Another great entry in this series. Always fun to read and enough mystery to keep it interesting with a great cast of characters. Look forward to reading more! I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley and appreciate the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I had also read the first two books of this series, and this one did not disappoint. I liked it better than the second one! I would describe it as a cozy mystery, and while I don't know that you have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy it, it is certainly better if you are.

Thanks NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I will read just about anything that has a Pride and Prejudice ( or that era) theme/vibe to it, and this hit the mark. This was such a cozy read for me and the perfect addition to my winter reading.

This third title in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney mysteries and this time they have been summoned to Rosings because Lady Catherine believes she is in danger and she has heard of their murder solving. Miss Tilney is accompanied by her father and Mr. Darcy has his parents with him since they are family. We learn that Colonel Fitzwilliam married Anne de Bourgh and Mr. & Mrs. Collins still serve the parish of Rosings and have two children of their own. Lady Catherine explains what has been happening and expects that they will be able to tell her immediately who is trying to kill her. But they can’t and attempts keep happening. This book feels like it has more urgency than the other two and has a bit of a faster clip. And there are so many suspects to pick through. And Miss Tilney and Mr. Darcy still can’t seem to say what they need to say and their fathers aren’t helping.

A cozy series that will appeal to Austen fans. I love how Claudia Gray weaves all the characters together, it is very charming!

ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || THE PERILS OF LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH [thank you to @vintageanchorbooks and @austenprose for my #gifted copy!]

Title: The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: Historical Mystery + Romance
Format: Audio
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Narrator: Billie Fulford-Brown
Narration: ★★★★☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunite when Lady Catherine de Bourgh becomes the target of deadly attacks. Sabotage, gunfire, and near-fatal accidents plague Rosings Park. With suspects everywhere and the danger escalating, they must solve the mystery before the culprit strikes again, all while navigating a blossoming romance that could blossom amidst the peril.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I absolutely loved this one. Revisiting all of my favorite Pride & Prejudice characters and seeing where they are now…and what motives they may have for murder. It’s delightful! I am also here for Gray making the son of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth neurodivergent is speaking to my heart in a way I didn’t know possible from an Austen-adjacent novel.

If you’ve been hesitant about picking up one of these mysteries, I highly suggest this one! It mostly pulls from P&P, so, in my opinion, it was a little easier to follow than some of the earlier stories.

🎧 I always LOVE a good historical book on audio - and this was no different! Fulford-Brown does a great job bringing ALL of the personalities to life (especially Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins — so good). Highly recommend.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Jane Austen
Murder Mystery Parties
Neurodivergent MCs
Multiple POV
More reasons to find Mr. Collins annoying AF

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.04 ⭐️
# of Pages: 352
Pub Date: June 18, 2024

I couldn't get into this one. The idea was good but it was written in a different format than I felt like it should be. Just not my cup of tea.

Book Review of The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #3) by Claudia Gray

Cover Story: That’s Not Cupid’s Arrow
BFF Charm: Mixed Bag
Talky Talk: Austenesque
Bonus Factors: Family, Loyalty
Anti-Bonus Factor: Ableism
Relationship Status: No Friends Like Old Friends

Cover Story: That’s Not Cupid’s Arrow
The arrow sticking out from a wall hung with Regency-style silhouette portraits sums up the story pretty well.

The Deal:
Lady Catherine de Bourgh does not approve of her great-nephew, Jonathan Darcy, working as an amateur detective. After surviving no less than three attempts to kill her, however, she sees no option but to summon Jonathan to Rosings Park along with his detective partner, Juliet Tilney. Jonathan and Juliet are happy to work together again, even if it means dealing with the most overbearing old lady in the history of English literature, but with Mr. Darcy and the Rev. Mr. Tilney along as chaperones (each determined to protect his child from the “bad influence” of the other), it’s not easy for the teenagers to investigate, let alone do anything else. As for Lady Catherine, all the people with the most reasons to resent her – her daughter Anne, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the Collinses, the servants – are also the people who depend on her the most. What does it take for lifelong devotion to boil over into hate?

BFF Charm: Mixed Bag
Jonathan and Juliet are as quirky as ever. Juliet’s self-taught criminology studies include stabbing meat with different knives, to the bewilderment of Northanger Abbey’s cook. Jonathan has gotten into Sir Walter Scott’s novels on Juliet’s recommendation and now has to make an effort to talk about them “no more than appropriate”. (I know exactly how that feels.) The Austen legacy characters are pitch-perfect as usual, allowing for the difference in genre. Having a murderer after her is one of the few circumstances where Lady Catherine’s personality is an advantage, since sheer stubbornness seems to be keeping her alive. As for Mr. Collins, he named his daughter Catherine and his son De Bourgh, which is the most perfectly in-character choice anyone could imagine. (Poor kids!)

Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Thanks to disapproving families, trauma from their previous cases, and Jonathan’s severe lack of confidence, his and Juliet’s ship is still becalmed. Most of the swoon actually comes from an unexpected source: Anne de Bourgh and Colonel Fitzwilliam. They married for convenience – he needed a rich wife, and she literally had no other options – but having a son together, not to mention suffering for years under Lady Catherine, has made them care deeply about each other even when they have trouble showing it. Mr. Darcy says it best when describing his own marriage to Elizabeth: “sincere repair” is the truest sign of a happy relationship.

Talky Talk: Austenesque
Gray still has Austen’s narrator voice down, and all the other characters’ voices as well. Lady Catherine’s scenes must have been fun to write, because no one does melodrama like she does: “Was ever Egypt thus plagued?” (If you ever read the Bible, my lady, you’d find it actually was.)

Bonus Factor: Family
I couldn’t decide whether to describe the extended Collins-Bennett-Darcy-de Bourgh family as “awesome” or “awful.” It’s a mark of the quality of Austen’s and Gray’s writing that they have elements of both. Every parent in this story only wants to protect their children, even if their methods – Lady Catherine’s control of Anne, Mr. Darcy’s and Mr. Tilney’s mutual distrust, the Collinses covering for their son’s misbehaviors – often get it wrong.

Bonus Factor: Loyalty
Lady Catherine’s family and servants do their best for her, no matter how obnoxious she can be. The trouble for Jonathan and Juliet is trying to figure out whose loyalty is real and who’s only pretending.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Ableism
Jonathan is learning to mask the traits we’d call autistic; he calls it “drawing the curtain”. Pretending bright lights and noisy crowds don’t overwhelm him is a “torment”, but the poor guy feels he owes it to Juliet – even though Juliet was the first person besides his parents to ever accept him the way he is. Another character is revealed to have “the falling sickness” (epilepsy), which their entire family has been keeping secret for fear of their child being shunned.

Relationship Status: No Friends Like Old Friends
Elizabeth Darcy’s and Charlotte Collins’ friendship may have become strained over the years, but they never give up on each other. All the Austen characters feel like old friends to me (even the ones I’d find insufferable in real life) and every time I see them again, I find something new to appreciate.

The third installment of the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tinley Mystery series is here and it doesn’t disappoint. Lady Catherine is as obnoxious and oblivious to her insults towards others as always. Pride has not disappeared in her advanced age. Mr. Collins continues with the praise that makes you constantly cringe-and wonder how Charlotte has been able to deal with it all these years. Poor Anne and Fitzwilliam have faired a little better but not by much by being under Lady Catherine’s thumb. The book was amazing and I had an inkling who it was about halfway through. But as usual, Gray keeps you second guessing on who it could actually be. The stress in Lady Catherine’s house is palpable through the whole book as she just stresses everyone out over everything. I really hope we get one more book where the story with Jonathan and Juliet is tied up. The book leaves it open as they know they have feelings for each other but it’s the elder Darcy they need to convince (to no one’s surprise). If you’ve read the others in the series this is a must but if you haven’t read the others you would be ok with picking it up and reading. This is for every Jane Austen fan who loves a retelling of her favorite characters and new ones!

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mysteries are an excellent companion read for any Austenite! Ms.. Gray has done an excellent job bringing Miss Jane Austen's characters to life in new stories!

Excellent read! 5 out of 5 stars!

Hey, Claudia Gray, when is book 4 coming out?? Please say "soon."

Actual Rating: 4.75 stars
Pub Date: 18 June 2024
Reading Format: physical book (preordered)

A historical mystery series that has never failed to entertain me is the Mr Darcy & Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray. As the name of the series suggests, Gray has taken well-loved (and some well-hated) characters from Jane Austen’s canon and placed them into intricate murder mystery plots. These crimes occur after the events in Jane Austen’s books. In fact, our sleuths are the offspring of romantic leads from Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey.

I recently finished the third installment, The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, as a buddy read with Julie (YouTube: @KeepCalmWithBooksAndCoffee). Spoiler: we both ADORE this series. I continue to love Juliet and Jonathan as our sleuthing duo. Their friendship and loyalty to one another has slowly progressed to romantic affection. It's especially lovely to see as both characters are outsiders in one way or another to Regency society: Juliet, due to her views on marriage and women's agency; and Jonathan, due to his often misunderstood neurodivergence. This third book featured brilliant cameos from the protagonists' parents as well!

I really enjoyed not only the mystery involving multiple attempts on Lady Catherine’s life but also the stylistic choices made by the author in homage to the Austen title to which it acts as a companion. Each book in this series mirrors the setting and themes of one classic work in the canon: The Murder of Mr Wickham is set in Emma’s Donwell Abbey; The Late Mrs Willoughby returns us to Sense and Sensibility’s Barton Cottage in Devonshire; and The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh takes our sleuths to Rosings Park as featured in Pride and Prejudice. I cannot recommend this series enough, and I do want to encourage that any who are interested begin with the first book to avoid spoilers!

Thank you NetGalley and Vintage for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!

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

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the third installment of the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series. Ever since the first book, I've fallen quiet in love with the characters and the little mysteries they end up solving along the way. So, it's pretty safe to assume that I was very excited to get my hands on this book to see what was going to happen next.

Now I was never a fan of Lady Catherine, but she was entertaining throughout this book. Only she would be annoyed at how incompetent someone was when trying to murder her and failing miserably. Besides her, I also enjoyed getting to know the Collins a bit better. Sure, they were okay characters, and I was pleasantly surprised with how funny they could be. Then there's my ultimate favorites, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam (aka Mr. Darcy); any time they are involved, I will always be happy.

As for Jonathan and Juliet, well, I just love them to bits and pieces. Whether their fathers are budding heads or these two are just trying to navigate basic communication skills, I liked how everything was handled before reaching the last page. I seriously can't wait for the next book to come out because I just need more from everyone. I also really need Juliet and Jonathan to end up together with little to no drama.

I wanted to love this series and just couldn’t get into it. The writing felt so far from the heart of Jane Austen’s books that it lost sight of the characters she wrote.

As the third book in the Mr Darcy & Miss Tilney series, the world of Jane Austen is once again upturned by the always brilliant Claudia Gray. Mr Darcy and Miss Tilney find themselves once again joining forces, this time, they aren't solving a murder, they are preventing one. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is known for being difficult to please, but after one too many accidents that threatened her life, she realizes that maybe there are sinister forces at work. She beckons her nephew and Miss Tilney with the hopes that they will discover the person that is clearly nursing ill feelings toward her. In a race against the clock, the two young people scramble to find the assassin before it’s too late.

This was such a wonderful addition to a series that I had already fallen in love with. With characters that are already known and loved, it is difficult to find ways to keep the tension going, especially when it involves a society such as this, but somehow, the tension just keeps coming. Between the high stakes of keeping Lady Catherine alive and the stress of Darcy’s potentially blooming relationship with Miss Tilley, readers are kept turning pages with abandon.

There is something comforting about reading this series. For anyone familiar with the works of Jane Austen, the tone and verbiage found within the books are familiar and bring the story to life in a different way than the originals, without losing the original feel. So much of Austen’s work is beloved because of the way her words brought forth stories that were familiar of the time while still capturing the imagination. Claudia Gray manages to echo these themes even for modern readers.

Despite absolutely loving the characters and the prose, I did struggle with the conclusion to the mystery. After feeling the tension of the high stakes for so long, the ending lacked a certain amount of satisfaction. The emphasis was definitely on the characters and the ending took a back seat. It finished quickly and left me questioning the parts of the story that led to that particular ending. However, it did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the book itself, it just needs to be noted that it is a book much more character driven than mystery driven.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was the least accessible of the series for me as a more recent Austen-fan, and I did find the investigation dragged more than the first two books. However, I am DEEPLY invested in Jonathan and Juliet as a pair, so I will read as many of these as Claudia is willing to write.

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney team up for their third adventure! However this time they aren't called on to solve a murder, but this time to prevent one.
Someone is after Lady Catherine De Bourgh. And while most people find her insufferable, she seems to have provoked someone to the point of murder.

Now Johnathan and Juliet have to find the attempted killer while also dealing with family relationships and her ladyship's overbearing advice.

CW: Attempted murder, childhood illness

The third installment of this series was just as good as the previous two. Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are a delight and I want to read a million more stories of them solving mysteries surrounded by some of my favorite literary characters.

Claudia Gray has really nailed these characters and she makes jumping back into the Austen universe so incredibly fun. She's my favorite Austen Mystery writer for sure.

Continue to thoroughly enjoy this series despite desperately needing Jonathan and Juliet to bust out of the friend zone!

One year after their investigation into the poisoning of Mrs. Willoughby, these two young sleuths are summoned by Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who claims someone has made three separate attempts on her life. This is the first time that the crime solving duo have a live victim -- which means their investigation needs to move quickly before more attempts are made. Their efforts are hampered by the presence of their respective fathers, who are wary of their closeness for their own separate reasons.

A new enjoyable cast of characters and another cozy-esque mystery. Looking forward to more!

Imagine a book almost exclusively featuring Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr. Collins. Now add in attempted murder and a witty writing style. In short, the result is perfectly ridiculous in the most delightful way.

I am a stickler when it comes to retellings and maintaining the integrity of the original, yet Claudia Gray continues to astound me. Her ability to embody Jane Austen so thoroughly that I forget that the book I'm reading wasn't written by Jane is incredible. She perfectly captured the essence of each of the original characters, aging them quite appropriately, and then dropped them into a murder mystery. Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins were particularly well represented, and there are so many lines that I highlighted because they were so perfectly ridiculous as only these two characters could be.

My one complaint is that even though this book was a mystery, the pacing felt much more in line with Austen's original works. I never really got wrapped up in figuring out who did it, or had a moment where I couldn't put it down.

Overall, it you want a dose Austen-esque wit and a cozy mystery, this is the perfect book.

In the latest Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery novel, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney travel to Rosings Park to answer Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s summons. Convinced that someone is trying to kill her, Jonathan, Juliet, and their fathers will ensconce themselves at Rosings with Mr. and Mrs. Collins, their children, and Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam (Darcy’s cousin and Lady Catherine’s daughter). When none of the potential suspects seem capable of committing every single attempted murder and every attempt becomes more serious, Jonathan and Juliet are running out of time to solve the murder -- and a few other issues at Rosings Park. A fascinating continuation of the series, Claudia Gray has once again brough Jane Austen’s characters and their charm to life in this series. Jonathan and Juliet are complicated, engaging, and clever protagonists with a fascinating dynamic, and the other familiar and new characters continue to charm readers as natural extensions of Austen’s original works. The mystery itself is particularly interesting, as are the complications around suspects, and readers will certainly enjoy trying to figure out the mystery with Jonathan and Juliet. A great third book in a larger series, fans of the first two books, Austen adaptations, and historical mysteries will definitely enjoy Gray’s latest novel.