This is a historical fiction murder mystery type of a story which failed to grab my attention from the very first few pages and I don't want to continue reading, rather listening to this book at this time. I guess some of the conversation between the main character and an assistant or a maid was a little bit cringy for my liking. I definitely enjoy murder mysteries that give the vibe of Agatha Christie, but I feel like this does not give that vibe.

Simply this book is not for me even though the promise was intriguing.
I hope everyone else enjoys it.!!!

Murder in Highbury was a charming historical fiction mystery. The clever wit and humor was well written, and it was joyful to revisit the familiar, beloved characters. Overall, a very entertaining read for the Austen loving reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the audiobook for review.

Thank You for the chance to listen to Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly.

This is a historical mystery set in a small village, reminding you of a Jane Austen kind of setting.

Apparently, this book is a series featuring beloved Emma Knightley as an amateur detective and I actually found this quite a pleasant listen. I think I would definitely recommend it for a one time read at least.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ALC in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.**

DNF

Normally, audiobooks are a way for me to read a genre I wouldn't normally. This seemed really fun, and I enjoy both murder mysteries and Jane Austen. Unfortunately, this one was not for me as it starts off too quickly, in my opinion, and then drags on for awhile- I'm not entirely sure this book needed to be 14 hours long. However, the writing is good, the narrators are great, and it was enjoyable in parts...just not for me. I hope others give this a shot!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an alc!

who doesn’t love a classic novel turned into murder mystery? the narrator was great!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it, fun while I was reading it
This was so fun. A definite cozy mystery, continuing the story of Jane Austen's Emma. I felt that author, Vanessa Kelly, did a really great job with the character voices being consistent with and expanding on Austen's original text but then spinning it off into a murder mystery.

The narrator, Polly Lee, did a good job, I had no trouble understanding who was saying what, where, when, and with what expression/intension.

Thank you to TantorAudio, NetGalley, and author Vanessa Kelly for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Murder in Highbury is out October 22, 2024.

I adore retellings and sequels to classics. Vanessa Kelly has crafted a cozy mystery that recreates the world of Jane Austen's [book:Emma|6969]. While staying true to Austen's finely honed characters, the author has transformed the story from Regency romance to historical mystery. The concept is not as far fetched as it may seem at first glance. Although the main romance in the classic is a foregone conclusion, Other romances are mysteries. The reader is kept just as clueless as Emma as to who loves whom. Austen leaves a subtle trail of clues to those secondary plots.

This new sequel begins a year after Emma has wed. Since Emma Woodhouse had sworn off matchmaking the new Mrs. Knightly turns sleuth when she finds a body. Husband George may be the magistrate, but he is overwhelmed by the incompetence surrounding him. With friends as the main suspects, Emma steps in. The plot is a typical regency cozy mystery with a formula that delight the fans of the genre. But the characters are true to Austen and even more fully developed. The dialogue is even more witty and clever. Jane Austen fans will adore this new novel. But the reader need not have read Emma before enjoying this novel. It is a standalone that can be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys historical cozy mysteries. 'Murder in Highbury" is the first book in a planned series an I can't wait for the author to finish the next one.

I alternated between an eBook and the audiobook and enjoyed them both. Narrator Polly Lee does a fantastic job. Her voice is expressive and the characters are unique and easy to differentiate.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || MURDER IN HIGHBURY[thank you to Kensington Books and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: Murder in Highbury
Author: Vanessa Kelly
Genre: Mystery
Format: Audio
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Would I Recommend: 👍🏻

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Newlywed Emma Knightley’s summer takes a dark turn when a murder rocks Highbury, and she must use her charm and cunning to uncover the killer lurking among her neighbors.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I LOVE Jane Austen inspired stories! And I especially love books like this one or The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bough because you feel like you get to visit a friend again. The author truly has to understand the source material to be able to tell another story from a beloved characters POV.

Especially when that character, like Emma, is doing something completely the opposite of what she did before! 😂

Matchmaking to murder - who knew she had it in her?

This book was a lot of fun to read! And if you’re an Austen fan, I highly recommend!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Perils of Lady Catherine de Bough
Pride and Premeditation
Jane Austen retelling
Small Town
Cozy Mystery

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.80 ⭐️
# of Pages: 400
Pub Date: October 22, 2024

Based on the characters of the Jane Austen novel Emma, Murder in Highbury is a murder mystery involving the death of Vicar Elton's wife and the work of amateur sleuth Emma Knightley.

I usually avoid books that involve classic characters and real-life figures like Queen Elizabeth solving murders, because they look so cheesy. But I thought this one might be fun. It was...not. Way too much dialogue that made the book unnecessarily long, and very little action. There were really no surprising twists, although my guess as to who was the killer was wrong. The big reveal was like...oh, well of course. Meh.

I did like the audiobook narrator. She did a good job voicing each character.

This is the first in a series, but I will pass on future installments.

This was a fun, light whodunnit style read, perfect for any fans of Jane Austen and murder mysteries. Going back into the world of Emma to see some familiar characters was a delight, and I think stayed true to Austen’s original characters, while completely changing the type of story. Admittedly, I think I figured the mystery out fairly quickly, but that didn’t take away from the fun of interviewing all the suspects and seeing the story come to light. The narrator was fairly easy to listen to, if maybe slightly annoying, but in all honesty that’s kind of how I’ve always seen Emma. I’m happy to see this is a series, and would love to continue. Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

It just dragged on for me I think, I was suprised to say I didn’t like this because I love a historical fiction and a mystery and put them together I thought I’d love this but it didn’t feel like I could do much detective work myself, there weren’t many clues and it just felt like it kept going and I was getting pretty bored. I did like the ending just it was a drag to get there.

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 8th December and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of January

In this ... fanfiction, Jane Austen's Emma plays the amateur detective after she finds a dead body inside Highbury's church.

Honestly, I hated this book.

🎧 Audiobook : 1/5 ⭐️ I absolutely hated the narration, especially when it came to men's voices. Terribly annoying.

Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for providing this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I love Emma and was excited to listen to this. At first, the narrator was a little much, but she grew on me. The trouble is that the story drags on and on. The ending is very predictable, and there's nothing wrong with a predictable ending, but the journey to that ending is not all that clever or engaging. If this audiobook wasn't easily played in the background while I drove around doing errands, I would have DNF'd it.

**I received an advanced listening copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Emma Knightley trades in her matchmaking skills for sleuthing in this first in the series featuring Emma, Harriet, Mr. Knightley, and all the characters from Jane Austen's "Emma." Emma and Harriet stumble upon the dead body of Mrs. Elton in the church, and Emma does not like the way the investigation unfolds. She uncovers secrets and half truths in the Highbury community; more importantly, she is in a race against time as a beloved member of the community is the prime suspect.

Kelly does a remarkable job capturing the characterizations of each character from Austen's work. Emma is still stubborn, Mr. Woodhouse is still fretful of draughts, and Miss Bates is...well...Miss Bates. The reader also sees a bit more internal dialogue for Emma, as she navigates keeping house, keeping her father happy, and trying to keep her husband happy (and not continue to look for clues to the crime). Kelly also brings out Emma's intelligence and attention to detail and writes Emma as a believable sleuth in search of truth and justice. While I guessed the murderer about halfway through the story, it did not deter my enjoyment of the overall story.

Polly Lee as the voice actress well, overall. There are moments that the male characters sound identical--in some scenes, Frank Churchill sounds like George Knightley, so at times it is hard to determine who is speaking or if one of these characters happened to enter the room whilst the other was present. Lee's performance of Emma is very enjoyable, especially when Emma is trying to hide her exasperation over Mr. Woodhouse or Harriet.

Fans of Jane Austen adaptations will find this enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series.

#MurderInHighbury #NetGalley

4⭐️ Narration
3⭐️ Story
Rival indigenous horror authors, Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm are surprised when their mutual friend tricks both of them into attending a writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle.

Finding themselves haunted by more than just their past animosity, Penelope and Neil lean on each other to unravel the mysterious happenings around them and find that they not only have more in common than differences, but they are also stronger together- in both ghost hunting and with their writing!

This is an interesting romance/mystery that I found a little disjointed with the genre melding. I really appreciated Penelope and Neil’s interactions and their enemies to lovers relationship and found that the mystery aspect of the story to be a distraction and take away from the romance.

I had the privilege of listening to the audiobook narrated by Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia and I can easily say that it was the highlight of my reading experience. The inclusion of Curtis and Kyla‘s indigenous voices brought the characters to life and added another dimension to them. Both mariners did an excellent job voicing their main character and differentiating the side characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed my listening experience and found that the romance between Penelope and Neil to be very compelling. Their cultural struggle are what made this book stand out.

This is a review of the audiobook.

A vicar's wife is found murdered in his church in rural England, where the character Emma Knightley (from Jane Austen's work) lives. Emma tries to solve the question of who murdered the vicar's wife. I figured out who the murderer was early on in the story, which I found to be to be too long.
I was given an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#murderinhighbury
#vanessakelly
#janeausten
#netgalley
#goodreads

I had high hopes for this book and some of the plot line was interesting. I think the writing was well thought out, this may just not be a genre that I’m fully committed to as I found myself struggling to complete it. The narrator did a great job and the production was smooth, just not super action packed!

Really loved the story but the narration just didn't work for me. The really harsh semi-cockney accent for some of the characters was, I think, meant to display the class disparity, but felt too far from the regency accent to work and the men's voices made me laugh, and not in a good way. The book itself is a wonderful homage to Austen and I think does Emma credit by playing on the curiosity, impertinence of the source character. If you like Claudia Grey's Mr. Darcy and Miss Tillney series or Carrie Bebris' Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries, you will love this!

A delightful cosy murder mystery set in the quiet village of Highbury. But as everyone knows, never underestimate the quiet village life. Intrigues and personal grudges run deep!

The story is set after one year of marital bliss for the Knightley’s. It’s high summer when Emma & Harriet are checking the church flowers, when they stumble across Mrs Elton’s bludgeoned body - a bloodied bronze candlestick nearby on the altar.

Was it a robbery disturbed? A desperate thief? Or someone more sinister and close to home? Mrs Elton’s murder sets the quiet village life in uproar! Gossip and speculation is rife and some villagers are turning on the vulnerable in society.

I love the charm and the wit of Emma & Harriet playing the role of detective. The author has stayed true to to the original characters, but skilfully introduced new characters and the murder plot line.

As a typical overthinker, I kept analysing who was the murder and was ‘hiding in plain sight’. What are the red herrings?

What could be improved, the plot did drag a little in the middle. I feel like too much plot time was spent on village speculation and the incompetent local authorities.

Overall, I love reading murder mysteries based on Austen’s world. They’re the perfect escapism for Austenites. Perfect for those who enjoy Claudia Grey and Stephanie Barron’s mystery novels!

Thank you to Netgallery for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This first entry in a new series is a good start. Emma comes upon a body in the church, and, when she believes the wrong person is targeted as responsible, starts her own amateur investigation into what really happened . This is a typical village mystery with a cast of quirky characters. I enjoyed the relationship with Emma and her husband, but the rest of the characters fell a little flat for me. Overall I would likely continue in the series.

The narration was good.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #TantorAudio for a free copy of #MurderInHighbury by Vanessa Kelly. All opinions are my own.