs Janeites would appreciate.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for this eARC. I've shared my review to Goodreads, and will post it on Instagram on the book's release date.

I'm just going to start with the fact that I have never read a single Jane Austen book ever. I thought i'd give this a whirl but after reading the first 15% I'm just not finding myself interested. I don't know if it's the slow start or the fact that I don't have any of the backstory on these characters but I've given up!

Thank you for the early copy!

An absolute delight for any Jane Austen fans who have wondered what might happen if all of her characters ended up a house party.

A treat for fans of Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and historical mysteries in general, you’ll be hard-pressed to guess the identity of the murderer. A well-written cozy mystery with an intricately-concocted plot, this is a golden opportunity to interact once more with a whole cast of your favorite Austen characters in a romp of a good story.

Content warnings: murder, blackmail, homophobia, sexism, classism, referring to Romani people as "gypsies"

All of Jane Austen's protagonists come together at the Knightleys' country home in Donwell Abbey. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy bring their son Jonathan and George Wickham crashes the party. His wife, Elizabeth (Bennet) Darcy's youngest sister Lydia, has died years prior to the beginning of the novel. Joining Emma (Woodhouse) Knightley and the Darcys are Marianne (Dashwood) Brandon and her husband, the Bertrams, and Juliet Tilney (daughter of the Tilneys in Northanger Abbey).

When George Wickham is murdered, everyone in the household is a suspect. Frank Churchill is called upon to investigate the crime, but young Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney take it upon themselves to solve the murder. Jonathan and Juliet are the only members of the house party that are innocent, so everyone else (including the other Darcys) are suspects. Everyone has secrets, and many members of the party have been swindled by Mr. Wickham or know someone who was his mark.

The novel has a Christie-meets-Austen vibe that delivers twists and turns on the way to its shocking conclusion, where no one will suspect the actual murderer. Recommended for fans of murder mysteries, historical mysteries, and Jane Austen.

Representation: neurodivergent main character

I feel like this book was tailor made for me. Its a cozy mystery a la Agatha Christie featuring characters from all six Jane Austen novels. The book was well written, all of the characters felt true to the original novels, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

All of Jane Austen's characters from her various books appear in this one which means the story takes A LONG time to get going. Trying to keep up with the connections she creates for them took a lot of brain power and it was not worth it for me.

I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and the author did a clever job of creating a timeline and setting where main characters from Jane Austen's novels could co-exist and believably meet up at one location for a murder mystery. I liked that the victim was the despicable Mr. Wickham. The plot was clever and the setting well-described. I was invested enough to keep reading to find out "who did it" and why.

The downside for me was that the characters I knew and loved in Austen's novels (and looked forward to spending time with again) were almost unrecognizable here because they were all so unhappy and/or angry. Fanny was a pathetic wet blanket and Captain Wentworth, who I adored in Persuasion, was just a ball of fury in this book. I realize that we need conflict in novels, and that the author was trying hard to give everyone a "problem" so they would seem like a suspect in the Wickham murder, but she went too far with it. All the angst and unhappiness and bickering between each and every married couple made for dismal and depressing reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review. #NetGalley #TheMurderofMrWickham

There are many books that retell some aspects of Jane Austen's books or her characters, but I believe this is the first time I've seen so many of the major characters from Austen's novels put into one novel. Mr. Knightley and Emma are hosting a house party and the guests are a collection of various couples from the Austen novels. The most honored guest is Mr. Darcy, his wife Elizabeth, and their son Jonathan. The daughter of Catherine and Henry, Juliet Tilney, have come all the way from Northanger Abbey. Jonathan and Juliet's first meeting is awkward, but soon they will be united as crime fighters! For Mr. Wickham drops into the happy house party, and as usual, his presence does not bring good news. He is here to collect on debts from some in the party, and possibly cause financial ruin.

So when his body is found a couple of nights later, there is no shortage of suspects who have a reason to wish Mr. Wichham harm. Juliet and Jonathan realize they are probably the only ones at the houseparty without a motive to kill Wickham, so they join forces to see if they can solve the murder.

This was a fun premise for a book utilizing Austen's characters, and killing Mr. Wickham is a great idea as absolutely no one will miss him. For me the book took a while to get off the ground, but about half way through the story gained momentum and I sped through. I enjoyed seeing all the characters later in life, and having them deal with life's realities, that all is not romance and roses all of the time.

This was a fun story to read to once again be able to dwell in the land of Austen, and since I love mysteries, it was a double win!

I'm still working my way through all the Jane Austen books, but I still knew I had to read this one. I am obsessed with Pride & Prejudice and Emma though.
The premise of this book is amazing, all the various Austen characters come together, and then we have a Christie style locked room murder mystery featuring the death of the horrid Mr. Wickham.
I loved that the story mainly focused on Jonathan Darcy and Juliet, as they try and solve the murder and learn more about the adults in their lives. I laughed out loud anytime there was a reference to P&P and Jonathan shrugged it off as "something about his parents past that he didn't understand" or a "private joke between them that he just didn't get" that was purely there for the reader.
It was so much fun to see where all the characters ended up in their lives (except poor Lydia) and when the murderer was revealed I was blown away.
I really really enjoyed this book and I'm hoping for more stories similar to it.

If you love Jane Austen and cozy mysteries this is the book for you!

This book intertwines characters from multiple Jane Austen novels and throws them into a house party at the Knightly’s home. Then an unwanted guest appears…none other than the infamous Mr. Wickham. He is an enemy to all in attendance. The first night all of the guests are awakened by a scream in the night to find that Mr. Wickham has been murdered.

The rest of the book puts everyone as a suspect…

I loved seeing all of the Jane Austen characters together. I would have liked a faster paced read and more excitement. But it was a fun read for a Jane Austen fan!

Ok, from the outset: I am mad about Jane! Ordinarily I would find a knockoff or derivation sacrilegious. This surprised me. It was full of familiar people, people who are my literary family. A pleasure to revisit them many years later and all in one place! They’ve grown and changed, matured or stagnated, and remain as interesting as ever. This was a great read and a delight to discover that Austen’s world can still surprise and carry on with new branches flowering from the great tree she planted. Very highly recommend!

Full review closer with link will be posted soon!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

All of Jane Austin’s characters get together at a dinner party and vile Mr. Wickham shows up, uninvited obviously, and gives everyone a reason to want him dead. Two guests, the Darcy’s oldest son Johnathon and newcomer (I think) Juliet Tilney team up to solve the murder because they don’t think the authorities will look at suspects without prejudice.

I would have rated it higher if it hadn’t taken so long to get to the actual murder. I realize we need his interaction with everyone so everyone could be a suspect but I just wanted his death lol. After we got there I really liked it. I’m not sure the ending was everything I wanted but it was a good time and I would recommend it.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

When the Knightlys have a house party, many couples from Austen's other novels arrive. George Wickham crashes the party at dinner the first night. A day or so later he is found murdered. The two young people in the party, Julia Tilney and Jonathon Darcy, undertake to investigate.

Most members have something to hide and Wickham's various misdeeds put strains on these marriages. Will Julia and Jonathon be able to solve the mystery?

This was a clever mystery read for fans of Jane Austen. For people who are not already Austen fans, this book may help you deep-dive into her work so that you can enjoy the intricacies of the plot and characters.