Delightfully, devilishly and cheekily fun, while managing to remain faithful to the characters and tone of Austen.

I love reading Austen-esque sequels, prequels, biographies and fan's efforts at furthering my favourite writer's stories. This may be my favourite.

I wasn't expecting to be so delighted and to find myself laughing aloud at the wicked antics of the characters I've known since the age of 15, seeing them in ways I'd never pictured.

And occasionally it got even a little bit erotic-feeling and rather warm under the starched collar as well. In a proper manner, of course.

Eleven chapters to delve into and fans like me will revel in these - they are cleverly connected as well which is apparent the further you go. The author and clear fan of the writer has used the text of Pride and Prejudice and the basis of each character to concoct a possible 'crime' story related to each one that is realistic to their own personality as well as the era and setting.

I almost screamed at Mr Collins in Mary's chapter, as he becomes enflamed by her playing of Toccata and Fugue. I felt the righteous anger of Lizzy as she fights for the rights of her fellow females to enter a college as a student. Mr Bennet's chapter involving pug dogs and some drinkable unmentionables was wonderfully apt (and justified!). Mrs Bennet eyeing up the treasures of Pemberley on a visit was fun. And Lydia, well - perfectly suited to her nature is the thought of her dressing as a man and considering a shady life on the highways.

The writer here gives us her own thoughts on some episodes from the source novel, which I don't want to mention and spoil, but they did make me think "ahhh, that MIGHT have happened!", and I like the way the book plays with time and some stories take place before the novel and most after.

Hilariously, Fanny Hill plays a role in multiple chapters, and characters occur regularly as well (Mrs Younge, Wickham, Colonel Fitzwilliam), with some backstory given to them that makes perfect sense when measured up to P&P.

I was distraught at finishing as I could have read more on each of the characters and wanted, greedily, so much more. I loved that whole chunks of text are re-used here that were recognisable. I loved seeing characters who maybe were less than likeable once upon a time be given a more humane appearance.

There were some 'happy endings' for some characters, lots of winks and nudges for fans that we will all love - our shared knowledge of Austen here paying us back in spades.

Oh, it was great! I'd read this again as a regular treat to myself. If you're a fan of Jane Austen, this really is the perfect book for you.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

This was such a fun concept for a collection of stories in the Pride and Prejudice world. It had that element that I was looking for and each story had that element that I wanted. I never felt like I wasn't in the world of Pride and Prejudice, it worked well overall and enjoyed the crime element.

Posted to Goodreads: 11/11/2024

This book was absolutely hilarious, and if you are a fan of Jane Austen's characters, this is definitely something you should read. The book reads like a series of confession letters, and Miller did an excellent job of sticking to the already established personalities and tendencies of Austen's characters. The scandal and ignorance of some of the characters truly had me laughing out loud, and by the end of the book I still wanted more. I was able to read a copy of this book through NetGalley, and I hope other readers find it as enjoyable and hilarious as I did.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!